Hvino News | Georgian Wine News

01.04.2014. (Hvino News) Last year the Georgian method of wine making in qvevri (giant clay jars) was given the status of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. It has become one of the factors of extraordinary growth of popularity of the method of qvevri wine production worldwide. Chinese manufacturers took advantage of increased demand for qvevri jars - now almost all the major online sellers offer qvevri made according to Georgian designs.

American and British qvevri enthusiasts examined the China-manufactured jars whether they could affect the quality of wine produced. It turned out that in order to reduce mailing costs, Chinese manufacturers were minimizing the weight of their products. Experts have found that in some cases the jars consisted not of natural clay but of composite materials. "It's almost plastic. We do not know how it will behave in a year's time", said Bysshe Shelley of British Union of Organic Winemaking to a BBC correspondent.

Note that buried qvevris are extremely hard to get back for a replacement, since after immersing in an earthen pit they are strengthened by coating with a thick layer of cement (10-25 cm) or lime mixed with fragments of sandstone and gravel. Meanwhile, the safety of wine from "plastic qvevri" produced in the south of Scotland has already attracted attention of UK food safety regulator.

© Hvino News | ■DRINK GEORGIAN!

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01.04.2014. (Hvino News) Hvino.com, Georgia’s business news and information portal specializing in wine industry and tourism, has recently started the first online Georgian Wine Catalogue at http://cat.hvino.com. Georgian Wine Catalogue is a buying guide targeted at international audience interested in Georgian products, which provides independent rating of Georgian wines.

Currently the Catalogue lists all the Georgian wines, which either have won gold medals at the world’s largest international contests, or have been rated by leading international wine rating institutions.

Since February 1 the Georgian Wine Catalogue has been open for winemakers, who started to submit their products to the database. Leading wine producers Chateau Mukhrani, Georgian Wine and Spirits (GWS), Kakhetian Traditional Winemaking, Tbilvino became the first companies to officially provide product information to the first online Catalogue. Total number of Georgian wine producers whose products are listed in Catalogue so far is 21.

On April 1 the Catalogue officially opens to general public. “The keyword of Hvino’s Catalogue is independent rating”, - said Inge Olsson, project manager at Hvino.

“All the wines which are listed in our Catalogue have been rated independently, by the world’s most prestigious sources. That’s what makes our project unique – instead of commercial descriptions we provide simple and easy-to-read independent rating score for each wine. Hvino’s rating system is similar to international, which makes it easy to understand to users worldwide. The interface can be used in English or Russian, making the Catalogue convenient for Georgian wine fans from former Soviet republics as well as from USA, EU, China and other countries.

Currently the Catalogue lists all Georgian wines, which either have won gold medals at international contests, or have been rated by leading international wine rating institutions including “Wine Enthusiast” and others.

“We integrate ratings and medals into a single score, for maximum user convenience. To achieve this, Hvino developed our own formula; it’s our know-how”, - explained Inge Olsson. “Unfortunately, Georgian wines are still not well known internationally, and not so many wines have been awarded or rated internationally. This is why many wines are not yet represented in our Catalogue. However, we hope our project will help to stimulate Georgian winemakers to more actively obtain international ratings”. All Georgian wines which have international ratings, or gold award winners, are added to Catalogue automatically, and free of charge.

Georgian Wine Catalogue’s slogan is “Place for the Best”, as all represented wines are winners of the largest contests, or were submitted to the leading wine ratings. “However, we do not want to become an elitist platform. In fact, any Georgian wine may be listed with us”, said Inge.

If a product does not have an independent rating, it may be published with producer’s own description. “But all such descriptions are marked as “commercial”, to clearly distinguish from independent information”. All company’s information is published on commercial basis, which helps to keep the free services running. The listing fees for winemakers, however, have been set to lowest level, to allow even the smallest producers and individuals to add their products to the database.

The Catalogue can be used actually while standing by the wine shelf, from any mobile device. It helps to select the best wine in preferred price range. The Catalogue is especially useful when the shop’s staff is less knowledgeable about Georgian products.

Last but not the least, the Catalogue has free online “Search Box” which may be placed on any website. This useful tool is available in many designs and fully customizable. The Search Box may enhance any web resource related to Georgia or to wine.

Hvino.com has been active in Georgia for 2 years, since April 2012. Among other projects, it runs the daily English news on Georgian wine business Hvino News and, at the initiative of Georgia’s National Wine Agency, the Russian-language news service Hvino-Novosti.

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03.04.2014. We returned to Twins Wine Cellar in Napareuli six months after starting a qvevri wine. The Rkatsiteli grapes fermented and remained on its chacha (grape skins and seeds) until April 1, 2014. During the six months the wine aged and natural filtration took place in the qvevri.

When we arrived the surface of the qvevri was covered. There was a layer of black sand over the covering. Gela Gamtkitsulashvili, one of the twins that owns the winery, helped me clear away the black sand. It was a bit dry, so water was added to moisten it. That cut down dust particles that were airborne. A brush was used to brush the sand into a corner to make it easier to remove.

Terry then grabbed the slate covering and lifted it. There was suction between the lid and the qvevri so it took a bit of force to lift the cover. On the reverse side of the qvevri a ring of clay could be seen. This clay formed a seal between the slate cover and the top of the qvevri.

After the qvevri was opened, clear wine was noticed at the surface. Several inched below the surface, you could see the chacha. With a wine glass, I stirred the surface and then put wine into the glass. The first taste of our qvevri wine, well I forgot. Caught up in the moment, I did not reach for pen and paper to take notes. I do recall that it had a light gold color, flora aroma and taste with some fruit character and mild tannins. It was a lighter body than other qvevri wines and the tannins were milder. Many people in the media group seemed to like this. We did not put any stems in the qvevri when we made this wine so we did not get the darker color, more body and harsher tannins that other white qvevri wines have. There is a wide spectrum of white qvevri wines and our was extremely palatable.

Kathy and I posed for photos with both owners Gela and Gia Gamtkitsulashvili. I then proceeded to take glasses, give the surface of the wine a gentle stir and fill with a tasting for each of the media group and Twins Wine Cellar staff. Then we started bottling the wine. I went straight to the corker, a device I have had plenty of experience using. Labels were placed on the bottles and signed by the Gia and Gela and myself. The qvevri only produced 13 bottles of wine. Kathy and I took six and Tamta took three. Tamta helped us harvest the grapes and make the wine last September. The owners and a staff person took three bottles and one bottle mysteriously disappeared. I expect an over exuberant member of the media decided to help herself. Kathy and I plan to use our bottles when we have classes that teach about Georgia, the Birthplace of Wine and qvevri wines.

The experience of harvesting Rkatsiteli grapes, cleaning the qvevri, sanitizing the qvevri, putting the grapes in the qvevri and finally opening it was extremely valuable. We will share this experience over and over with our readers and during our classes.

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03.04.2014 (Hvino News) German Economic Union (DWV) in Georgia plans to add wine production. Local grapes will be used in the production. Hotel-restaurant and a mill have been operating in Bolnisi in the Kvemo Kartli region with the support of DWV.

Along with the revival of wine production, Georgian - German group is also going to offer 1-2 week tours throughout the country.

The Germans immigrated to Georgia in the early 19th century. One part of the immigrants chose one of the cities to live due to the best natural conditions, which was named Bolnisi a few years later.

© Hvino News | ■DRINK GEORGIAN!

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03.04.2014. Georgia, a small South Caucasian country, may become a historical, quality wine region on the global wine map if it matches its multi-millennial viticulture traditions with the modern standards and technology, Lisa Granik - a New-York based Master of Wine who is one of 275 MWs in the world - believes.

While attending the Prowein 2014 on 23-25 March in Dusseldorf, Ms. Granik gave her opinion on Georgian wines in an exclusive interview with Georgian Journal.

Q: How important is it for Georgian wines to be represented at the Prowein?

A: Prowein is really one of the most important, or the most important wine fair in the West, and for people who are in this business it is the place where important meetings are held and trade deals are made. So, it is of critical importance to be here and have a really coherent professional presentation.

Q: How did you like the Georgian presentation?

A: The Georgian presentation was very professional, very straightforward and the wines were very well presented.

Q: Georgia is an ancient wine producing country and largely believed to be the cradle of wine; it has a unique qvevri wine technology and the amplest pool of endemic grape varieties in the world. However, the western consumer is still scarcely aware of this fact. How can we use this to create a marketable legend and make Georgian wines popular in the west?

A: People are really interested in authenticity, which in its own terms everybody says that they are authentic. But people are really interested in Georgia as being the birthplace of wine; people are simply fascinated that this was the first place, as it seems, where people actually cultivated wine. And even if there was, shall we say, a period of interruption in the 20th century, people still has the memories. They were always making wine at home and while there was an interruption in commercial development there still is a certain degree of know-how that passed on and I think Georgian wine now stands to benefit from both history and modern technology. Because in the past terroir or tradition was not an excuse for bad wine. But now, the international market is so competitive that if Georgian wines were not made in a hygienic clean way, then no one ever can compete. But the technological advances and the investment that has been made in Georgian wines over the past 10 years, in technology, hygiene, quality control and quality assurance - all of those elements will allow Georgia to take from the past and basically build for the future to establish itself as a historical quality wine region.

Q: The wine market is saturated and looking for new tastes. Georgia has plenty of varieties that are new for the global market. How can they be introduced in a reasonable way?

A: People are always looking for something that is new, that’s true. Well, not every grape variety is going to become very popular. The art of goods is that Georgia will always have enough grape varieties so that there is enough of what we call “one-trick pony.” If people get tired of let’s say Rkatsiteli, then they can try another one and explore it while knowing it comes from Georgia. Georgia is not a big wine producing country, it is a tiny country, you cannot supply huge volumes and therefore it is always going to be in some ways a niche player. It’s like a sort of a little guy fighting corporate interests, and people are responsive to that. Keep the focus on quality, and come out with varieties slowly. You cannot rush with 25 grape varieties because people cannot absorb all of them at once. If you focus on five or six varieties and then slowly, every couple of years once you establish it on the market, you can expand.

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by Andy Besch

04.04.2014. I first I stumbled upon the grape Rkatsiteli years ago at a New York State wine fair in Watkins Glen. It was made by the mega Finger Lakes winery Dr. Konstantin Frank, and I loved it instantly. As for the grape, all I knew was that it came from eastern Europe, it was very old and that Dr. Frank was one of the only wineries around making wines from it. I carried Dr. Frank’s Rkatsiteli in my shop each year, while supplies lasted, and those who were courageous enough to take my word for it shared my enthusiasm.

Flash forward several years later, and along came Our Wine Rkatsiteli into my life. Now we’re not only in love but engaged. This is an Rkatsiteli of a different color, literally. While Dr. Frank’s is white, slightly fruity, fresh and crisp, Our Wine is a classic amber (orange) Georgian wine, and is savory, smoky, leafy, resiny, deep and full bodied. Night and day, as it were.

The wine is made as it has been since as far back as 8000 B.C. – so they’ve had time to work out the kinks. First and foremost the grapes are farmed biodynamically. While the American version is fermented in stainless steel, in Georgia it’s fermented in qvervri, or clay pots, similar to amphorae but without handles. The qvervri is lined with a thin layer of beeswax, and the grapes are put inside with skins, stems, seeds and all, crushed, and then sealed and buried in the ground. Combining all of the parts in fermentation gives the wine enough stability to make preservatives unnecessary. This is natural winemaking at its most natural. The grapes can remain in the qvervri for years, but the Our Wine is fermented for just six months, and then bottled without filtration.

Our Wine is made with 90% rkatsiteli, along with 10% mtsvane and khikhvi. If fruit-driven wines are your thing, forget you read this review. When I say savory, I mean savory. It has wonderful acidity, a long tannic finish, and is the perfect partner to creamy sauce-based dishes, fatty fish and hearty meat dishes like pork ribs. This wine makes the price cut at $20, so be brave, buy a bottle, and enjoy a taste of true antiquity. If you like this wine, there’s more where that came from. Pheasant’s Tears is another excellent Georgian winery, and the winemaker is an American (Jonathan Wurdman). His wines are superb. Only small quantities are made and imported, so grab them when you can.

[According to Hvino's Georgian Wine Catalogue, Our Wine Rkatsiteli 2010 has independent rating 88 (A), see here - Hvino News]

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04.04.2014. To raise awareness of Georgia as a wine tourism destination, Tbilisi hosted the 6th annual International Wine Tourism Conference on 29-30 March. This was the first IWTC ever held in Georgia and is expected to make Georgian wine and wine tourism popular. “As a matter of fact, people in the world are still unaware that Georgia is the cradle of wine. Wine is not just a drink to us and the grape simply a fruit – both are a part of the culture and tradition of our nation,” Giorgi Sigua, Head of National Tourism Administration of Georgia, admitted. He believes wine tourism is one of the key priorities of Georgian tourism and expects a big demand in this direction this year.

The two-day conference summoned more than 150 representatives of 13 countries. Masters of wine, wine sector pundits, wine-writers, and tour operators from France, Canada, Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Sweden, Singapore, Poland, Germany, the UK, the US, the Czech Republic and Slovakia got together at IWTC venue in Tbilisi to discuss the major issues and trends of wine tourism. To disclose the wine tourism potential of Georgia, wine tours were held in the Georgian wine growing regions.

According to Anthony Swift, founder of IWTC, the interest of international bloggers, wine writers and photographers in the IWTC is increasing and hosting this kind of events is a good opportunity to raise awareness about the country as a wine and culinary, cultural tourism destination that gives an impetus to the entire tourism development at large.

“We have here an important group of media which are a great influence on social media as well as 30 hand-picked tour operators who are specializing in wine economy and tourism, but are not offering Georgia as these destinations yet, so they are coming here to buy Georgia, to understand Georgia firsthand,” Swift said in an interview with Georgian Journal. He believes Georgian wine tourism can compete with the well-developed new wine world thanks to its antiquity and traditions and become a driving force to Georgian tourism.

“Contrary to what you can read in the press, that the US and the new world are advanced in terms of wine tourism and development, I think it is the old world that is advanced, because they have history and tradition. They may not have the marketing knowledge, but they have a better product, there is so much history and passion which you do not find as much in the new world,” Swift said.

Tim Clarke, Company Chairman of Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours, believes however that Georgia needs more creativeness to make itself attractive and “marketable” as a wine tourist destination. He admires the Georgian landscapes and finds the country has much potential as a wine tourism destination, but remarks that some villages need to be smarter. “I mentioned in my report that a lot of the wine villages look unloved, if you go to a wine village in Germany and Austria they are beautiful, every house is beautiful, flowers everywhere, everything is in bloom. Georgia has breathtaking fantastic sceneries, old buildings are really spectacular and wineries are making efforts, but in a lot of the villages something has to happen,” said Mr. Clarke.

He believes this is not a matter of money but just a little bit of creativity is needed. “You need no money to put a flower in a pot, even a dilapidated cottage with flowers look beautiful,” Clarke said. He exemplifies the “flowery” practice of France and UK where they make villages look smarter. These countries announced nationwide competitions for more blooming villages which, in fact, brought remarkable results.

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03.04.2014. The Georgian Kakheti Wine Trails offer many surprises. Each winery has its own wine customs. Twins Wine Cellars is a sort of living museum of Georgian wine history and qvevri production. From their family’s pre-soviet prosperity to Russian domination poverty and imprisonment, they provide a snapshot of how blessing comes through suffering and perseverance. The twin brothers Gia and Gela Gamtkisulashvilis resurrected their family’s ancestral wine producing cellar that had been confiscated by the Russians and turned into a communal farm for the area. It had been destroyed over time and only the pressing trough and roof beams survived. From ashes they built the largest qvevri cellar in Georgia with 107 actively used qvevri out of many more. Their mission: to make qvevri wines popular internationally. Their wines are currently sold in Georgia, Japan, Germany, Britain, Russia, and China.

Twin Wine Cellars offers twelve hotel rooms, four western styles and eight hostel styles, for visitors. The more modern western style rooms come complete with a qvevri built into the wall with a glass viewing panel, which was developed and patented by the twins. During the harvest and fermentation season guests will be able to watch the wines in their room qvevri. In addition, Twins has developed guest packages that offer harvest participation, local bread making, and Chacha making enjoyed with regional BBQ, spicy grape sauce, and fresh bread.

Innovation and creativity is natural for this family. You cannot miss the fifty-ton qvevri monument standing in front of the winery. In fact, you can go inside of it as though you are inside a qvevri. The door closes, a visual and audio explanation of winemaking in the qvevri begins. We were happily surprised to learn that the twins were in the finishing touches of opening the first qvevri museum. This introduction led us into a museum of the entire world of qvevri winemaking brilliantly depicted with visuals as well as written documentation of the process in English and Georgian. From the all stages of qvevri production to the harvest and winemaking processes, the museum is fascinating, complete and easy to follow.

For more information about qvevri production and the wines of Georgia look for Georgia, Sakartvelo: the Birthplace of Wine by Terry and Kathy Sullivan.

Our tour had the treat of witnessing the opening of the qvevri of Rkatsiteli wine that the Sullivans had made 6 months before with the Twins family. It was like witnessing a birth. Everyone shared the joy and toasted the delicious result. Twins invites the public to come and make their own wine.

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04.04.2014. Prowein 2014, one of the most esteemed international wine fairs, which was held on 23-25 March in Dusseldorf, Germany, marked Georgian wines at par with the worldwide fames. A big turnout of visitors at the relatively small pavilion of Georgian wines and the incessant negotiations buzzing around during the three-day long exhibition indicated the increasing demand for Georgian wines. The high quality and authenticity of Georgian wine varieties laid ground to this success.

Represented by 16 wine companies, Georgia offered a full package of over 100 wine varieties both white and red ranging from sparkling to dry, semi-dry, sweet and semi-sweet wines.
Prowein which celebrated its 20-year anniversary this year is one of the major players in the international wine industry and to show up at this wine Beaumont is a must for every reputable wine producing country and company in the world. Otherwise you will disappear from the global wine map, Levan Davitashvili, Head of National Wine Agency of Georgia, said in the interview to Georgian Journal. NWA, together with Georgian Wine Association, organized Georgia’s attendance at the Prowein that summoned more than 4 000 participants from 50 countries this year. This is the place where wine producers meet their already contracted as well as potential partners, distributors and dealers from all over the world, conclude deals, sum up their year results and make future plans. The most celebrated wine writers, sommeliers and wine connoisseurs, the people who dictate trends to the global wine industry and shape out opinion come to this venue. Therefore regular attendance at the Prowein is crucial because it creates a sort of credit history to every wine producer, Giorgi Margvelashvili, Director General of Tbilvino that has been attending Prowein since 2000-2001, said.

Partners check each other whether or not they are represented each year because everyone is interested to have a strong and reputable partner, Veriko Sujashvili, Brand Manager at GWS, underlined. To raise awareness about Georgia as a reputable wine producer it has been attending Prowein for 14 consecutive years already, said Tina Kezeli, Director Executive of Georgian Wine Association. During this period Georgia has promoted itself from the scarcely known wine producing country to the west into the one being at par with the worldwide industry today. Kezeli remembers Georgia’s first appearance at the Prowein 2000 when the western world had a dim idea about Georgia that gave a birth to wine.

“We even had to explain the difference between Georgia as a country and Georgia that is a state of the US,” Kezeli recollects. While step-by-step awareness has been increased and now people came to the Georgian pavilion not at random as 14 years ago, but on purpose to taste Georgian wine varieties. “They ask for not only well-known sorts like Rkatsiteli or Saperavi, but also require rare [endemic] varieties such as Chinuri, Chkhaveri etc., and this list as well as the demand for our wines is increasing every year. We started with five, six companies at the Prowein and now Georgian wines are represented by 16 companies all at par with other wine producing countries, we are equally mandated to have our say and have nothing to shy away from,” Kezeli elaborated.
The 8 000 years of history of Georgian wine, its unique Qvevri technology, a large pool of endemic grape varieties [exceeding 500 as originally cultivated though around 30 are industrially used at the moment] coupled with high quality, attracted the attention of the world wine market which is looking for new tastes.

“Georgian wines both have an extraordinary history and, more recently, are really of an extraordinary high quality. And while they are not necessarily wines for the basic entry-level consumer right now, among so many people who know wine they are very excited about Georgian wines,” Lisa Granik, the New York-based Master of Wine, said.

Theo Jansen, who promotes Georgian wines in Holland, recommends the cultivation of red wine varieties because this segment of Georgian wines is relatively poor compared to the ample choice in white wines.

“The most popular of Georgian wines with the biggest potential is Saperavi, it can make a great, very high quality wine. But, I need more varieties in red wine when I have tastings,” he said. What was remarkable about the Prowein 2014 is that it showed a balanced demand ranging from the well-probated post-Soviet markets to the new markets of the Europe, the US, and Asia including China and Hong-Kong. To respond to the increasing demand, Georgia plans to have a twice bigger space at Prowein.

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by Harriet Lembeck, CSS (Certified Specialist of Spirits)

06.04.2014. Sarajishvili was founded in 1884 by David Sarajishvili, who had studied philosophy in Germany. At that time, even though Georgia was part of Russia, he wanted to develop the Georgian economy. While his specialty had been wine and cheese, he was influenced by all the spirits he had seen in Germany, and he decided to study Cognac production, and to go to France to do it.

Since he didn’t have traditional Cognac grapes, he substituted the Georgian grapes closest to the desired French grapes: Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane, Kakhuri Mtsvane and Tsitska, looking for high acidity and resistance to humidity.

He purchased casks of Georgian oak (‘Iberica’), Limousin oak, and some Bulgarian Oak. Then he built distilleries in 3 different regions of Georgia, all with copper pot stills.With a majority of 400L casks, he also ordered casks of over 2,000 L, and a few at 6,000 L, which today are the oldest casks in Georgia.

The aging cellars in Tbilisi hold filled casks of varying ages, with the minimum age being 3 years. The Chief Technologist and Director of Science, David Abzianidze, keeps the cellars at 85 to 90% humidity. When asked why there was no visible black mold on the walls and ceilings of the cellars, he said “we take care of that.”

When he is ready to create the final blends, he mixes water, glucose, fructose and caramel (for color conformity), which is stirred for 4-6 hours. This is added to the blends before a final aging for an additional year.

We tasted a 7-Year Old V.S. and a 10-Year Old V.S.O.P. which tasted a lot like Cognac. Sarajishvili also produces an X.O. and other special bottlings. At the tasting, David Abzianidze cradled his snifter to warm it slightly, and stated his recommendations for things to go with fine brandies. He described the ‘French Ideas for Serving Cognac’ or ‘The 4 C’s': Cognac, Chocolate, Cigars and Coffee.

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08.04.2014 (Hvino News). According to the Georgian Wine Agencyб total of 5,497,787 (0,75L) bottles of wine were exported to 19 countries in March, 2014. The overall export as of July amounts to 15,488,184 (0,75L) bottles, being 243% higher vs last year same period.

Five leading export destinations of Georgian wine are as follows: Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland and Latvia, where Russia holds 71% of total volume of exports. China and Lithuania being on 6th and 7th places in volumes respectively.

Exports in value as of March 2014 amounted to US$ 51,202,154 which is 290% higher vs last year same period.

Besides, in March 2014 there are 939,758 bottles (0,5L) brandy exported in 5 countries, and as of March 2014 – in 9 countries with 3,940,202 (0,5L) bottles. In value, the brandy exports amounted US$ 14,486,685 as of March 2014, being 113% up as compared to the same period of previous year.

Ukraine is leading Georgian brandy exports with 2,504,520 (0,5L) bottles as of March 2014, whereas Russia as second with 1,242,408 (0,5L) bottles the same period, with March only figures of 426,180 and 409,026 (0,5L) bottles, respectively.

© Hvino News | ■DRINK GEORGIAN!

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07.04.2014 (Hvino News) 12 Georgian wine companies take part in 48th international wine and spirits exhibition Vinitaly 2014 in Verona (April 6-9). Georgia is represented by traditional qvevri wine producers, including:

Alaverdi Monastery
Artanuli Gvino
Chveni Ghvino (Our Wine)
Iago's Wine
Jakeli Family Organic Vineyards And Wines Ltd
Niki Antadze's Wines
Nikoladze Wine Cellar Ltd.
Okro's Gvino - Golden Groud Ltd
Pheasant's Tears
Teleda Wine
The Nika Wine Cellar
Tsikhelishvili Wines

Vinitaly 2014 has 4,100 exhibitors from more than 20 countries. More than 50,000 visitors are expected from 120 nations.

© Hvino News | ■DRINK GEORGIAN!

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10.04.2014. On 03 April 2014 the company Kakhetian Traditional Winemaking was certified according to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 22000: 2005 approving spotless reputation of producing goods. ISO 22000 focuses on the food safety management that means the desire to release the goods that are safe for human health.

Certification audit was conducted by the German expert company TÜV SÜD Management Service GmbH, as an independent organization accredited for work on the certification of management systems at the German Council on Accreditation.

Company News

10.04.2014. On April 8 at Tbilisi State University Non-profit organization Helping Hand Executive Manager Tinatin Meskhi held a seminar for the ICC Youth in Volunteerism and Social Responsibility. The seminar was very interactive and students participated in a workshop "I am a citizen". A guest speaker from Helping Hand and a Peace Corps volunteer from the United States, Egle Vilkelite, shared her thoughts about being a volunteer. Specifically, she discussed the advantages she has gained from being involved in many international and cultural activities. The seminar also provided more information to the Youth about the importance of citizenship and that being a volunteer is a cultural attitude each person should share. ICC Georgia offers its thanks and gratitude to Helping Hand for conducting the event and spreading such an important message.

ICC press release
Distributed by Hvino.com as proud member of ICC Georgia

10.04.2014. During the recent International Wine Tourism Conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, and the pre- and post-conference media tour, I became quite well acquainted with (not to mention a huge fan of) qvevri-made wines. A qvevri (pron. kveh-vree) is a clay vessel that is buried in the ground which can be of varying size, from a few litres to a few thousand litres, in which grapes are fermented into wine.

Styles of qvevri-made wines vary just as much as European-style wines. Some are made with the intact grape clusters, others have been destemmed and crushed, some will have only a portion of whole berries, others only ferment the juice. Some of my favourite wines made in qvevri are referred to as “amber wines”, made with the white varietals as whole grapes, or a mix of grapes and juice (not just the juice pressed off, as most of us are familiar with here and elsewhere in the world for whites) which allows for up to 6 months of skin contact, and produces amazingly complex delicious amber-coloured wines: white wines with some tannic structure. It seemed to be an acquired taste for some, and others never acquired it, but I loved them from the start!

I had two amber favourites of the trip, one was the 2013 Mtsvane, made by Nikoloz Antadze from the Kakheti region. It spent 6 months on the skins, and had some Rkatsiteli stems added as well (they were riper than the Mtsvane stems were). The wine was pale orange with a watery rim. There was a hint of mushroom on the initial sniff, with some pepper and citrus in a complex nose. It was dry, with medium-plus acidity and medium-minus tannins. It was complex, elegant and well-balanced, with flavours of white pepper and citrus on the palate, and a long finish. [According to Hvino's Georgian Wine Catalogue, Antadze Mtavane has independent rating 90 (A), see here -Hvino News]

The other wine was the 2005 Kakhetian Royal from Kindzmaruli Marani Winery. It is a blend of Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Mtsvane and Khikhvi grapes. It was a medium amber colour with dried fruit, fruitcake, prune and raisin on the nose. It was dry with medium-plus acidity, medium-plus tannins, flavours of raisins and dried apricots and a very long finish – delicious!

I was also introduced to many new varietal names, and only a few of them are easy to pronounce, although I did become more familiar with them as the days went on. I quite enjoyed many of the Georgian pronunciations, with rolling Rs and the guttural kh combination that sounds a bit like Scots, i.e. Loch. Some of the white varietals include Goruli Mtsvane, Kakhuri Mtsvane, Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Tsitska, Tsolikouri, Chinuri, Krakhuna and Khikhvi. The red lineup included Saperavi (similar to a Syrah, but a bit lighter-bodied), Shavkapito, Tavkveri and Otskhanuri Sapere. I think all in all I tried about 16 new varietals, although apparently the ‘Zigu’ wine at Shumi Winery was made with a field blend of 294 Georgian varietals, plus 94 European varietals. Then it was fortified with chacha (grappa) and brandy – delicious! Also, one blend at Pheasant’s Tears Winery, Tibaani, claimed to be made of 400 varietals – I wish I had the list for the Wine Century Club! I loved the vast majority of the wines I tasted in Georgia, and my particular favourites were always those that had been made in qvevri, rather than those that were made in a European style. I just wish more were available here in BC!

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12.04.2014 (Hvino News). The Real Wine Fair in London is delighted to announce that it will be holding a traditional Georgian Supra, a celebration of Georgian wine, gastronomy and culture, at its pop-up restaurant, The Unfiltered Dog on Monday 14th April 2014.

Several Georgian natural wine makers are participating in The Real Wine Fair this on 13th – 14th April 2014, including Winery of Zurab Topuridze, Aleksi Tsikhelashvili, Okro's Wines, Jackeli Wines, Nikoladzeebis Marani, Teleda, Kakha Berishvili, Nikoloz Antadze, Iago Bitarishvili, Pheasant’s Tears.

The supra banquet will be prepared by Georgian chef Giorgi Rokashvili and will feature a range of speciality Georgian dishes such as red beans with wild thyme, oyster mushrooms with tarragon and green plum sauce, chicken livers with caramelized onions and white wine, lamb chanakhi and churchkhela with honeycomb.

Wines from the twelve Georgian growers and winemakers attending the fair will be copiously poured, and the feast will be punctuated with many toasts made by the tamada (the ceremonial host for the evening) and traditional songs.

Tickets for the dinner will cost £55 per person and are available to purchase.

Those not able to attend the banquet will be able to meet all of the visiting Georgian winemakers and taste their wonderful wines at the fair itself, on Sunday 13th & Monday 14th April. These will include John Wurdeman of Pheasants Tears, Giorgi Otarashvili from Alaverdi Monastery, Ramaz Nikoladze from Nikoadzeebis Marani, Malkhaz Jackelli, Temuri Dakishvili from Teleda, John Okurashvili, Aleksi Tsikhelishvili, Nikoloz Antadze, Tariel Bakhia from NIKA, Kakhaber Berishivili, Iago Bitarishvili and Gaioz Sopromadze.

The Real Wine Fair is an artisan growers’ event featuring small wine growers who work organically and/or biodynamically. It is being held on 13th – 14th April 2014 at Tobacco Dock, Wapping, UK.

© Hvino News | ■DRINK GEORGIAN!

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14.04.2014. Export of Georgian wines has been stumbling over alleged technical problems in Belarus for five months already. Some sector players discern alleged political overtones tying the problem to the Kremlin which initiated the customs space of the so called Eurasian Union by gathering Belarus and Kazakhstan in alliance with Russia. The Georgian authorities deny the presence of any political factors and promises the situation will be cleared soon.

As the Belarus web portal Komsomolskaya Pravda reported on 28 March, Georgian wines have mysteriously disappeared from trade outlets in Belarus as no distributor has been enacting the Georgian export since the end of the last year. Belarusian supermarkets seem unhappy over this halt in Georgian wine supply because the product enjoys high demand in spite of high prices compared to the West-European and South African wines. According to the portal, reserves of Georgian wine are totally over, even the ones that were not popular. However, none of special importers [who according to the Belarusian law are mandated to implement the import to Belarus market] could explain why. Some surmised the quotes expired; some even tied the problem with the unified customs union of Belarus to Russia. Belarusian Trade Ministry called both reasons absurd explaining that an importer is free to choose the supply geography. The only state requirement is for quality, which demands all quality affirmation certificates to be attached to the imported product.

Since no quality related problems or a ban were reported officially as of yet, some people ascribe the problem to politics. As bpn.ge portal reported on 29 March based on one incognito source, Belarus banned Georgian wine export because the Georgian government stopped procurement of tractors “Belarus” produced in Belarus. But Georgian officials denied this fact. According to Gigla Agulashvili, Head of Branch Economy Committee at Parliament, there is no ban on Georgian wines in Belarus but simply some technical bureaucratic problems. According to him, 15 bottles of cognac and 25 000 bottles of wines and 180 liters of wine materials have already been transported to Belarus in the first quarter of this year and they will be in sale as soon as the new quotes will be redistributed and the old quotes have expired.

Levan Davitashvili, Head of the National Wine Agency of Georgia, underlines that the Georgian wine export never stopped to Belarus, but it simply stumbles over procedural details related to the wine importers and will be resumed as soon as the ongoing governmental negotiations will be through.

Giorgi Margvelashvili, Director General of the Tbilvino wine company that sends around 6% of its export to Belarus, still believes the problem is political.

“Actually the Belarusian market is a little problematic. It is heavily regulated and runs quotas on the import, disallowing private companies to acquire these quotas as only state-based importers have access to them. So, periodically there have always been some interruptions in the export to Belarus due to technical details but generally they were quickly removed, while this time the export has been halted since last October. I see political reasons behind this,” Margvelashvili told Georgian Journal though he refused to elaborate on what exactly could be the reason for this.

Zurab Ramazashvili, Head of Telavi Wine Cellar, surmises that maybe the problem is related to the reopening of the Russian market since the summer of 2013 which attracted more Georgian wines.
“As a matter of fact the Belarus market was more interested in purchasing wine materials rather than bottled wines, but after the Russian market reopened it showed a big demand for bottled wines. So, wineries prefer to bottle wines and send them to Russia rather than send wine materials to Belarus. Perhaps this explains the halt in export to Belarus,” he said in an interview with GJ. More than 1.5 million bottles of Georgian wines were exported to Belarus in 2013, while the figure cut over 22 million bottles to Russia.

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16.04.2014. Georgia will chair the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG) for the next 12 months and lead international wine industry experts in discussions relating to global wine trade issues.

The WWTG is an informal grouping of government and industry representatives from wine-producing countries including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Georgia, New Zealand, the United States and South Africa.

Georgia acquired the position after US at the annual WWTG meeting in Brussels on April 10 and 11. Georgia will hold this role for one year, from April 2014.

The WWTG aimed to share information and collaborate on a variety of international issues and endeavors to create new opportunities for trading wine.

Within the session it was also decided the next plenary session would be held in Tbilisi from August 25 to 27 this year.

Session participants discussed wine related issues including technical barriers in trade and pesticide limits. The meeting also served as an opportunity for bilateral discussions and trade agreements to be made between countries.

The Georgian delegation was led by Levan Davitashvili, who heads the National Wine Agency.

In the framework of the visit, US Ambassador to the European Union Anthony Gardner hosted a special welcoming ceremony for the session participants where he recounted the taste of Georgian wine, which he sampled years ago when he was studying in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Gardner became interested in the potential of exporting Georgian wine.

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17.04.2014 (Hvino News) On 14th of April 2014 a selection of Georgian wines were presented in Paris at International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV). Based in France, OIV deals with technical and scientific aspects of viticulture and wine-making. The tasting was organized by the Georgian Embassy in France and the Georgian Wine Association.

About 300 guests attended the wine-tasting event, including vice president of OIV, representatives of the diplomatic corps, UNESCO, the French Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture, the French Agrarian Chamber and various international organizations were among them. "The exhibition was an initiative of the Georgian government," chairman of the national agency Levan Davitashvili told media. "Its purpose is to popularize Georgian wines to the international community and professionals."

According to National Wine Agency, seven Georgian wine companies participated in the promotion event in Paris: Telavi Wine Cellar, Schuchmann Wines, Chateau Mukhrani, Tbilvino, Khareba, GWS and Teliani Valley.

© Hvino News | ■DRINK GEORGIAN!

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19.04.2014 (Hvino News) Meeting between the deputy foreign minister of Russia, Grigory Karasin, and the special envoy of the Georgian President for settlement of relations with Russia, Zurab Abashidze, took place in Prague last week.

Karasin's statement which caused sensation was that Russia won’t put pressure on Georgia for signing the association agreement with the EU, i.e. it won’t launch an import embargo against Georgian wine, mineral water or agricultural products.

Before the Prague meeting, the head of the Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, expressed gratitude to Georgian authorities and special services for help in providing security at the Sochi Olympics.

Experts note these are the new rules of the game which were coordinated at the meeting between diplomats in Prague.

© Hvino News | ■DRINK GEORGIAN!

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