For travelers who are interested in learning all about wine, the Republic of Georgia is the place to go. France may be one of the best-known wine countries, but ancient remains show that Georgians began making wine at least 5,000 years before the French. Last year, scientists found pieces of 8,000-year-old containers that were used to make alcohol.

You can experience that history -- and taste wine – all across the Georgian countryside. Hundreds of kinds of grapes grow in Georgia. Many families open small wineries. They still ferment the grapes in containers like those used thousands of years ago. Georgians call them “qvevri.”

Visitors can even try a glass of unfiltered and golden-colored wine to get an idea of how wine first looked and tasted thousands of years ago. The 11th-century Alaverdi monastery and winery is in eastern Georgia. Every September, Georgians from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds come to Alaverdi. They attend a festival called Alaverdoba. Today, Alaverdoba lasts about a week. But in ancient times, it lasted several weeks. It was a harvest celebration linked to pre-Christian groups.

Father Gerasim, bearded and dressed in a long black robe, said the Alaverdi monks are continuing a tradition passed down through generations.

“I remember when I was about 3 or 4 years old, my grandfather and father took me to the wine cellar every time they went. Wine ties, and tied, the human beings to his community, to his land,” Gerasim said.

Aliqismet BADALOV,
“Khalq qazeti”