Georgia's western Racha-Lechkhumi region hosts wine festival
For locals and visitors of Tsageri, the event also offered wine master classes, various activities showcasing the local cuisine and culture as well as the stage performances. Photo: the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia
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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.
The local winemakers had the opportunity to showcase their goods to festival visitors, including sommeliers, importers, and Georgian exporters as well as representatives of trade networks invited from other European countries.
Levan Mekhuzla, Chairman of the National Wine Agency highlighted the importance of the region as the country’s “most important wine-growing area” distinguished by a range of unique local grape varieties and quality wines, noting the festival offered an “excellent opportunity” for local wine producers to attract new trade partners.
For locals and visitors of Tsageri, the event also offered wine master classes, various activities showcasing the local cuisine and culture as well as the stage performances.
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.
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 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.
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.
Georgia will lead international wine industry experts in discussions relating to global wine trade issues over the next 12 months as part of the country’s newly assumed status as the Chair of the World Wine Trade Group, the National Wine Agency said on Thursday.
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.
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.