Saperavi — Georgia's Ancient Qvevri Red

Georgia's South Caucasus region is considered the birthplace of viticulture — carbonised grape seeds and evidence of wine production dating to 6000 BCE have been found at Gadachrili Gora near Tbilisi. Saperavi has been continuously cultivated for at least 4,000 years. Georgian wine culture, including the Qvevri tradition and the ritual of the supra (feast), was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013.

Saperavi is Georgia's most celebrated red grape variety and one of the world's oldest cultivated vines, with evidence of viticulture in the South Caucasus dating back 8,000 years — the earliest known winemaking in human history. The name Saperavi means 'dye' or 'paint' in Georgian, reflecting the grape's extraordinary pigmentation: unlike most red varieties, Saperavi is teinturier (both skin and flesh are red), producing inky, deeply coloured wines of enormous concentration and age-worthiness. Saperavi is inextricably linked to the Qvevri method of winemaking, in which wine ferments and ages in large egg-shaped clay amphorae buried underground, maintaining a constant temperature. Extended skin contact (amber wine method) is traditional for white varieties, while red Saperavi may undergo 6 months or longer of skin contact in Qvevri, producing wines of extraordinary tannin, complexity, and longevity. UNESCO inscribed Georgia's ancient Qvevri winemaking on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013.

FOOD PAIRING: Saperavi is Georgia's table wine par excellence, designed for the supra feast. From the Provenance 1000 recipes: Mtsvadi (Georgian pork or lamb skewers cooked over vine cuttings — the quintessential pairing), Chakapuli (spring lamb stew with tarragon and tkemali plum sauce), Lobiani (bean-filled bread — Saperavi's tannin bridges the earthiness), Khinkali (Georgian dumplings, especially meat-filled), Slow-Roasted Lamb with Pomegranate.