wine_making

Kvevri, a ceramic vessel buried in the ground, where wine is made the traditional way. (UNESCO.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s age-old method for making wine is now listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

On its eighth session, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Non-Material Cultural Heritage decided to list Georgia’s traditional method of making wine in a clay vessel called kvevri.

A Georgian delegation chaired by Minister of Culture Guram Odisharia took part in the work of the committee. The delegation included representatives of the Georgian Foreign Ministry, the Georgian Wine Association and the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the nomination was originally prepared by the Georgian Culture Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Commission of Georgia for UNESCO and experts belonging to various other organizations.

The Intergovernmental Committee unanimously supported Georgia’s proposal for nomination, considering it to fully meet all the criteria of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, according to the ministry.