Gastro Obscura
Alaverdi Monastery Cellar
Akhmeta, Georgia
Monks in the empyreal Alazani River valley have preserved their 1,000-year-old winemaking tradition.
Nino Ozbetelashvili / CC BY 2.0
A qvevri. Tinatin Giorgadze/Used with permission
Valkovaya Irina/Used with permission
Tinatin Giorgadze/Used with permission
Buried qvevris. Tinatin Giorgadze/Used with permission
Some of the winemaking has been modernized. Tinatin Giorgadze/Used with permission
Qvevris from the 11th century on display. Tinatin Giorgadze/Used with permission
Traditional press for premium grape-stomping. Tinatin Giorgadze/Used with permission
Top Places in Georgia
Vardzia Cave Monastery
Katskhi Pillar
Özlem Shipwreck
A visit to the Alaverdi Monastery, standing tall and solitary amidst the stunning Greater Caucasus Mountains, feels like stepping into paradise. Set against the backdrop of a tidal wave of clouds in an azure Georgian sky, this monastery was founded in the 6th century by an Assyrian monk named Joseph Alaverdeli. The current cathedral—of Georgian Orthodox denomination—was built in the 11th century by King Kvirike, ruler of the Kakheti region.
From a distance, the monastery looks austere, like a fortress. Inside, the sprawling grounds have their own vineyards, growing over a hundred grape varietals; stone steps lead to open courtyards; monumental arches and high ceilings reveal ancient inscriptions and nearly-fading frescoes of the Virgin and holy child.
Most visitors come to Alaverdi less for the divine than the Dionysian. Here, at the monastery's marani, or wine cellar, monks have been making wine the way it's been made in Georgia for over 8,000 years, in giant clay pots buried in the ground, called qvevri.
The monks like to say that the heady fragrance of the wine emanates from these clay pots through the monastery's compound. The original 11th century qvevri, aged and cracking at the mouth, is still on display. At the time, the monastery was making between 2,000 and 4,000 liters of wine annually. It is unclear when wine production at Alaverdi stopped, but after archeological remains of the original qvevris were dug up, the cellar was slowly restored and winemaking began anew in 2006. The five monks working at the marani have produced hundreds of thousands of bottles of wine since.
The traditional wooden press where winemakers crushed grapes with their feet still stands at the marani. It looks a bit like a dugout canoe, and is made from the trunk of an entire tree. The famous Georgian amber-colored wines are made by putting crushed grapes, skin and all, into the qvevri pots, and leaving them to ferment naturally, a process that takes six months. The pots are sealed with fresh clay, then covered with sand and stones, so no moisture gets in. Several brick circles on the polished stone floor of the cellar mark the spots where the qvevris have been buried. When the monks open the qvevri after six months (usually in the spring), the mushy grape sediment has sunk to the bottom. These days, the monastery cellar also makes wines in steel tanks and oak barrels.
The qvevri-made wines are highly tannic, due to contact with the grape skins. They tend to have a nuttiness, with top notes of apricot and peach, and an earthy aroma akin to a hike through a forest. They are bottled with the signature label of the cellar, all of them stating "since 1011," the year the first wines were made. The monks like to say that the ideal timeline of wine enjoyment is to make it when a child is born and drink it when the child gets married.
The monastery organizes daily wine tours, which must be booked in advance.
Private Trip: A Georgian Culinary Adventure
ancient foods cloistered comestibles wine monastery
Rohini Chaki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=losNFIkwVYQ
https://www.euronews.com/2015/06/22/kakheti-georgia-s-cradle-of-wine
https://www.winesgeorgia.com/site/domaine/alaverdi-monastery-marani
http://since1011.com/en/about-us.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b-BWueN9ts
Alaverdi Monastery
Akhmeta
Tbilisi AutoMuseum
Ananuri
Stalin's Underground Printing House
This extensive collection of vintage Soviet cars is the only one of its kind in the Caucasus.
This architecturally eclectic fortress witnessed centuries of bloody turmoil, including the massacre of its ruling clan.
The secret room where early Bolsheviks cranked out propaganda fliers on a smuggled printing press.
Bank of Georgia Building
Unusual building appears to be haphazardly built from randomly piled bricks.
Dharma Realm Guan Yin Sagely Monastery Canteen
Come for the chanting, stay for the monastical vegan buffet.
Nottinghamshire, England
Stew Pond at Newstead Abbey
In this medieval fish bowl, the carp weren't pets.
Plancherine, France
Tamié Abbey
At this monastery, monks make raw-milk cheese and use excess whey to create methane that powers their hot-water system.
Vleteren, Belgium
Stocking up on the world's best beer requires a pilgrimage to a monastery drive-through.
Gastro Obscura Newsletter
Dispatches on the world's most wondrous food and drink, delivered twice a week.