Georgia is the olest wine producing region of Europe, if not the world. Because of this, it is often referred to as "The birth place of wine" or "The cradle of wine making". The fertile valleys of the South Caucasus, which Georgia straddles, are believed by many archaeologists to be the source of the world's first cultivated grapevines and neolithic wine production, over 7000 years ago. Many also believe that the etymology of the word wine comes from the Georgian word for wine - gvino. Due to the many millennia of wine in Georgian history, the traditions of its viticulture are entwined and inseparable with the country's national identity.