Organic Wine from Georgia

Wine shaped by humanity’s intangible cultural heritage.

Georgia lies in Western Asia at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. The former Soviet republic encompasses mountain villages in the Caucasus and beaches on the Black Sea.

Georgia has a wine-growing tradition that stretches back about 7,000 years. It is one of the birthplaces of viticulture and the cultivated grapevine. The country has favourable geology and climate, with around 60,000 ha of vineyards.

Kakheti is the winegrowing region in eastern Georgia. It produces a good 70% of Georgia’s wine. The vineyards lie on the slopes along the Alazani River, sheltered from the wind by the towering Caucasus mountains.

The wines are generally made by the Kakhetian method. The grapes are crushed with their stems in the qvevri and ferment on their skins for several months. Qvevri are traditional clay vessels set out on successive terraces in the cellar. This allows the wine to flow from one vessel to another by gravity alone during maturation. UNESCO has recognised traditional qvevri winemaking as part of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage since 2013. Almost all modern orange wines are matured in these Georgian clay amphorae.