“We make our wine from the womb of the earth.”
That is how a Georgian friend once described the Georgian winemaking process. Many visitors to Georgia will leave it at that – a catchy, unique phrase that might fit perfectly on the back of a wine bottle.
Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll discover there is an amazing history behind Georgia’s unique approach to winemaking. This approach is both summarized and symbolized by the qvevri.
So what exactly is a qvevri?
The Georgian qvevri, or sometimes spelled kvevri, is a large, egg-shaped terracotta vessel used for the fermentation, racking, maturation, and storage of wine. Think of it as an ancient version of the modern home winemaker’s primary and secondary fermentation vessels all in one.
In addition to unique characteristics such as its shape, flavor profile, and temperature regulation capabilities, the interior walls of Georgian qvevri are lined with beeswax to help waterproof and sterilize the vessel while still allowing some air to pass through the porous walls. This also facilitates the cleaning/sanitation process once the qvevri is emptied.
Are qvevri still used?
Yes. Georgians have been making wine in qvevri for thousands of years – recent archeological evidence indicates winemaking occurring in Georgia as far back as 8000 years ago – and the process has hardly changed throughout much of the country, even with advances in modern technology.
In fact, many modern winemakers outside of Georgia now utilize a modern form of the Georgian qvevri through the use of stainless steel fermentation vessels wrapped in a qvevri-style terracotta outer layer, combining the sanitation and stability of the steel with the insulation of the clay.
What is unique about the qvevri?
Originally, qvevris were used just like any wine vessel – to store crushed grapes after harvest. Soon, though, ancient winemakers realized that as the size of their harvests increased, the strength of the clay vessel became less and less stable, often collapsing under their own weight. As a result, they began burying the qvevri in the earth.
In addition to providing stability to larger amounts of wine, this also produced an unintended, yet even more important effect on the winemaking process – an ancient version of temperature control, or refrigeration – allowing the winemaker to experiment with extended maceration techniques (i.e. extended skin/stem contact time) before it even became common winemaking terminology. It also prevented the peak fermentation temperature of large batches from running wild, as it would above ground, potentially spoiling the wine.
How does qvevri winemaking work?
In the same way Georgian cuisine was “organic” before the word organic became a thing, the Georgian qvevri epitomized “natural” winemaking before the word natural entered our collective wine vocabularies.
For winemakers interested in as little intervention as possible, the Georgian qvevri process should be a major consideration.
Step One – Harvest the Grapes
Most backyard vineyards in Georgia utilize a trellis technique known as Vertical Shoot Positioning, or VSP, which makes the grape clusters very, very accessible to those conducting the harvest. One year-old shoots (i.e. those that bear fruit) are trained “vertically” upwards from a short trunk and “positioned” in between wires spaced every 6-12 inches. From these shoots emerge heavy, plump grapes, which are more than happy to live off of the sun, soil, and water of the Georgian climate. Clip the cluster at the base, drop it into your bucket, and carry the bucket to the manual crusher. It’s that simple.
Step Two – Crush the Grapes
Most homes in Georgia will have an old, beat-up manual grape crusher that looks like a blend of wheelbarrow and antique sausage press in one. The handles and feeder will be made of wood, while the actual crushing mechanism will be cast iron metal. The goal here is a partial crush – just barely breaking the skin of the grapes – rather than completely mashing them into a messy pulp.
As each bucket is brought in from the fields, you’ll dump the contents into the feeder, crank the metal arm/wheel, and hear the rewarding sound of the grapes, stems, and pulp dropping to the bottom of the qvevri, which will be directly beneath the crusher.
Step Three – Fermentation
At this point, the traditional Georgian winemaking method is just a matter of time.
Unlike European style winemaking, there are no added yeasts, no added sulphites, and no added sugars. Georgians rely on the wild yeasts found naturally on the grape skins to colonize and ferment the sugary juice into wine. The winemaker simply needs to “punch down the cap” 2-3 times per day at this stage, ensuring that the skins and stems are pushed back down into the liquid after rising to the top as a result of natural CO2 emissions from the fermentation process. Most home winemakers will use a simple, yet trustworthy and significant stick or branch of wood for this task, which is essential to prevent the cap from becoming rotten and to ensure full flavor and color extraction from the skins and stems.
After anywhere from 2-4 weeks, the roaring fermentation will end and the winemaker can choose to separate the juice from the skins, or allow for “extended maceration”, or skin/stem contact, to draw out additional flavor and color.
Eventually the skins and stems will no longer float to the top and will instead fall to the bottom of the quevri, settling deep into the tapered bottom of the vessel. Georgian red wines are traditionally separated from the must at this point and racked into a secondary qvevri for at least six months of aging, whereas Georgian white wines will remain in contact with the skin and stems during this time. This is how Georgian “amber” wines get their unique color (and flavor).
Leftover must is not wasted, though. Georgians will distill every last drop out of the sediment and produce chacha, the local, painful, fire-breathing version of grappa (which is also used to start fires when camping with Georgians, in case you were wondering).
Step Four – Aging the Wine
Once fermentation is complete, and soon after “topping up” the qvevri to roughly the neck (reducing the chance of “oxidation”, which can ruin the entire batch), the qvevri neck is lined with a 1-2 inch roll of malleable and breathable clay known as “Sorsola”. Traditionally, a smooth river stone and/or heavy piece of wood is then placed on top of the clay, acting as a sealant. Recently, though, glass and/or plastic have been used.
In any case, the Sorsola clay acts as a natural filter – it keeps air and other organisms out while allowing the gases from the wine to escape slowly. Home beer or winemakers normally use a water filter for this same purpose.
Quevris were originally developed with the simple purpose of holding and storing liquids for future consumption. Over time, though, a unique relationship developed between the clay and young wine, particularly when stored underground, and ancient Georgian winemakers took notice.
There is no more natural way to pull out acidity, allow minimal oxygen exchange, and provide superior insulation – three essential components of a good wine fermentation vessel – all with minimal intervention and natural materials.
