Qvevri

Old bush vines (60 – 100-year-old) of organically grown Nerello Mascalese were hand harvested from vineyards located at high (800-950 metres altitude) on the northern face of Mt Etna, Sicily. Small quantities of Nerello Cappuccio and Alicante (Grenache) were present in the field blend. The grapes were destemmed by hand into several Georgian qvevris ranging from 1500 litres to 800 litres which have been buried underground in our cellar near Solicchiata.
These qvevri were handmade by Zaliko Bozhadze, near the village of Maqatubani, in Imereti, two hours west of Tbilsi, Georgia. The clay has been carefully sourced high in the Causcasus Mountains. Fermentation was conducted by indigenous yeasts. Upon completion the qvevris were sealed and the grapes and new wine were left to macerate for an extended period (2-4 months). After the maceration period, the new wine and its pressings were blended and returned to a single qvevri until bottling in September 2017. The wine was not fined or filtered and saw no SO2 additions.