Behind Georgia’s 8,000-Year-Old Winemaking Tradition

Wine has been produced in Georgia for 8,000 years, making it the oldest winemaking country in the world. Like her ancestors, winemaker Baia Abuladze ferments grapes with their skins intact, in big clay pots known as kvevri. This traditional technique—not to mention access to 525 varieties of indigenous grapes—makes Georgian wine unlike any other.

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while making is the huge tradition of my family and all my ancestors I feel that this was their lifestyle for us [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this great big story is by Georgia National Tourism administration winemaking in Georgia dates back almost eight thousand years in fact according to the National Academy of Sciences it's been proven that this country was the birthplace of wine with over 40 vineyards the tradition of winemaking remains strong today but what makes Georgian wine so different Georgian wine making style is the oldest one in the whole world it's begins eight thousand years ago my name is parabola tip and I'm winemaker Georgian wine is really different firstly the unique and indigenous grape varieties we have in our country there are 525 indigenous grape variety in Georgia we are using at about 25 grave into the massive production and the second reason we are having the different winemaking method this unique method is fermenting wine with grape skins and also the vessel of winemaking query these circles on the floor are the tops of query those are huge clay pots which are buried inside and it makes great one because of the temperature control to the holier inside we don't use the modern technologies or refrigerators they are stable because they are into the ground so it's the mother nature perfect for great wine and really rare wine in the world Georgia has a huge amount of the hospitality involve blood it means a lot for us to have the guest for us it's really important to preserve the traditional winemaking methods because if we do not do this no one will do this in the near future we want to give this unique taste for generations and generations afterwards [Music] you [Music]