Georgia: Wine in Clay Pots and Songs That Have Been Sung for a Thousand Years
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Georgia may be the oldest wine-producing region on earth. Archaeological evidence of winemaking in the South Caucasus dates to 6000 BC — eight thousand years ago. Georgian wine is made in qvevri — large clay vessels buried in the ground to the rim — using a method where the grape skins, seeds, and stems remain in contact with the fermenting juice for months, producing amber-coloured wines with a texture and complexity quite unlike anything produced in European winemaking traditions. This ancient method is recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Georgian polyphonic singing is one of the world's great choral traditions. Three independent melodic lines, performed a cappella, produce harmonies that are not found in Western music theory — intervals and resolutions that sound ancient because they are, developed over centuries in mountain villages cut off from the mainstream of European musical development. Georgian choirs perform these songs with an ease that suggests the harmonies are as natural as breathing. The tradition is taught from childhood.
The Georgian script is one of only fourteen alphabets in the world with its own unique letterforms — not derived from any other writing system. It has been in use since at least the 5th century AD and is instantly recognisable, its curving, rounded characters unlike anything else in existence. Georgians take considerable pride in their script — a language is a people, and a script is a people's way of writing their own name.
