Qvevri: why Georgians make wine in buried clay jars
If you sat through a tasting in Kakheti and understood none of the owner's explanation — that's normal. Here is the same thing, in order.
What it actually is
A qvevri is an egg-shaped clay vessel buried in the ground up to its neck. They range from a few hundred litres to several tonnes. The inside is lined with beeswax; the outside is bare, so the clay sits directly against the earth.
Grapes go in whole — skins, pips, sometimes stems. The lid goes on, earth goes over it, and it is left for months. The temperature holds itself steady underground, with no cooling and no electricity.
Why the wine comes out orange
White grapes left on their skins for months behave like red ones: they take colour and tannin from the skin. The result is amber or copper, with real grip — what the world calls orange wine and Georgians simply call white, made the Kakhetian way.
It tastes like neither white nor red. Closer to tea, dried apricot, walnut skin. The first sip usually confuses people. The third one doesn't.
How it differs from European wine
- Nothing in between. No packet yeast, no steel tank, no filtration between the grape and the bottle.
- Sediment is normal. In qvevri wine it happens, and it isn't a fault.
- Different grapes. Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, Kisi, Mtsvane. Georgia has over five hundred native varieties; a few dozen are in commercial use.
- The vintage shows. With this little intervention, you cannot hide the weather.
How to tell it's the real thing
The simple test: ask to see the qvevri. At a family marani they will open one and let you look in. If instead you're shown steel tanks and told it's made the old way, the wine is probably ordinary factory wine. It may still be good — it's just a different thing.
The second sign: the owner knows his own vineyard. He'll tell you the hectares, what the year was like, why this wine differs from last year's. A salesman doesn't talk that way.
What to order first
Start with Saperavi — red, dense, legible to a European palate. Then ask for a qvevri Rkatsiteli. You'll feel the difference immediately, and after that you'll know which direction to go.
How to tell real qvevri wine
Honestly: from the bottle, barely; from the cellar, instantly. If you're shown a marani with round stone lids set into the floor and clay underneath, that's qvevri. If you're shown steel tanks with one decorative clay jar in the courtyard, the wine was almost certainly made the industrial way.
- Colour. Kakhetian white from qvevri is almost never pale straw. Amber, gold, rust.
- Sediment. Slight cloudiness is normal, not a fault. This wine usually isn't filtered clear.
- Tannin in a white. If a white wine grips your mouth like strong tea, that's skin contact. Industrial whites don't do that.
- The label. Look for the word qvevri. Serious producers print it, because it is their main argument.
Grapes worth trying
Saperavi is the main red: dark, dense, with enough acidity to stop it feeling heavy. It's made both in qvevri and in the European style, and the difference is obvious even to a beginner.
Rkatsiteli is the main white, and the one that usually turns amber. Mtsvane is softer and more aromatic, often blended with rkatsiteli. Kisi is rarer and the one many visitors end up liking most: apricot, tea, dried herbs.
What to drink it with
Amber wine is poor at the job whites usually do — delicate fish disappears next to it. It is excellent at the job ordinary wine struggles with: spice, heat, walnut, aged cheese, lamb.
That isn't theory. On a Georgian table amber wine sits beside pkhali, lobio and sulguni, and it becomes clear it was tuned to this food over a few thousand years.
Taking it home
Worth doing, and smarter than buying at the airport. The best small-producer wines are never exported — a few hundred bottles exist and the only way to drink them again is to carry them out yourself.
Allowances depend on where you're flying and change from time to time, so check with your airline before you pack. Wrap bottles in clothes: the road to the airport in Georgia is not always smooth.
FAQ
Is qvevri wine stronger?
No. Same 11–14 per cent. What feels like strength is tannin, not alcohol.
Why don't I get a headache from it?
Usually because there are fewer added sulphites. It does not, however, protect you from the quantity.
Can I buy a qvevri?
You can, they're still made. Burying and maintaining one is a job in itself, and there aren't many makers left.
Come and see it yourself
Small groups, our own driver, wineries we know. Next departures are on the home page.
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