🍷 Shulaveri–Shomu culture

The Shulaveri-Shomu culture was an early farming people of the South Caucasus, in whose jars traces of wine were found. They lived on the territory of present-day Georgia and neighbouring countries about eight thousand years ago. It is one of the oldest farming cultures of the region.

People of this culture lived in villages of round houses built of mud brick. They grew grain, kept livestock and made clay pottery. In the remains of large clay jars, researchers found traces of tartaric acid, a chemical sign of grape wine. This is one of the earliest pieces of evidence of winemaking in the world.

Among the known settlements is Gadachrili Gora. Vessels found there are linked to the tradition of ancient Georgian wine. Since then grape growing in these places has not been interrupted, and today Georgian wine, including wine from qvevri, is considered one of the oldest in the world.

Research continues and details about the culture are refined. So conclusions about the date and meaning of the finds are called approximate.