Wine Cellar

Marani is a "house of wine" that has had both economic and ritual significance for centuries. For example, christening or wedding rituals used to take place in the marani (wine cellar). The main components of marani are Qvevris, buried in the ground and satsnakheli (traditional wine press). In the marani, the dedabodzi (‘mother pillar’), fireplace, and altar-shaped arc acquire more decorative-symbolic significance. The Georgian marani was either a separate building or a part of a residential building. At the same time, in eastern Georgia there is a closed marani type due to severe climatic conditions, whereas in western Georgia marani is open, which means that churis (different size wine containers) or Qvevris are buried underground in churistavi - a place in the open air, in front of a semi-open marani, under the shadow of trees. There are various implements in marani related to wine production: orshimo (scoop used to get wine from Qvevri, usually made from a pumpkin), sartskhi (tool to clean Qvevri, usually made from tree barks), samtita (tool to clean Qvevri), krazana (tool to clean Qvevri, made from Hypericum), wooden spade (tool used to clean the Qvevri top from clay before opening it), gideli (plaited small cone-shaped basket for collecting grapes made from stems of willow or similar plant species, wide at the opening and narrow at the bottom), tiki (wineskin – container for wine made from sheep or calf skin), wine filter and more.