Bolnisi – The Homeland of Wine Tradition
Bolnisi Municipality is an integral part of historical Kvemo Kartli. It is located 58 kilometers south of Tbilisi, in the Mashavera River valley, at an altitude of 650 meters above sea level. To the east, it is bordered by Marneuli Municipality, to the west – Dmanisi Municipality, to the north – Tetritskaro Municipality, and to the south – Armenia. The area of the municipality is 739.7 square kilometers. Approximately 83% of its territory is located at an altitude favorable for agricultural activity, up to 1000 meters above sea level.
Winemaking in Qvevri
Winemaking in Qvevri began in Georgia 8,000 years ago, and this ancient practice has been preserved for centuries. In 2013, UNESCO recognized the Georgian traditional method of winemaking in Qvevri as a monument of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which emphasizes the peerless uniqueness of this winemaking technique and represents global confirmation of the integral role of wine in ancient Georgian culture. The world scientific community has unanimously recognized that the oldest traces of winemaking are fixed precisely on the territory of Georgia. This recognition is confirmed by ancient archaeological material and archaeobotanical data related to vine and wine culture.
Continuous Tradition
Archaeological and paleobotanical data related to viticulture and winemaking in the region of Georgia (from the Neolithic era through the Middle Ages to the present day) confirm a continuous tradition of wine production. With historical documents backed by scientific evidence, it can be said with certainty that Georgia, including Kvemo Kartli, has a continuous 8,000-year history related to wine culture.
Domestication of the Vine
Georgia is the first country where humans domesticated the wild vine and turned it into a cultivar during the Neolithic era. We are talking about the oldest traces of the cultivated vine, which dates back to the VI-V millennia BC. These discoveries were found in Kvemo Kartli (specifically, in Bolnisi and Marneuli) at archaeological sites such as: Arukhlo Gora, Gadachrili Gora, Shulaveri Gora, Khramis Didi Gora, and others.