TASTE GEORGIAN HISTORY
QVEVRI WINE-MAKING PROCESS
The main value of the "39 Qvevri" cellar is traditional Georgian wine, created from local grape varieties and aged in an old traditional way - in qvevri.
It all starts with crushing grapes in the wine press without damaging their pips and stalks and pouring the grape must into spotlessly clean qvevri. Once the grapes have been pressed, all or part of the marc and stalks are added to the grape must in the qvevri. This is sometimes done the day after the grapes were pressed, which ensures the marc's oxidation fermentation and, later, the development of intense notes of dry fruit in the wine. During the process of fermentation grape must in the qvevri are stirred four times a day; this stirring is important for an even, long and healthy fermentation, which normally takes 10-14 days or sometimes longer.
Once the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the qvevri are filled to the brim and closed without being hermetically sealed in order to enable the fermentation gases to escape. The processes of alcoholic and malolactic fermentation often combine with each other, and the wine-maker only has to wait for both to be complete. Once the emission of carbon dioxide has come to an end and the pips and stalks have sunk to the bottom, the qvevri are hermetically sealed and left until the following March. In March and at the beginning of April, the first wine is decanted into another qvevri - first the "head" wine, and then the remaining wine which was left with the marc.
The marc and stalks have a special function in the process of wine making. Together, the ripe stalks and pips give the wine many healthy features, and it is very important to enrich the wine with the various substances contained in the sediment. Leaving the wine in contact with the marc for longer is, however, not recommended. Once the wine has been decanted into another qvevri, it is left to age for a year. During that time, the qvevri are checked once a month, and are topped up if necessary.
Qvevri playing an important role during fermentation as well as during the wine's first six months of ageing in contact with the marc and sediment, qvevri also serve as the perfect vessel in which to later keep the wine. The main advantage of using qvevri, clay vessels buried under the floor of an underground wine cellar is their ability to maintain the wine at a near constant temperature throughout winter and summer. The porosity of the qvevri's walls presumably allows a small amount of oxygen to penetrate the underground vessel, which has a beneficial effect upon the wine's ageing process. The qvevri's conical shape as well as the length of time the wine is left to age in contact with the grape pips, stalks and marc (around 6 months) not only protect the wine from the ill effects of these three elements, hut actually enable it to benefit from their presence. The grape pips, stalks and marc sink to the bottom and remain covered by sediment and wine for several months. This results in the delicious, good-tempered wine rich in tannins, with a high potential for ageing, and characterized by amber or flame-red colour and by hints of walnut, French Marigold and dried apple.
