Alaverdi Monastery cellar

Historical, monastic winemaking since the 11th c.

At Alaverdi Cathedral (11th century) a monastic marani, a cellar with qvevri, existed for centuries. The monks practised winemaking as part of church life, and Alaverdi became one of the symbols of the bond between Georgian wine and the Church.

In the Soviet period monastic winemaking was interrupted, but the cellar and old qvevri survived. In 2006 the tradition was revived: the restored «Alaverdi Monastery Cellar» again makes wine in qvevri by the ancient method.

Alaverdi vividly shows that the qvevri tradition in Georgia was carried for millennia, in part, by monasteries.