Wine International, UK
Aug 15 2005

Ancient cellars found in Georgia
15 August 2005

By Richard Ross

Wine cellars containing a working grape press and numerous wine jars
dating from the late Middle Ages have been found in a village in
Southern Georgia.
The artefacts were discovered during work to lay a gas pipeline which
will cross from the Caspian Sea to Eastern Turkey.

The grape press is said to date from the 14th-16th century, and was
used to make Chacha, a local vodka made from grapes. Archaeologists
said the find helped to confirm their existing research into ancient
winemaking techniques.

While the finds are at least five hundred years old, they go nowhere
near the origins of winemaking in the country. Georgia is one of the
oldest winemaking nations in the world, along with neighbouring
Armenia, Turkey and Iran. The ancestors of modern wine grapes (Vitis
Vinifera) grew wild in the countryside, and the winemaking heritage
of the area may go as far back as 3000 BC.

Many of the techniques still used in domestic Georgian winemaking
have remained little changed for centuries. They include the practice
of burying jars full of wine up to their necks in the ground to
moderate temperatures, and to keep the wine relatively fresh.

Work on the pipeline has been halted until the archaeologists have
finished their investigations.