Wine tradition of Georgia

Georgia is the homeland of wine - says a greater part of the world's competent experts. Archeologists and historians possess a number of material evidences including 7000 years old grape stones and many more very antique vessels, also survive remarks of a number of foreign chroniclers and travelers. The cult of grapevine and wine is the very part of every true Georgian's flesh and bone - from spiritual and religious life to the living's everyday trivia we can come across it. In the first part of the IV century of our era St. Nino arrived into the limits of Georgia with an upheld cross made of intertwined grapevine arbor, with it bringing the light of Christianity, the religion of Georgians, over to Georgia. The Georgians believe that our homeland had been predestined to the Holy Theotokos and the Virgin Lady being the object of our worship is even likened to a grapevine and a vineyard in a church hymn - so much the same in youth, so much the same in kindness, "…planted within the Garden of Eden…", so much the same in purity. "It is like chrism…" - they say …and take this truly divine drink whether in distress or jollity, when dining or at holidays. In Georgia whatever place wine is served there a toast is voiced as well, with human hearts being outpoured, there words and deep thoughts reign, there it is the most ancient, unblemished and loved tradition.

In Georgia wine and its cult set off their traditional way that in its beginning is plunged in bygone days of oblivion - one section of it as far back as the oldest and cryptic paganism (Aguna and Nunua - the predecessor gods to Dionysus and Bacchus). Homer and Strabo remarked about the Georgians: "They sing, rock, regale, nobody can venture upon offending them." When hearing the songs that survive from those times and when surveying the vessels obtained from ancient layers, one can realize the culture at that time undergoing the process of formation as being tough and unique. And indeed, already as early as X-XI cc. the apprentices of one of the greatest centers of learning of those times - the Gelati Academy - were commanding the technicalities of wine production, there survive spacious maranies (location for storing wine in special pitchers) dated from then that have hitherto kept for the ever changing generations the secrets of Georgian wine culture… Of roughly 500 unique kinds of grapes they could produce a number of perfect wines, the Georgians know very well how to match a wine with a dish, which wine to serve to better fit the number of invited guests or the nature of celebration.

Who has ever caught a glimpse of a laborer working in a vineyard may know what titanic work the grapevine requires. There are about 500 kinds of grapevine in Georgia and all of them should be cared for. The Georgian had never turned away from the vine he used to bring up like his own child, had never been reluctant to vivify or again cultivate it when it was devastated by the conquerors, even though the enemy would at first always try to ravage what was most precious and dear. There were conquerors that were cleverer, for instance the Assyrians invading the Georgian lands in the IX century B.C. were delighted with the Georgian wine and demanded it as a tribute. The fame of our wine is well known even among distant nations - the fact that the words denoting wine and grapevine sorts in many vernaculars are of Georgian origin is of big significance for one.

Of particular importance is the Georgian table too, where one may come upon everything so typical to one's country, town or the bosom of one's family that is a bit of tyranny (sometimes), a bit of love, a bit of sway and even anarchy (sometimes as well), homage, poetry, disobedience and punishment, competition and complaisance, grieve and glee and by all means the Georgian wine. The wine that has almost unchangeably survived to this very day and along with the art of singing and folklore has preserved a unique polish and subtlety to the Georgian culture.

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Classical tour of Georgia

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