Georgian wine
The fertile valleys and protective slopes of the South Caucasus were home to grapevine cultivation and neolithic wine production (Georgian: ღვინო, ɣvino) for at least 8000 years.
[5] The best-known Georgian wine regions are in the country's east, such as Kakheti (further divided into the micro-regions of Telavi and Kvareli) and Kartli, but also in Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, and coastal areas like Adjara and Abkhazia.
The roots of Georgian viticulture have been traced back by archeology to when people of the South Caucasus discovered that wild grape juice turned into wine when it was left buried through the winter in a shallow pit.
This knowledge was nourished by experience, and from 6000 BC inhabitants of the current Georgia were cultivating grapes and burying clay vessels, kvevris, in which to store their wine ready for serving at ground temperature.
When filled with the fermented juice of the harvest, the kvevris are topped with a wooden lid and then covered and sealed with earth.
Not only kvevris were used to ferment grape juice and to store up wine, but also chapi and satskhao; others yet were used for drinking, such as khelada, doki, sura, chinchila, deda-khelada, dzhami, and marani.
Many of the unearthed silver, gold, and bronze artifacts of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC bear chased imprints of the vine, grape clusters, and leaves.
The State Museum of Georgia has on display a cup of high-carat gold set with gems, an ornamented silver pitcher and some other artifacts dated to the 2nd millennium BC.
[8] Georgia is optimistic that its recent Association Agreement with the European Union will expand its export markets and reduce the risk presented by any future unilateral embargoes by Russia.
[11] Currently, the wine is produced by thousands of small farmers (using primarily traditional techniques of wine-making), as well as certain monasteries and modern wineries.
Georgia's moderate climate and moist air, influenced by the Black Sea, provide the best conditions for vine cultivating.
