Georgia boasts more than 500 varieties of indigenous grapes

At a special wine tasting event guests had the opportunity to taste over 20 wines of rare grape varieties. Photo by Georgia's Ministry of Agriculture.
Agenda.ge, 08 Dec 2017 - 17:57, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgia is striving to recover unique and rare species of Georgian grape varieties and bring disappearing grapevines back to life.

Over 500 varieties of indigenous grapes have been domesticated and spread in Georgia, announced the National Wine Agency of Georgia.

"Georgia boasts more than 500 varieties of indigenous grapes—nearly one-sixth of the world’s grape varieties—including endangered vines found nowhere else on Earth,” read the press release.

Meanwhile, there is an experimental base of research and planting materials for perennial crops of Scientific-Research Centre of Agriculture, which is located in Georgia’s Mtsketa municipality, in Jigura on 80 hectares.

The centre that opened this year aims to revive the disappearing grape varieties in Georgia.

There are 350 foreign and 437 Georgian varieties of vine species protected in the collective plantation, including a collection of unique and rare varieties of Georgian grape varieties, which had been retrieved for a long time.

"Long ago, the above mentioned varieties were used for industrial purposes and the highest quality table wine was made of them. In order to return these varieties to the industry, the Scientific-Research Centre of Agriculture is conducting winemaking from rare varieties of vine and their research simultaneously with restoration of grape varieties,” stated the press-release published by the Agriculture Ministry.