Georgia's wine soul — 8,000 years of Rkatsiteli and qvevri clay jars in the Alazani Valley
Kakheti is the wine region of Georgia and, by extension, one of the oldest wine-producing regions on Earth — archaeological evidence of viticulture here dates back 8,000 years, and Georgia's UNESCO-listed tradition of making wine in buried clay jars (qvevri) continues in nearly every village. The Alazani River valley, framed by the Greater Caucasus mountains to the north and the Gombori range to the south, is dotted with medieval churches, fortified towers, royal summer palaces, and vineyards of Georgian grape varieties — Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, Kakhuri Mtsvane — that exist nowhere else. Telavi…
Kakheti was an independent kingdom from the 8th century until voluntarily joining the Russian Empire in 1801, remaining one of the most culturally distinct regions of the Caucasus. The region was a major target of Persian and Mongol invasions throughout the medieval period — the massacre of 70,000 Kakhetians by Shah Abbas I in 1616 is considered one of the worst atrocities in Georgian history. Kakheti's wine culture survived occupation after occupation; the qvevri tradition was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013. Today Kakheti produces about 70% of all Georgian wi…