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Cultural Ferment

Qvevri Wine: Georgia’s Buried Clay-Jar Winemaking and Amber Wine

By Updated 2 min read

Georgia’s ancient qvevri amber wine tradition — 8,000 years of skin-contact fermentation in buried clay vessels, UNESCO heritage, and a science-backed probiotic profile. Complete home amber wine recipe.

At a glance

Qvevri wine is made in Georgia's large, egg-shaped clay jars: pressed grapes go in with their skins, stalks and pips, and the sealed, buried qvevri ferments the wine for five to six months. White grapes made this way become amber wine, coloured and tannic from skin contact. UNESCO inscribed the method in 2013, and Georgian pottery holds the earliest chemical evidence of grape wine, about 6,000–5,800 BC.

  • A qvevri is an egg-shaped earthenware vessel for making, ageing and storing wine.
  • Juice, skins, stalks and pips ferment in the sealed, buried qvevri for five to six months.
  • White grapes fermented on their skins give amber wine.
  • UNESCO inscribed the qvevri winemaking method in 2013.
  • Earliest chemical evidence of grape wine: Georgia, about 6,000–5,800 BC.

Ferment profile

Origin
Georgia (South Caucasus)
Fermentation
Alcoholic
Main microbes
Wild wine yeasts (mainly Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and, later, malolactic bacteria
Live cultures
Depends on preparation
Alcohol
High (over 6%)

A qvevri (kvevri) is a large, egg-shaped earthenware vessel used in Georgia to make, age and store wine. In the traditional method, grapes are pressed and the juice goes into the qvevri together with the skins, stalks and pips; the vessel is sealed and buried in the ground so the wine can ferment for five to six months before it’s drunk. The knowledge is passed down in families and communities, and in 2013 UNESCO inscribed the ancient Georgian qvevri winemaking method on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO).

Amber Wine

When white grapes are fermented on their skins in this way, the wine takes on colour, tannin and flavour from the skins and turns gold to deep amber – which is why qvevri whites are called amber wine, and why they’re grouped with “orange” (skin-contact) wines made elsewhere. Red wines, such as those from the Saperavi grape, are also made in qvevri (Ieri et al., 2021). The phenolic compounds in Georgian wines depend mainly on the grape variety and the winemaking method (Mittova et al., 2026), so skin contact changes a white wine’s taste and composition substantially; that’s a matter of flavour, not a health claim.

How Old Is It?

Chemical traces absorbed into pottery from early Neolithic sites in Georgia provide the earliest biomolecular evidence of grape wine, dated to about 6,000–5,800 BC. The very large jars, among the earliest pottery in the Near East, probably served for fermenting, ageing and serving – much as qvevri do today (McGovern et al., 2017). That makes Georgia one of the oldest known homes of wine, though it doesn’t prove an unbroken line of practice from then to now.

Making a Small Amber Wine at Home

Few people have a buried clay jar, but the principle – white grapes fermented on their skins – works in a glass jar or food-grade fermenting bucket (recipe card below). Avoid glazed pottery of unknown origin: acidic drinks can leach lead from glazes, as in a case of poisoning from kombucha brewed in a ceramic pot (Phan et al., 1998). Wine is alcoholic, so it isn’t for children, during pregnancy or for anyone avoiding alcohol. For other fruit and fermented drinks, see Asturian sidra natural, Ethiopian tej and Georgia’s fermented milk matsoni.

Recipe: Small-Batch Amber (Skin-Contact White) Wine

Makes
About 3 litres
Hands-on
60 min
Fermentation
About 2–3 weeks on the skins, then several months' settling
Temperature
Cool room temperature, about 18–22°C
Difficulty
Advanced

Equipment

  • Food-grade bucket or large glass jar (10 litres)
  • Clean cloth cover
  • Potato masher or clean hands
  • Straining bag or press
  • Glass demijohn with airlock
  • Siphon tube

Ingredients

  • 5 kg ripe white wine grapes (or sweet table grapes; sound, unwashed or lightly rinsed, mouldy berries removed)

Method

  1. Pick over the grapes and remove any mouldy or damaged berries. Destem most of them (keeping some stems gives more tannin).
  2. Crush the grapes in the bucket so the juice runs, leaving skins and pips in.
  3. Cover with a cloth and leave at 18–22°C. Wild yeasts usually start bubbling within 1–3 days.
  4. Twice a day, push the floating skins back down into the juice with a clean spoon to keep them moist and prevent mould.
  5. When bubbling slows and the wine tastes dry (about 2–3 weeks), strain and press out the liquid into a demijohn and fit an airlock, filling it as close to the top as possible.
  6. Leave somewhere cool and dark for several months, siphoning the wine off its sediment once or twice, then bottle.
  7. Discard the batch if the cap grows fuzzy mould that spreads into the wine or if it turns to vinegar.

Frequently asked questions

What is qvevri wine?

Wine fermented and aged in a qvevri, a large egg-shaped clay vessel buried in the ground, Georgia's traditional method.

What is amber wine?

White wine fermented with its grape skins, which gives it an amber colour, tannin and stronger flavour; Georgian qvevri whites are the classic example.

Is amber wine the same as orange wine?

Broadly, yes: both are skin-contact white wines. 'Amber' is the term used for Georgian qvevri wines.

How long does qvevri wine ferment?

In the traditional method, the sealed, buried qvevri ferments the wine for five to six months before it's drunk.

How old is Georgian winemaking?

Pottery from early Neolithic sites in Georgia holds the earliest chemical evidence of grape wine, about 6,000–5,800 BC.

Is qvevri wine healthier?

Skin contact changes a wine's phenolic compounds, but that's no reason to treat any wine as a health food: it's an alcoholic drink.

Sources

  1. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (2013). Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method. Link
  2. McGovern P et al. (2017). Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 114(48):E10309–E10318. Link
  3. Mittova V et al. (2026). Georgian grapes and wines as a source of phenolic compounds: composition, antioxidant activity, and traditional winemaking. Molecules 31(2):303. Link
  4. Ieri F et al. (2021). Analysis of aroma and polyphenolic compounds in Saperavi red wine vinified in Qvevri. Food Sci Nutr 9(12):6492–6500. Link
  5. Phan TG et al. (1998). Lead poisoning from drinking Kombucha tea brewed in a ceramic pot. Med J Aust 169(11–12):644–646. Link
#Central Asia and the Caucasus
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