Archaeologists in the Trialeti region of Georgia have discovered subterranean clay vats containing residue of wild-berry wine mixed with mountain herbs. Unlike traditional vineyard-based viticulture, this find suggests a 3,500-year-old tradition of forest-foraging festivals held specifically during the first spring thaw. The vats were decorated with relief carvings of dancing figures holding hands around a central fire.
This 'Spring-Thaw' celebration likely involved the ritual consumption of fermented forest fruits to welcome the budding of new life. The research team notes that the specific combination of elderberry and hawthorn found in the residue is still used in local folk medicine today, suggesting a remarkably resilient cultural heritage of ritual beverage preparation in the Caucasus.