Georgian Wine - National Wine Agency

The Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili discussed the organizational issues of the vintage 2019 with the representatives of the wine industry.

“The scale of the vintage is growing annually. We had a record harvest last year and this year we expect even more. At the same time, both organizational challenges and the experience and capabilities of the Ministry have increased. Last year, the vintage process involved more than 200 companies that received grapes. We expect that even more operators, companies will be involved in vintage. This means that the wine industry is developing as well as the export of wine is increasing. The state is doing its best to ensure that despite some challenges, the  vintage 2019 will succeed and just like in previous years, none of the vineyards will have grapes undelivered, ”said Levan Davitashvili.

Traditionally, grape harvesting will start from Dedoplistskaro municipality. Other municipalities of Kakheti will be involved in the vintage process as soon as grapes there  enter the necessary condition.

Wine-producing companies can register both at the coordinating headquarters and online.

The National Wine Agency is involved in the vintage process of providing organizational issues and harvesting information. The coordinating staff is headed by Levan Mekhuzla, Chairman of the National Wine Agency.

It should be noted that an estimated 250,000 tons of grapes are expected to be harvested in Kakheti region this year, which could lead to lower demand from entrepreneurs on the free market, especially on white grapes.

In case of this statement, the National Wine Agency is mobilized to ensure that the grape growers do not have problems with delivering grapes and that the harvest is stored.

With the support of the state, the viticulture and winemaking sector is strengthened, and it does not need subsidy support like the last year. The field is moving forward - new vineyards are planted, new wineries are set up and old ones are expanded, agro-credit and agro-insurance systems are working, wine export volume has increased, export markets are diversified.

It should also be noted that due to the events of the end of June 2019, the decline in the export of Georgian wine to the largest export market and the expectation of a possible imposition of sanctions on Georgian wine imports by Russia created some negative backdrop, which created a negative impact risk on private sector activity. We would like to emphasize - The State Department does its best to prevent both producers and growers from having problems with the sales of harvest. 

Vineyard Cadastre Program presentation was also held at the meeting held at the vintage coordinating HQ. For the first time this year, during the vintage 2019, the grapes of Kindzmarauli, Akhasheni, Kvareli and Mukuzani will be delivered only on the basis of vineyard cadastral extract. The quantity of grapes to be delivered from these micro-zones is defined as: no more than 10 tons per hectare. Grapes over 10 tons  will be considered as varietal wine material.

The meeting, attended by Irakli Kadagishvili, State Representative in Kakheti region, Gela Samkharauli, majoritarian deputy of Kakheti region and representatives of local self-government, was held at the vintage coordination HQ in Telavi.

Vintage 2019 Coordination HQ is located in The Wine Hotel Telavi (97 Alazani St.) in Telavi.

The QH will operate 24 hours a day for active communication between state agencies, entrepreneurs and growers. Interested parties can obtain vintage information at the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture hotline - 1501.