History and Development of the Culture of Viticulture and Winemaking in Abkhazia from Ancient Times, by Diana Akhba
Abkhaz winemaking facility, 1910.
Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Abkhazia
Proceedings of the Abkhaz State Museum, Issue VIII
Sukhum, 2023, pp. 95–108
Editor-in-Chief: A. I. Dzhopua
Editorial Board: G. D. Gumba, D. R. Tarkil, V. A. Nyushkov, I. T. Tsugba
Diana V. Akhba
Historian, ethnologist, archaeologist, and local historian; Senior Research Fellow at the Abkhaz State Museum.
Translated by AbkhazWorld
Among the agricultural branches of Abkhazia, viticulture has always occupied an important place. The country’s natural conditions, its humid subtropical climate, diverse relief, variation in altitude above sea level, and heterogeneity of soils, have all been conducive to this. The antiquity of the appearance of the grapevine in Abkhazia is attested by extensive archaeological, folkloric-linguistic, and ethnographic material, as well as written sources.
The fact that grapevines have grown on the territory of Abkhazia since the most ancient times is also confirmed by the palaeobotanical data of specialists from the Sukhum Botanical Garden, Prof. A. A. Kolakovsky (1958) and L. P. Rukhadze (1964). During excavations near the River Duab (Дәаб – a tributary of the Mokva), Kolakovsky and other scholars discovered seeds of wild and other species of grapevines belonging to the Tertiary period (no earlier than 3 million years ago).[1]
In 1964, Rukhadze and other researchers, studying the remains of buried peat collected by the archaeologist Solovyev on the territory of Sukhum, identified seeds of cultivated grapevine and forest grapevine, which date to the 3rd–5th millennia BCE[2] (Fig. 1).
(Fig. 1).1, 2. Seed from both sides / 3, 4. Seed from both sides.
V. Vasiliev, in his work Wild Fruit and Tree Species of Abkhazia, wrote about the existence of wild grape varieties. He cites the wild grape аԥыс-жьы (apys-zhy), i.e., “bird grape”, whose berries are very small and sweet, with a thick skin and only a modest amount of pulp. Another wild grape variety mentioned by Vasiliev is аԥҳәҳәжьы (apkhʷʼghʷ-zhy), i.e., “pigeon grape”. Its berries are small and sweet, with comparatively firm skin and little pulp.[3]
Folkloric sources also attribute the appearance of the grapevine on Abkhaz territory to deep antiquity, linking it with the legendary Nart epic. According to the tale, a dispute among the Narts over who should possess the grapevine and the enormous communal wine-jar became one of the reasons for discord and the dissolution of the Nart brotherhood.
Sasrykua, one of the mighty Narts, grew angry during the quarrel and hurled the great jar over the mountain ridge into Abkhazia. The “Great Jar”, Ҩаӡамакьаҭ (yʷaazamakhyat), shattered upon striking the ground, and the grape seeds that had settled at its bottom scattered across the land of the Abkhaz. From these seeds grew grapevines that the Abkhaz came to call “Nart vines”. Thus viticulture began to flourish in Abkhazia.
According to another legend, the finest wine in the world was said to be that produced from Nart vines. The grapevine was regarded by the Abkhaz as a sacred plant. For example, as noted by E. M. Shilling in The Abkhaz, in cases of stomach ailments, people seeking a quick recovery appealed to the deity responsible for such illnesses and made a vow to offer a sacrifice upon recovery. A wreath woven from grapevine was included in the pledge guaranteeing fulfilment of the vow; this wreath was carried three times around the patient’s head and then hidden in the wine cellar.
Analogous material on the use of grapevine as a votive object was recorded by L. Kh. Akaba in Abzhywa (Abzhuy) Abkhazia in the Shamba clan. In cases of severe headache, a family ritual was to be performed. Before this, the head of the household would give a pledge, accompanied by the twisting of a white-grape vine. After making the vow, the coiled vine was hung on the inner wall of the house. When circumstances permitted, a sacrificial offering was then made.[4]
Member of the Caucasian Society I. Klingen referred to the grapevine as the “king of climbing plants”, distinguished by its strength, thickness, and longevity. Authors of ancient sources mentioned the export of wine from various regions of the Black Sea coast, including Abkhazia.
Many nineteenth-century writers described viticulture and winemaking among the Abkhaz. In the early nineteenth century, S. Bronevsky noted that in “southern Abkhazia they also make grape wine”.[5]
In 1829, G. Navitsky wrote of the Ubykhs and Abkhaz: the quantity of grapevine grown by these peoples was so abundant “that they never manage to gather it all”, and the wine they produced was “of good taste”.[6]
In the 1830s, Frédéric Dubois observed the same: that the Abkhaz produced wine “of good taste”. Around the same time, Tornau wrote of viticulture in Abkhazia, stating that from the plentiful vines “a very decent wine is obtained”.
Albov, in his work The State of Horticulture in Abkhazia, remarked that “Abkhazia was famous for its wines… Even now, in some villages (Aatsy, Duripsh, Achandara) excellent wines with a strong bouquet are produced, mainly from the following grape varieties (I give the local names): амлаху (amlakhu), a pink grape with elongated berries, amber-coloured on one side and slightly darker on the other; качич (kachich), a dark red variety with oval-round berries; and ауасархуажь (auasarkhuaʒ), a white variety with round berries”.[7]
Efremov provides the following description of Abkhaz grape varieties and methods of cultivation:
“As can still be observed in the villages of Abkhazia today, the grapevine was allowed to climb tall trees and required almost no maintenance, only occasionally were very long shoots shortened and dead wood removed. Otherwise, the vine was left entirely to divine providence. From vines trained up trees one almost always obtained a rich harvest, and the wines produced from local varieties were of excellent quality.”[12]
These remarks confirm the antiquity of viticulture and, consequently, of winemaking and wine consumption among the Abkhazians.
Significant archaeological discoveries further attest to the ancient culture of viticulture in Abkhazia.
In the collections of the Hermitage Museum are preserved a bronze rhyton and a figurine of a wine-drinker from the Bombora glade in the Gudauta District of Abkhazia. Archaeologists attribute these artefacts to the Early Iron Age, the end of the 1st millennium BCE.
The horn from which the naked man drinks, seated on a peculiar chair, appears to have a direct genetic link to an enduring Abkhaz tradition, the honourable custom of drinking wine from a horn, аԥарахь (ap’arakh).[8]
In the Late Bronze Age, the Abkhaz used small pitchers, pithos-type vessels, various handled cups, and goblets as wine containers. During religious festivals and rituals, specialised ceremonial vessels may also have been used.
Excavations conducted on the territory of the fortress of Dioscurias–Sebastopolis (Sukhum) uncovered, at a depth of 3.5 metres, numerous fragments of amphorae and wine cups.
In the same archaeological layer were found grape pips, which, according to Prof. Ramishvili’s identification, belong to the ancient Abkhaz grape variety качич (kachich), dating to the 3rd–2nd centuries BCE.
At the Bagrati Castle, the Anakopia Fortress, and near the Kelasur Wall, archaeologists discovered pithoi used for wine storage dating to the 6th–12th centuries CE. Numerous fragments of pitchers and pithoi from the 5th–4th centuries BCE were also found on the Sukhum Hill. The amphorae discovered there confirm that 2,500–2,600 years ago wine jars were already being used in the manner of pithoi.
The collections of the Abkhaz State Museum contain, and its exhibitions display, archaeological finds testifying to the antiquity of viticulture and winemaking among the Abkhaz. These include diverse ceramic vessels such as amphorae, pithoi, handled jugs, and goblets, as well as bronze objects, ritual containers, and other artefacts.
From the 1st to the 10th centuries CE, agriculture in Abkhazia was highly developed, as evidenced by the large quantity of storage vessels found in Pitsunda, Sukhum, Tsebelda, and Dranda. Vineyard knives, tsaldy (specialised pruning tools), and other agricultural implements attest to the existence of viticulture and winemaking among the Abkhaz.
Since ancient times, vineyards have occupied the central part of an Abkhaz homestead. Some Abkhaz families deliberately cultivated fenced groves of alder or other orchard trees on their plots for use as vineyard supports, known as ақәаҵа (aʔaʔts’a). Grape seedlings were also planted at trees scattered irregularly throughout the homestead, and often beyond its boundaries. Herders and hunters frequently encountered grapevines growing freely in the forests, twining themselves around tall trees.
Grapes that ripened high up in the trees generally possessed superior flavour and an exceptional aroma, for at such heights there is practically no shade and abundant access to sunlight, resulting in more efficient ripening. Long before the onset of spring, or, as the Abkhaz say, before “the trunk and branches of the vine fill with moisture”, аӡахәа аӡы алалаанӡа (azgoakha aʒy alalaantsa), dry and superfluous branches were removed using a special vineyard knife and tsalda. At the same time, the roots of the vine were fertilised with manure. The grape harvest usually takes place in October–November, and sometimes even in December.
The Abkhaz believe that the best wines are made from grapes harvested after the onset of cold weather, when the first snow has fallen.
I. Klingen wrote:
“It is not uncommon for the best grape varieties to ripen in January. At times snow sparkles below, while above, bunches continue to mature thanks to the dry, warm, sunny autumn characteristic of the foothills here.”[9]
Before beginning the grape harvest, the Abkhaz performed a ritual of praying to the tree, аҵла-ныҳәа (atsla-nykhua), literally “petitioning the tree”, in order to protect the picker from falling. Boys and men who were to begin harvesting were led to the tree, where prayers were addressed to the tree’s spirit so that it would shield them from harm. During this ritual, the person for whom protection was sought placed one foot against the tree. The prayer was usually performed by the young man’s mother or grandmother.
In her prayer, the woman would ask the spirit of the tree:
“If he grasps a dry branch, may it become strong,”
and similar supplications.[10]
The grape-picker plucks the bunches and lays them into a conical basket with a pointed bottom, амҵышә (amǯyshə), woven from the twigs of hazel or other hard woods. Attached to the handle is a hook enabling the basket to be hung from a branch; there is also a long rope by which the basket is lowered and raised. Below, another person receives the basket and transfers the grapes into a larger cylindrical basket woven from the same materials — акалаҭ (akalat).
The collected grapes are then transported to a specialised room containing the necessary equipment for winemaking. Inside this space, the pressing of grape juice begins.
Several stages can be traced in the development of grape-pressing techniques among the Abkhaz. One of the ancient methods, dating to the 11th–12th centuries, was discovered and described in 1975 by the renowned Abkhaz archaeologist M. M. Trapsh.
Trapsh writes:
“At the south-western end of the Bedia Plateau, near the plot of Kh. Tsaava, to the left of the path leading from the Patrakhuz road to the Bedia Church, in the outcrops of soft sandy rock near the western cliff, a wine press carved into the rock has been found.
The internal dimensions of the press are 5.84 × 1.35 m; depth at the eastern edge 1.08 m, in the centre 0.52 m, at the drainage point 0.2 m.
Along the entire bottom, down the middle, a channel has been hewn, 15 cm wide and up to 5 cm deep (near the edge), ending in a nipple-shaped spout protruding 6 cm.
Below the spout, at a distance of 50 cm, lies a flat stone slab.
Five metres further west, in the cliff, there is a recess shaped like a chamber, evidently for storing wine, on the floor of which pottery fragments from a pithos were found 5 m from the spout.
The trough of the press was coated inside with lime mixed with crushed brick.
To the south of the press is a neatly hewn escarpment running eastward, along which a road evidently once passed.
Scattered everywhere are pottery fragments, including a sherd with yellow glaze.”[11]
(Fig. 11).
(Fig. 11).
+ History of Winemaking in Abkhazia
+ Wine & Spirits of Abkhazia
A description of another ancient method of extracting grape juice, one that survived into the second half of the nineteenth century, is given by F. F. Tornau in his 1864 memoirs:
“From the grapevines growing in such abundance on these trees, a very decent wine is obtained, produced in the most primitive fashion.
The inhabitants dig a pit in the ground, line it with clay, and then fire it as needed by burning wood inside it. Having trampled the grapes with their feet in this pit, they ladle out the wine once the juice has fermented, storing it in clay pitchers buried in the earth.”[12]
The French writer Jean Carol, literary pseudonym of Gabriel Laffaille, visited the Caucasus in 1894 and left vivid recollections of Abkhazia. He wrote:
“…In this land, where, according to biblical tradition, the first grapevine was planted, they have preserved the ancient custom of storing wine in clay vessels completely buried in the earth, keeping the drink cool. These vessels taper to a point and have two handles, strongly resembling ancient amphorae.
Abkhaz women with amphorae look like figures from classical bas-reliefs.
Servants arrange the jars before the wine cellar. The wine will be poured only at the last moment, so that it remains cool.
In the middle of the courtyard, tables are set around an ancient press.
According to the master of the house, this press has just crushed its hundredth harvest.
I admire its venerable construction, a masterpiece of naïve mechanics, and attempt to sketch it. Unfortunately, I cannot describe it fully, lacking the technical terminology of carpentry. But I shall try, and experts must forgive me!
So: a cubic trough is attached to the dry trunk of a tree, resting on a foundation formed by an outgrowth of that same trunk. Here the juice, pressed from the grapes, is collected. A wooden beam, serving as the connecting rod, emerges from an aperture in the trunk, passes over the trough, and meets its second support, a forked post holding it horizontally. During the operation of the press, the end of the beam is inserted into the opening of a long, perfectly cylindrical screw mounted perpendicularly.
By being turned alternately one way and the other, the screw sets the connecting rod in motion, and inside the trough, one may suppose, the piston itself is suspended. Such simple mechanisms can serve for centuries!
But the most remarkable element of this device is how it is driven. The lower end of the turning screw rests in a woven basket filled with stones.
Three pairs of hands are sufficient: grasping the edges of the basket, they turn the axis of the screw, and behold the miracle! The press begins to work!
I have seen many drawings of ancient presses in painting galleries, but none of them possessed so archaic a mechanism as this one. The Abkhaz model must date back to the age of Noah, for viticulture here has advanced not at all since the time of the biblical patriarch.
As in deep antiquity, the grapevine in Abkhazia grows freely, entwining the trunks of elms and oaks, striving to hang its best clusters at the very top of these mighty trees. Harvesting grapes thus resembles a form of aerial acrobatics.
In the Tiflis Museum one can see an exhibit listed as an ‘Abkhaz basket for gathering grapes’; it is centuries old. Yet modern baskets are exactly the same.
They are conical in form and are manoeuvred using a rope by which they are hoisted up empty and lowered down full, moving between the picker sitting in the tree and the women below…”[12]
Subsequently, for the same purpose (pressing grape juice), a massive trough carved from the trunk of a giant linden tree was used. In a later period, a press with a screw mechanism appeared, operated by manual rotation. By the second half of the nineteenth century, scholars had recorded more than 60 varieties of Abkhaz grapevine.
However, during the period of Ottoman domination and muhajirism, the forced resettlement of Abkhaz people to the Ottoman Empire, many vineyards were abandoned, and viticulture in Abkhazia fell into decline. In later years, the abandoned vineyards were used by new settlers, who referred to them as “a gift from God”.
Pushkarev described the vineyards of Abkhazia in 1852 in the following terms:
“Neither in Crimea, where grape cultivation under the supervision and efforts of the regional authorities has already adopted a European system of processing,
nor in Georgia, where under the same administration it has only recently begun to emerge from neglect, is there anything comparable to the vineyards of Abkhazia.
Here, on soil that is, one may say, entirely unworked, virginal, yet extraordinarily fertile, containing all the conditions needed for the excellent growth of grapevines, each vine is usually situated beside some ancient tree.
Like a delicate child by a beloved mother, the grapevine winds itself around it, confidently extending its branches to the very top of its sturdy support and adorning them each autumn with heavy clusters.
There are many centuries-old vines whose tops rise three sazhens or more above the ground and whose branches spread three sazhens or more in diameter.
According to knowledgeable persons, such vines yield not less than 50 poods of excellent grapes annually.”[13]
(Note: 1 sazhén ≈ 2.13 m;
1 pood ≈ 16.38 kg.)
The Abkhaz have treated both the grapevine and wine with profound reverence, expressed in their use during religious rites and supplications. Wine was regarded as a substance possessing sanctifying power, capable of blessing offerings and appeasing deities or clan protectors. Even today, wine remains an indispensable element of most sacrificial rituals.
Nearly every peasant maintained several untouchable pitchers of wine buried in the ground (a practice still preserved today), intended for the annual rituals at sacred sites such as Дыдрыпшь-ныха (Dydrypsh-nykha), Илыр-ныха (Ilyr-nykha), Инал-Куба (Inal-Kuba), Лдзаа-ныха (Ldzaa-nykha), and others.
Wine is still used in rituals such as Ацуԥсыня (Atsutsnyа), Адәныҟа (Adanyk’a), Ажьырныҳәа (Azhyrnykhua), Хахь иҟоу (Khakh’ iua) and various other forms of supplication.
Wine was also used in a ritual dedicated to the completion of a house, for the prosperity and wellbeing of the family in their new dwelling. This rite was performed in honour of the Mistress of the Earth, a protective female deity.
At the conclusion of any ritual invocation, the officiant breaks off small pieces of the ritual pie and of the heart and liver of the sacrificial animal, pronouncing:
“I shall gather all the Achba and Chachba, and until I have fed them all with this food and given them a sip of wine, may no illness and no misfortune befall any member of this household.”
A few drops of wine are then poured over the pieces of pie, heart, and liver, which are placed in the designated sacred spot. The officiant then eats a small amount himself and drinks wine, followed by all others present in order of seniority.
Wine was also one of the most important goods in Abkhaz commerce.
The Abkhaz are renowned for their hospitality, and the obligatory first toast is:
Анцәа, улԥха ҳаҭ!
“O Most High, grant us divine favour!”
All present rise for this toast.
The second toast is offered to the higher powers that protect the sacred land of Apsny, safeguarding and blessing it. In villages with sacred sites or shrines, this toast is offered in honour of these sanctuaries; again, everyone stands.
The third toast, and sometimes the second, is:
“For all the peoples of the world.”
Footnotes
[1] A. A. Kolakovsky, The Pliocene Flora of the Duab. Proceedings of the Sukhum Botanical Garden, Issue IX, Sukhum, 1956.
[2] L. P. Rukhadze and B. L. Solovyev, Holocene Flora of the Buried Peat Bog of Sukhum. Proceedings of the Sukhum Botanical Garden, Issue XV. Published by “Metsniereba”, Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR. Sukhum, 1964, Table III, Figs. 4–5; Table III, Figs. 7–8.
[3] A. V. Vasiliev, Wild Fruit and Tree Species of Abkhazia. Sukhum: Institute of the History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1938, pp. 135–137.
[4] L. Kh. Akaba, Historical Roots of Archaic Abkhaz Rituals. Sukhum: “Alashara”, 1984, pp. 65–66.
[5] S. Bronevsky, Newest Geographical and Historical Accounts of the Caucasus. Moscow, 1823, Part 1, p. 326.
[6] G. Navitsky, Geographical and Statistical Survey of the Land Inhabited by the “Adykhe” People. Tiflis Gazette (Тифлисские ведомости), 1829, No. 24.
[7] N. Albov, The State of Horticulture in Abkhazia. Odessa, 1892, pp. 18–19.
[8] A. L. Lukin, Archaeology of Bzyb Abkhazia, p. 71.
[9] I. Klingen, On the Restoration of Vineyards on the Eastern Shore of the Black Sea. Kavkazskoe Sel’skoe Khozyaystvo (КСХ), 1894, No. 7.
[10] Field material, village of Achandara, collected by F. Tsargush, 2001.
[11] M. M. Trapsh, Works, Vol. 4: Materials on Medieval Abkhazia. Sukhum: “Alashara”, 1975, pp. 193–194.
[12] F. F. Tornau, Memoirs of a Caucasian Officer. Moscow, 1864, Part 1, p. 37.
[13] S. Pushkarev, On Vineyards and Winemaking in Abkhazia. Newspaper Kavkaz, 1852, No. 27.
Bibliography
- Kolakovsky, A. A. The Pliocene Flora of the Duab. Proceedings of the Sukhum Botanical Garden, Issue IX. Sukhum, 1956.
- Rukhadze, L. P., and Solovyev, B. L. Holocene Flora of the Buried Peat Bog of Sukhum. Table III, Figs. 4–5, 7–8. Proceedings of the Sukhum Botanical Garden, Issue XV. Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1964.
- Vasiliev, A. V. Wild Fruit and Tree Species of Abkhazia. Sukhum, 1938. Institute of History, Archaeology, and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, pp. 135–137.
Akaba, L. Kh. Historical Roots of Archaic Abkhaz Rituals. Sukhum: Alashara, 1984, pp. 65–66. - Bronevsky, S. Newest Geographical and Historical Accounts of the Caucasus. Moscow, 1823, Part 1, p. 326.
- Navitsky, G. Geographical and Statistical Survey of the Land Inhabited by the “Adykhe” People. Tiflis Gazette (Тифлисские ведомости), 1829, No. 24.
- Albov, N. The State of Horticulture in Abkhazia. Odessa, 1892, pp. 18–19.
- Lukin, A. L. Archaeology of Bzyb Abkhazia, p. 71.
- Klingen, I. On the Restoration of Vineyards on the Eastern Shore of the Black Sea. Kavkazskoe Sel’skoe Khozyaystvo (КСХ), 1894, No. 7.
- Field material, village of Achandara, collected by F. Tsargush, 2001.
- Trapsh, M. M. Works. Vol. 4: Materials on Medieval Abkhazia. Sukhum: Alashara, 1975, pp. 193–194.
- Tornau, F. F. Memoirs of a Caucasian Officer. Moscow, 1864, Part 1, p. 37.
- Jean Carol (Gabriel Laffaille). Russian Colonisation: Two Paths. Trans. Marina Spasenova. Izdatel’skie Resheniya, 2022, pp. 213–218.
- Pushkarev, S. On Vineyards and Winemaking in Abkhazia. Kavkaz newspaper, 1852, No. 27.