In Alazani Valley in Meurneoba
district, Kvareli, among the famed Kakheti Region of Georgia – the centre of wine
making – is Winery Khareba’s wine tunnel – the Gvirabi.
Constructed in 1959, the
wine tunnel opened in 1962 as part of the World Wine Congress. It was carved
into the side of the Caucasus mountain range, hence the rock is known as
Caucasus rock. In Soviet times, the wine tunnel held all of Georgia's wine.
There are two parallel
wine tunnels: (1) a tunnel for tourists and wine tours, and (2) the working or
industrial tunnel where the wine is stored. There are also 13 smaller
perpendicular tunnels linking the two long parallel tunnels. In total the
cumulative length of the tunnels is 7.7 kilometres (4.8 miles).
The temperature of the
industrial tunnel is 12-14 degrees Celsius (53-57 Fahrenheit) and the humidity
is 70% all year round.
The wines are aged in
French oak barrels and stored in bottles and steel tanks. About 25 million litres
of wine is currently stored in the wine tunnel of Khareba in the Kakheti Region of Georgia.
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