Georgia gifts ancient wine-making qvevri to United Nations

A piece of Georgian culture and tradition is going on show at the United Nations Geneva office to mark the organisation’s 70th anniversary.

In 2013, Georgia’s unique traditional method of fermenting wine in qvevri was registered on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list of United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (UNESCO).

In recognition of being named on the list, Georgia will send a qvevri as an official present to the UN. A qvevri is a large clay Amphora-like vessel that’s traditionally buried in the ground up to its neck, in which wine is fermented and stored in regions of Georgia but especially in Kakheti, east Georgia.

Qvevri wine-making is an ancient Georgian tradition that has been passed down the generations that even today remains widespread around Georgia.

The tradition plays a vital role in everyday life and celebrations and forms an inseparable part of the cultural identity of Georgian communities, with wines frequently evoked in Georgian oral traditions and songs,” published UNESCO on its official website.

Georgia’s Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection said the approval of the qvevri traditional wine-making method to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage would contribute to the popularisation of Georgian wine in the international market.

Next month during the UN’s 70th anniversary the courtyard of the UN Geneva office will feature a large qvevri with an accompanying signboard giving viewers information about its history and purpose. 

UN and Georgian representatives will attend a special ceremony, the date of which has not yet been announced.

Once unveiled the qvevri will permanently reside in the courtyard of the United Nations' Geneva office.

This initiative was led by Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, permanent representatives of Georgia to the UN Geneva office and the Georgian National Wine Agency.

On March 3 Georgia’s Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili attended a meeting in Geneva where she discussed the idea to bring a qvevri to the UN with the agency’s director general Michael Moller.

Learn more about Georgia’s ancient traditional qvevri wine-making method (English subtitles) in a documentary film by Merab Kokochashvili here.