Qvevri — the Georgian winemaking method

The qvevri is a large clay vessel buried in the ground to ferment and age wine. Traditional Georgian qvevri winemaking is inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage list (2013).

The qvevri is a large egg-shaped clay vessel buried up to its neck in the ground. In it the wine ferments and ages together with the «mezga» — skins, pips and sometimes stems — which gives it its distinctive colour, tannins and aroma.

The technique goes back to the most ancient winemaking traditions of the South Caucasus, thousands of years old. The inner walls are often lined with beeswax; a qvevri lasts for decades and is passed down the generations.

In 2013 the traditional Georgian qvevri winemaking method was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.