Amphora & Qvevri — Clay Vessels in Ancient and Natural Wine

Qvevri (also written kvevri) are large, egg-shaped earthenware vessels used for the fermentation, storage, and aging of traditional Georgian wine. Unlike amphorae from the ancient Mediterranean world, qvevri have no handles and are not designed for transport; they are always buried in the earth, with only the rim visible above ground. The shape features a narrow conical bottom and wide mouth at the top, allowing sediment to collect naturally at the base while the surrounding earth maintains stable cool temperatures throughout fermentation and aging. Archaeological excavations in the southern Georgian region of Kvemo Kartli have uncovered grape pips and qvevri fragments dating to the 6th millennium BCE, making Georgia one of the world's oldest continuously documented winemaking cultures.

• Handcrafted by specialist Georgian artisans using local clay; traditional qvevri-making villages include Shrosha and Makatubani in Imereti and Vardisubani in Kakheti
• Buried to their necks or fully underground in the winery floor, known as the marani, utilizing the earth's natural thermal mass to maintain steady fermentation temperatures without mechanical cooling
• Interior walls are traditionally re-coated with beeswax before each vintage after cleaning with lime, sealing the surface and supporting microbial stability

The qvevri is Georgia's most important and best-known winemaking vessel, and it remains the centerpiece of traditional winemaking in the country. Wine plays a vital role in everyday Georgian life and in the celebration of secular and religious events; wine cellars are still considered among the holiest places in the family home, and the tradition of qvevri winemaking forms an inseparable part of Georgian cultural identity. UNESCO recognized this in 2013 by inscribing the ancient qvevri winemaking method on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In 2021, Georgia went further, granting the qvevri vessel itself Protected Geographical Indication status, making it the first non-food item added to Georgia's State Register of Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications.

• UNESCO inscription in 2013 elevated qvevri winemaking to protected cultural patrimony, enabling Georgian amber wines to command premium pricing and global market differentiation
• The Kakhetian method involves fermenting white grapes with all their skins, seeds, and stems for several months, producing deeply colored, tannic amber wines; the more moderate Imeretian method uses only a portion of the grape solids
• The practice spread internationally following Josko Gravner's pioneering adoption in Italy from 2001, with producers in Slovenia, Croatia, Armenia, France, Spain, and the United States subsequently using qvevri or qvevri-inspired clay vessels

Wines fermented and aged in qvevri display distinctive visual, aromatic, and textural signatures that set them apart from barrel-aged or stainless-steel wines. Most visibly, qvevri-fermented white wines develop deep amber, orange, or copper hues due to extended skin maceration, earning them the modern descriptor 'orange wine' or, as Georgians prefer, 'amber wine.' The presence of skins and seeds during fermentation lends these wines a strong tannic structure and deep flavors atypical of conventional white wines. On the palate, expect earthy, mineral-forward profiles, dried fruit and nut notes, a grippy texture from tannin extraction, and a long mineral finish; fresh fruit aromas and oak-derived vanilla or coconut notes are conspicuously absent.

• Visual: deep amber to copper color in whites due to extended skin maceration; often minimally fined or unfiltered, with visible natural sediment
• Aromatic: earthy and mineral-forward with dried fruit, nuts, and honey notes from extended lees contact; no oak-derived vanillin or coconut character
• Textural: grippy, structured mouthfeel with fine-grained tannins from skin contact; persistent, saline mineral finish; fuller body than conventional whites
• Label markers: look for 'qvevri,' 'kvevri,' 'amber wine,' 'skin contact,' or explicit mention of traditional Georgian method; Kakhetian-style wines will have the most pronounced tannin and color

Alaverdi Monastery in Kakheti is one of the most historically significant qvevri producers: the monastery was founded in the 6th century, the current cathedral was built in the 11th century, and the renewed wine cellar has been producing qvevri wines since 2006. Pheasant's Tears, founded in 2007 by American John Wurdeman and Georgian Gela Patalishvili in Sighnaghi, Kakheti, has become perhaps the most internationally recognized Georgian natural wine producer, fermenting all wines in qvevri and working with over 117 documented indigenous varieties including Rkatsiteli and Saperavi. In Italy, Josko Gravner of Friuli-Venezia Giulia began fermenting all his wines in Georgian qvevri from the 2001 vintage onward; his Ribolla Gialla spends six months on skins in buried qvevri and is widely credited with igniting the global orange wine movement. Frank Cornelissen on Sicily's Mount Etna uses epoxy-coated terracotta amphora buried in volcanic soil for his more tannic wines, working without oak barrels.

• Alaverdi Monastery (Kakheti, Georgia): monastic winery producing Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Khikhvi, Mtsvane, and Saperavi in qvevri; the renewed cellar has operated since 2006 with five monks; around 20,000 bottles released annually
• Pheasant's Tears Rkatsiteli (Sighnaghi, Kakheti, est. 2007): fermented with wild yeasts in qvevri, unfined, unfiltered, no added SO2; golden amber with notes of orange rind, apricot, and blossom flowers
• Josko Gravner Ribolla Gialla (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy): six months on skins in Georgian qvevri, followed by extended aging in large Slavonian oak; released at least seven years after harvest; credited with pioneering modern European qvevri use from 2001
• Frank Cornelissen (Mount Etna, Sicily, est. 2001): minimal-intervention producer using terracotta amphora buried in volcanic soil; primary varieties include Nerello Mascalese; most wines aged in fiberglass, with tannic wines seeing amphora aging

The qvevri winemaking process involves pressing grapes and then pouring the juice, skins, stalks, and pips into the vessel, which is then sealed. Fermentation lasts at least five to six months before the wine is decanted. The egg shape of the qvevri allows the wine to circulate freely during fermentation, encouraging natural settling without mechanical intervention. The conical base collects all solid matter, including lees, skins, and seeds, minimizing contact with the wine above and effectively preventing the development of reductive faults that prolonged lees contact might otherwise cause. Unlike oak barrels, which impart flavor compounds, qvevri are flavor-neutral, allowing the grape variety and terroir to dominate the wine's character.

• Anaerobic conditions maintained by the sealed vessel and accumulating CO2 during active fermentation preserve reductive aromatics and limit oxidative browning
• Extended maceration (white grapes on skins for weeks to many months in the Kakhetian method) extracts polyphenols and tannins normally associated only with red wines, creating structure and age-worthiness in whites
• The narrow conical base collects grape solids during fermentation, so the wine rests above the lees with minimal surface contact, reducing reductive sulfur development naturally
• Indigenous yeast and bacterial populations drive fermentation in the absence of added SO2; natural malolactic fermentation is a key element in stabilizing qvevri wines for bottling

Interest in qvevri winemaking outside Georgia accelerated significantly after Josko Gravner began importing Georgian vessels and fermenting his Ribolla Gialla in them from 2001. His critical acclaim drew attention from natural winemakers across Italy, with producers such as Paolo Vodopivec in Friuli and Elisabetta Foradori in Trentino following his lead. The practice has since spread to France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, and Portugal, as well as the United States and Australia. The alignment between qvevri philosophy, including minimal intervention, indigenous yeasts, and zero added sulfites, and the principles of the natural wine movement has driven this adoption. Georgia itself reinforced the vessel's global prestige when UNESCO recognized qvevri winemaking in 2013 and the vessel received PGI status in 2021.

• Italy is the largest European adopter of qvevri and clay vessel winemaking, with producers in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino, and Sicily using buried terracotta vessels; the Collio DOC has since introduced a formal 'vino da uve macerate' category
• The practice has spread to Slovenia, Croatia, and Armenia, as well as producers in France, Spain, and Portugal experimenting with Spanish tinajas and locally made clay vessels inspired by the qvevri tradition
• Pheasant's Tears co-founder John Wurdeman also founded Vino Underground in 2010, Tbilisi's first natural wine bar, and helped establish Georgia's Natural Wine Association, further embedding qvevri culture internationally
• A key technical distinction: a qvevri is always buried in the earth, whereas an amphora is not necessarily; the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably in wine writing but refer to vessels with different design philosophies and functions