Georgia: The Ancient Cradle of Wine

Decanter reported in 2017 that Georgia holds the oldest known evidence of wine culture, dating back 8,000 years. A team led by professor Patrick McGovern analysed organic compounds found on ancient pottery shards in Georgia; their results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide what the team called the earliest biomolecular archaeological evidence for grape wine and viniculture from the Near East, at about 6,000 to 5,800 BC. The team re-excavated the sites of Shulaveris Gora and Gadachrili Gora. The oldest type of pottery found in Georgia belongs to the 6th to 5th millennia BC, and the shape of today's qvevri dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. Qvevri winemaking began in Georgia 8 thousand years ago and the tradition is still preserved today.

• The new evidence suggested wine is at least 500 years older than first thought
• McGovern's team re-excavated Shulaveris Gora and Gadachrili Gora
• Early qvevri were mostly small, not exceeding 1 to 1.5 m in height, with a flat base; the egg-shaped qvevri is now the most common
• Over three centuries of Ottoman rule, the vine-terraced valleys of Meskheti were decimated

Georgia is wedged between the Caucasus mountain ranges, with the same area as Scotland or Ireland, an almost Mediterranean climate and very hot summers. Its viticulture falls into Kakheti, Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi, the Black Sea coastal zone (Guria, Samegrelo, Abkhazeti and Adjara) and Meskheti. In Kakheti, which the National Wine Agency calls the most important Georgian winemaking region, the vineyards giving the best quality wines lie in the Alazani and Iori basins at 400 to 700 m, on humus-carbonate, black and alluvial soils. Kartli's vineyards sit in the basins of the Mtkvari and its tributaries the Liakhvi and Ksani, at 450 to 700 m. Along the Black Sea coast, vineyards run from 2 to 4 m above sea level up to 500 m in a humid, subtropical climate, while in Meskheti the vine is found at 900 to 1,700 m.

• Kakheti sub-zones: Shida Kakheti and Gare Kakheti
• Imereti's climatic conditions and soil composition vary widely
• Racha-Lechkhumi is marked by scarce vineyards and rare grape varieties, mostly on the slopes of the Rioni gorge
• On the Black Sea coast the vintage traditionally started very late, in November, sometimes lasting until the end of January

The National Wine Agency cites more than 525 local grape varieties, while Decanter (2016) counted more than 400 native varieties, with many others thought to have been lost. Rkatsiteli, whose name means 'red stem', is the leading white grape, at 43% of all vineyard plantings across 20,000 hectares, and the principal grape in most Kakhetian white wines. Saperavi, meaning 'something to color with' or 'to dye', is Georgia's leading red grape and its most widely planted red, with 10% of all plantings (over 4000 ha). Other whites include Mtsvane Kakhuri, Kisi and Khikhvi in Kakheti and Chinuri in Kartli, and full-bodied Tsolikouri is another distinctive white; Tsolikouri, Tsitska and Krakhuna are among the varieties of Imereti. Aleksandrouli and Mujuretuli, among the most widespread varieties of Racha-Lechkhumi, are the pair behind Khvanchkara, and Usakhelauri also grows there. Kisi became almost extinct by 2000 because of the Soviet preference for Rkatsiteli and the decline of vineyard land after the Soviet collapse.

• Saperavi-based PDOs include Napareuli (dry), Mukuzani (dry) and Kindzmarauli (semi-sweet)
• Rkatsiteli is often blended with 15 to 20 percent Mtsvane Kakhuri, as in the Gurjaani, Tsinandali and Vazisubani PDOs
• Chinuri is best known for the sparkling Atenuri PDO wine
• Sviri uses Tsitska, Tsolikouri and Krakhuna; Tvishi is a naturally semi-sweet white from Tsolikouri
• Chkhaveri (Guria) and Ojaleshi (Samegrelo) are among the best-known historical varieties of the Black Sea coast

The qvevri is a clay vessel for making and storing wine, from a few hundred litres to several tons, with 1 to 2 tons the most common capacity and qvevri of 6 to 8 thousand litres in Kakheti. The first and foremost rule of qvevri winemaking is to keep the wine on its chacha, the grape skins and pips, during and after alcoholic fermentation. In Kakheti the whole of the chacha goes into fermentation; the Imereti way adds a maximum of one-third. Red wine usually stays on the chacha only through alcoholic fermentation, 7 to 10 days and at most 2 weeks, while white wine stays on it until spring and takes on a dark straw, golden or tea colour, with fruit tones and moderate tannins. Buried in the ground, the qvevri holds the steady 13 to 15 degrees required for fermentation. Beeswax is applied to the inner surface as an antiseptic while the vessel is still warm, and in 2013 UNESCO recorded the 'Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method' on its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. Alongside qvevri, Kakhetian grapes are also made with European technology, and Kartli is known for classic European-style and sparkling wines. Saperavi can be dry, semi-sweet, sweet or fortified, and Rkatsiteli is a core grape of Kardenakhi, a fortified PDO wine.

• In Kakheti qvevri are buried in the cellar; in western Georgia wine is stored in hermetically sealed qvevri in the open air
• In Imereti the qvevri is called Churi
• Classic Kakheti amber wines are commonly made from Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Khikhvi and Mtsvane
• Zedashe, or Monastery wine, is a red qvevri wine used in church rituals
• Wines from larger-scale viticulture tend to follow European models, using steel tanks and wooden barrels

The National Wine Agency is a Legal Entity of Public Law under the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia, created under the Law of Georgia on Vine and Wine; its work includes controlling and certifying wine production quality and creating a cadastral registry of vineyards. The first PDO registrations came in 2005, with Khvanchkara as number 1, followed by Mukuzani, Tsinandali, Akhasheni and Gurjaani. Later registrations include Saperavi Khashmi (2018), Salkhino Ojaleshi (2020) and Sazanos Otskhanuri (2025), and the additions of Lechkhumi, Racha and Sazano Otskhanuri took the number of wines with protected designations of origin to 33 in 2025. That year about 340 thousand tons of grapes were processed by 730 companies, the maximum harvest of the last 30 years, and approximately 327,000 tonnes came from Kakheti. Approximately 89.7 million litres of wine were exported to 71 countries in 2025, worth USD 267.91 million. During the Soviet era independent wineries were merged into huge co-ops.

• 33 PDO wines as of 2025
• Khvanchkara holds PDO registration number 1 (2005)
• 2025 harvest: about 340 thousand tons of grapes, about 22 thousand winegrowers
• 2025 wine exports: approximately 89.7 million litres, USD 267.91 million, 71 countries

Primary sources (National Wine Agency of Georgia): https://wine.gov.ge/En/KvevriWine, https://wine.gov.ge/En/WineMakingRegions, https://wine.gov.ge/En/VarietyRed, https://wine.gov.ge/En/VarietyWhite, https://wine.gov.ge/En/Files/Download/15579, https://wine.gov.ge/En/News/37074, https://wine.gov.ge/En/Wine, https://wine.gov.ge/En/Page/mainactivities. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/worlds-oldest-wine-georgia-research-379701/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/europe/decanter-travel-guide-georgia-301119/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews-tastings/qvevri-wines-from-georgia-a-winemaking-story-and-12-wines-to-try-498954/. Last verified 2026-10-05