Georgian Qvevri Craft: The Secret of Georgian Wine

This tiny country in the Caucasus, sandwiched between Europe and Asia, has been named the Cradle of Wine for an ancient winemaking tradition that dates back over 8,000 years. What makes Georgian wine so unique is the use of Qvevri, an egg-shaped clay vessel buried underground to ferment and age the wine. This traditional method has been passed down through generations and is still widely used today. 

This detailed post about Qvevri, the essential element of Georgian wine, includes all the information you need to know, how to visit a Qvevri-making workshop, and a bonus to watch a Georgian comedy around the topic.

What is Qvevri?

Suppose you drive from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, towards the west on the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway. In that case, you’ll notice big stalls of pottery lined up along the road near the village of Shrosha on Rikori Pass. Here, all sorts of clay vessels, pots, mugs, jugs, and decor items are on display, but one particular catches an eye – an egg-shaped clay container. That’s Qvevri, a foundation of Georgia’s at least 80-century tradition of winemaking.

These gigantic clay vessels that can fit a human being inside are UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

Many countries over the centuries have used such clay vessels for various reasons, including carrying various grains or produce. And Georgia hasn’t invented a bicycle. Instead, it changed, perfected, and made its own use explicitly for producing Georgian wine.

These artisanally hand-crafted containers buried underground, hidden from your sight but always under your feet, are where Georgian wines are made, stored, and matured. The shape allows the content to rotate naturally and balance the temperature.

Qvevri comes in different sizes, and the biggest can hold up to about 10,000 liters, while the average ones hold between 100-4,000 liters.

Kvevri or Qvevri?

Before we dive into the fundamentals of Qvevri, let’s talk about spelling. You have probably seen many writers spell it with K, which is slightly wrong from a local’s perspective. In the Georgian language, we have კ and ქ, equivalent to the English K and Q, respectively. In Georgia, Qvevri is written as ქვევრი, using the Q letter.

Since Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, the writing of Kvevri comes from Russian, as K is the closest equivalent in the Russian language. Therefore, as a Georgian, I’d love you to know the difference and write it correctly from now on.

Okay, as we have cleared this out, let’s continue.

Amphora vs. Qvevri

The main difference between an Amphora and a Qvevri is their shape and purpose.

Amphora is a two-handled pot with a narrow neck and mainly has a flat bottom for standing on a surface. Amphoras were primarily used for storage or carrying various products, including wine or olive oil. They are mostly decorated with paintings and have been essential Greek and Roman pottery items. In ancient times, amphoras were also used as decanters or as prizes and gifts. They also vary in size and can fit up to a half-ton of products; however, 50km of volume is a typical size.

Qvevri, on the other hand, doesn’t have any handles or a flat bottom and has never been used to carry anything. It has solemnly been used to make Georgian wine.

Why do Georgians bury Qvevri underground?

When the demand for wine in ancient Georgia increased, the winemakers created a larger Qvevri to have a higher volume per vessel. However, they became unstable because of their weight and the pressure during the fermentation, so to balance the process, people started burying them underground from top to bottom.

It’s one of the ancient forms of refrigeration, as the temperatures are cooler underground. It gives grapes a more extended maceration period, boosting the flavor and aroma of Qvevri wine. Being above the ground increases the chances of spoiling the wine.

Where can one learn how to make a Qvevri?

Even though Qvevri is essential to Georgian winemaking, there is no school to master its art. The craftsmanship comes down from generation to generation, from father to son. 

Only five villages across the country make them – Atsana in Guria, Makatubani and Shrosha in Imereti, and Vardisubani in Kakheti.

Qvevri-making workshop at Bozhadze family enterprise

I had an opportunity to visit the Qvevri workshop in Makatubani, nearby Shrosha and 60km away from Kutaisi, the second-largest city in Georgia. Tucked away from the highway without any significant or fancy signs, you can easily miss the Bozhadze family enterprise. Sharpen your eyes for lots of various-sized Qvevri lying on the ground next to the road, and you know you are in the right place. 

This is where I meet Sergo, a fifth-generation Qvevri-maker who learned the art from his father, Zaliko, one of the most well-known masters of the country.

“He learned from his father, who learned from his father, and so forth,” says Sergo when explaining how he got into the business.

And one day, he hopes to teach his son the techniques he learned from his ancestors, and that’s why Zaliko named his enterprise the Immortality of Nation.

The deep dive into the exact method to make a Qvevri

Mastering the art of Qvevri-making requires persistence, patience, and a lot of experience. There is no cut-out recipe; everything is measured by hand. 

“I eyeball how much clay would I need and how to start the tip of it to create the desired size,” explains Sergo and adds that for a 1.20-meter high vessel, he usually uses up to 1.3 tones of locally sourced clay, just 30km away from this workshop. 

Qvevri requires a mixture of two types of red clay as the material influences the finished wine. Using only one is too harsh, while the other is too soft. Therefore, blending them with pure water is essential to create a good one. Although, he doesn’t have exact measurements for it either. He feels the right texture by touch. It needs to be soft, flexible, and sticky.

“Without good Qvevri, it’s impossible to have good wine,” says Sergo. 

Crafting the vessel does have its season, from March till the end of October. 

“You can’t make it in winter. Cold temperatures don’t dry clay, and there’s a high risk of breaking them in the oven,” he explains as we move to his studio to showcase the process. 

Dozens of already made, at least two-meter high, Qvevris standing up straight on small stilts take almost the entire room. There’s a bit of space left in front, where Sergo and his team have already started making another one around 50-60 meters high. 

On my left side, a raw clay mixture covered by cellophane reaches half of the wall, where Sergo’s colleague sits on a small wooden chair as Sergo gets ready to show the process.

The method looks like coil pottery, built slowly, with only 15-20 centimeters of clay added daily. After drying the layer for 24 hours, they add another layer until it reaches the desired size and height. Like others, this one also sits on stilts to ensure the tip of the Qvevri is intact.

Sergo starts making a diagonal cross-hatch pattern with a small wooden stick and goes around the vessel. Meanwhile, his colleague prepares a thick sausage-like wet and sticky raw clay and passes it to Sergo once he finishes the pattern. He slowly adds chunks of the sausage and presses them on the inside while balancing and supporting it from the outside with his other hand. 

“This particular one will hold up to 1.6 tons of wine,” Sergo explains as he works his way, adding one sausage after another. It will take them 90 days to complete a Qvevri of this size. 

Once finished adding that fresh layer of the day, he takes another wooden tool he calls “Gong” to smooth out the clay both inside and outside. The freshly added layer flawlessly blended with yesterday’s as if it was all there and wasn’t done just 20 minutes ago.

Finishing touches of Qvevri-making

Afterward, he leads me to another building where three dried Qvevri is already in the oven waiting for others to start the firing process. The oven fits a standing-up Qvevri and has a curved roof. Once all the Qvevris are in place, they put Tone ovens on the first row, another Georgian clay bottomless vessel used to bake a typical Georgian bread. Qvevri shouldn’t get direct flames from the fire.

Then, they wall off the entire oven entrance with bricks, leaving several peep wholes to put wood logs inside and fire up the oven. The firing lasts five or six days, reaching about 900 degrees Celcius. Once the flame turns blue-white, he knows the firing is over. They dismantle the temporary wall and enter the still-blazing oven to obtain Qvevri.

“When you put a hand on it, it shouldn’t be burning hot nor cold,” he says.

The next step is to pour boiling beeswax inside and roll Qvevri to coat its walls. “It’s not only antiseptic but also makes cleaning easy .”

Once the Qvevri is cooled off, the final step is to cover the outside with concrete or lime mortar. It strengthens the vessel and protects it from natural disasters and tree roots.  

How many times can one use Qvevri?

Just like making a Qvevri, it requires a unique technique of cleaning. After burying it underground, winemakers can use Qvevri for hundreds of years if correctly cleaned and maintained. If you are interested in the Qvevri cleaning tools, click here for a detailed infographic.

For which grape types can you use Qvevri?

Winemakers make Qvevri wines from red and white grape varieties, of course, separately. Georgia has at least 400-500 different native varieties of grapes, but the most common ones are white Rkatsiteli and red Saperavi. However, some winemakers abolish those varieties and experiment with other types resulting in unique and interesting flavors and aromas.

However, white Qvevri wines do dominate the market all over the country. On rare occasions, you might find red Qvevri ones too.

What’s the exact winemaking process in Qvevri?

To understand the process correctly, you must first know what makes Georgian wine different from other countries. Traditional Georgian winemaking involves pressing the grapes with their skin, stem, and pip. The mixture with the grape juice is then poured into the Qvevri.

The fermentation process starts after a few days and continues for 2-4 weeks until the sturdy mass of stems and skins is gathered on the surface. This sturdy mass is where all the aromas, flavors, and tannins are mixed together, which after being “punched down” several times a day, conveys all those characteristics to the grape juice.

After this mass falls, winemakers remove the stems and skins from red wines and leave them in contact with whites. Then, Qvevri is covered with a stone lid to let the wine ferment for around six months. During this process, solids and lees sink to the vessel’s bottom, where their impact and contact are minimal.

Afterward, wine is either stored in freshly cleaned Qvevri or big glass jars before bottling.

How to visit the Qvevri-making workshop?

I visited the workshop as part of the press trip of the Kaleidoscope package offered by the Karavanly Hop-on Hop-Off tour agency. The workshop mainly works with the agencies who provide a visit there, but you need to call and book in advance for individual visits. And you’ll need an interpreter to explain the process. +995 555 171 296

BONUS: Watch Georgian comedy Wine Thiefs or Ghvinis Qurdebi

There are two of my favorite old Georgian movies on the topic. Unfortunately, one black-and-white movie, Qvevri, isn’t available with English subtitles. However, the second Wine Thiefs is on YouTube with subtitles. This 30-minute comedy tells the story of villagers who sneak into the wine cellar of their neighbor to steal his wine. However, while drinking, they sing loudly and awaken the owner…