8,000 Years in Clay: Georgia, the Qvevri, and the Archaeology of Orange Wine

Wine is 8,000 years old. We know this because in 2017, archaeochemist Patrick McGovern identified tartaric acid — the chemical fingerprint of fermented grape — in pottery fragments from Neolithic villages in the Republic of Georgia. The vessels dated to 6000 BC. The people who made them decorated the clay with images of themselves dancing under grapevines.This episode traces the history of wine's oldest known origin, the vessel that made it possible — the qvevri, a clay amphora buried in the earth — and the science of what happens when white wine spends six months in contact with its skins. Orange wine is not a trend. It is archaeology. Georgia never stopped making it. The West is only now catching up.Full show notes, research sources, and transcript at thealchemistsbar.com.Distillate: The Hidden History of Cocktails, Spirits & Drink Culture is a production of The Alchemist's Bar, part of the Obscura Meridian family of projects. New episodes every Tuesday at 6:00 AM Central.Full show notes, research sources, and transcript at thealchemistsbar.com.Follow The Alchemist's Bar on Instagram @the_alchemists_bar. Subscribe to the Alchemist's Ledger — the monthly newsletter where the research that didn't fit in the episode lives — at thealchemistsbar.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.