The Imeretian method

West-Georgian qvevri style

The Imeretian method is Georgia's second classic school of qvevri winemaking, alongside the Kakhetian one. Where Kakheti ferments and ages the must on the full pomace — skins, pips and stems — for months, Imereti adds only part of the skins to the qvevri, usually without stems, and for a shorter time.

Imeretian wines are therefore paler and more delicate than the Kakhetian «ambers»: fresher, more aromatic, higher in acidity and lower in tannin. They rely on west-Georgian varieties — the whites Tsolikouri, Tsitska and Krakhuna and the reds Otskhanuri Sapere, Dzelshavi and Aladasturi.

This is the style behind the Sviri appellation and much of western Georgian winemaking. Together with the Kakhetian and Racha-Lechkhumi traditions it forms part of the qvevri method inscribed by UNESCO on its Intangible Heritage list (2013).