National Wine Agency engages in EU's Eco2Wine programme fostering innovation, communication in winemaking
The project's primary goals include advancing vineyard management practices, expanding consumer wine options, and promoting the creation of natural, environmentally friendly wines, National Wine Agency said. Photo: The National Wine Agency of Georgia
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The National Wine Agency of Georgia on Thursday revealed it had joined Eco2Wine, a project supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Doctoral Training Network aiming to strengthen global innovation and communication in the winemaking industry.
Performing “cutting-edge research”, improving qualifications of PhD students in the industry and educating the public about novel winemaking techniques will be among the project’s activities starting in late 2023 and over the next four years.
With combined investment of around €2.4 million, it will concentrate on the most recent scientific discoveries and employ innovative methods of public involvement and communication, such as digital storytelling, virtual exhibits, connections between science and the arts, and initiatives to involve key public groups in the generation of fresh concepts.
Coordinated by the University of Milan, Eco2Wine partners include Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, South Africa and Spain and their respective universities. The project also involves representatives from wine industries of each of the countries, including the National Wine Agency of Georgia and Shumi Winery company.
The project's primary goals include advancing vineyard management practices, expanding consumer wine options, and promoting the creation of natural, environmentally friendly wines, National Wine Agency said.
It also aims to develop novel tools by utilising microbial interactions that take place during winemaking.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday highlighted the long-running tradition of winemaking on the territory of Georgia in his address at the formal launch of ITB Berlin, a major international tourism fair showcasing Georgia as the Host Country in the German capital.
Georgia exported about 103 litres of wine worth $252.5 million to 66 countries in 2022, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili told the country’s Parliament on Friday, adding the figures marked a “record high” in the independence period of the country since the early 1990s.
Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia said maintaining the international image of Georgian wine remained a “priority” for state institutions, in comments made during his visit to a Tbilisi wine laboratory on Thursday.
Davit Tkemaladze, the Deputy Chairman of the Georgian National Wine Agency, has visited Seoul to support Georgian wine producers in exploring the Korean market and presenting their product to consumers, The Korea Herald reported on Tuesday.
A group of German wine professionals visited Georgia with the aim to learn about the traditional and modern techniques of winemaking in the country and promote Georgian wines in the German market, the National Wine Agency of Georgia said on Thursday.
The 8,000 years of the rich winemaking history in Georgia is the subject of a six-month exhibition of Ortsmuseum Höngg in Zürich, with the Georgian National Wine Agency promoting the country’s culture in the field via the event.
The Georgian Government will subsidise the harvest of winemakers across the country in the coming fall and also anticipates a part of this year’s yield to be of “inadequate quality” due to “climate conditions”.
The wine festival featuring 65 large, medium and small local wineries was hosted in Tsageri, a small town in western Georgia's Racha-Lechkhumi region, the country’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture said on Sunday.
With the financial and organisational support of the National Wine Agency, Georgian wine was promoted at 35 different events held in 11 countries over the six months of this year, the Agency announced on Saturday.
About ₾50 million ($19mln) has been allocated to subsidising this year’s grape harvest across Georgia in order to “financially support farmers” and ensure "not a single kilogram of grapes is left behind", Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia said on Thursday.
Levan Mekhuzla, the Chair of the National Wine Agency of Georgia, on Saturday said 2500 tonnes of grapes had already been processed in the eastern winemaking Kakheti region.
Sixteen Georgian wine companies, including both large and small wineries, were showcased at Daejeon International Wine Festival in South Korea between September 3-6, the Georgian Agriculture Ministry said on Monday.
Exports of Georgian wine to 47 countries of the world amounted to 16.7 million litres between January and February, totalling $47.6 million, the country’s National Wine Agency announced on Tuesday.