Georgia’s Foreign Ministry to Gift Qvevri to UN Geneva Office

TBILISI - The United Nations (UN) Geneva Office soon will have traditional Georgian wine making pottery known as Qvevri to decorate its interior.

Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Georgian Wine Agency has decided to gift the UN Geneva office with an egg-shaped vessel used for wine making in Georgia, as a symbol to mark United Nations 70th anniversary and Georgia’s traditional winemaking method being listed in the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list.

The MFA today released a statement, where it highlighted that the pitcher and a relevant information signboard will be placed in the inner courtyard of the Geneva UN Office in September.

This issue was discussed during  Georgia's former Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili’s visit to the UN when she met with the Head of the UN Office in Geneva Michael Moller, on March 3, 2015.

A Qvevri is a large clay amphora-like vessel, that is traditionally buried in the ground up to its neck, and in which wine is fermented and stored. During the fermentation process, which occurs naturally without the addition of nutrients, the Qvevri is sealed with a ceramic lid and then buried in soil. The wine is left to mature for up to six months before the Qvevri is opened and the unfiltered but clear wine is ready to be bottled.

Tamar Svanidze