Georgian Wine - National Wine Agency

Competition

The winners of the IWSC Wine Judging in Georgia have been announced. A competent jury identified medal-winning Georgian wines. Medals were awarded to 288 of the unprecedentedly high number of 487 Georgian wines registered at the competition. 16 gold, 63 silver and 209 bronze! - For the first time in history, Georgian manufacturers won an internationally recognized award in their own country.
The wine samples presented in the competition were evaluated by an international and local jury, headed by British wine master Sarah Abbott. The judges included wine experts Kate Lomax, Megan Clarke, Maggie McPherson and Christel Gilbert, head sommelier Salvatore Castano. The presented wine samples were also evaluated by the local judges of the IWSC jury. The jury consisted of Ana Godabrelidze, Giorgi Dakishvili, Lado Uzunashvili, Davit Chichua, Jaba Dzimistarishvili, Magda Surguladze, Patrick Honefi, Giorgi Samanishvili, Shalva Japaridze, Rezi Tsetkhladze, Zviad Loladze, Kakha Chotiashvili, Irakli Cholobargia and the chairman of the National Wine Agency Levan Mekhuzla.
"I visited Georgia for the first time 10 years ago, Georgian wine captured my heart as soon as I arrived because it is full of content that conveys Georgian cultural heritage. I have been observing for years that the quality and quantity of Georgian wine are increasing every year. I promote Georgian wine in Britain. In 2017, the National Wine Agency started investing in Britain, which increased the export of Georgian wine 10 times. The agency gives Georgian wine a chance to promote.
During the competition, I was convinced that Georgia's ambition to operate in the market of the best wines is close to reality. We want to introduce Georgian wine to the world wine community. I would like to mention that a variety of high-quality Georgian wines were presented at the competition. The quality and technical sophistication of the medal-winning wines was the same as in established wine regions: Italy, Britain, Spain and others. Your strength lies in unity and diversity," said Sarah Abbott. 
It is important that distinguished British experts shared their experience with Georgian winemakers during the competition - in order to correctly evaluate the wine and highlight its true value, enough time should be devoted to tasting it. According to experts, receiving the IWSC award is not easy to win and this fact gives the award its significance. The competition has winners, but all participants remain winners, as individual evaluations will be provided to all participants by the jury members.
"Participating in an internationally recognized competition within the country is a unique opportunity and an unprecedented chance for Georgian winemakers, especially for small and medium-sized wineries. The importance of the competition was reflected in the activity recorded during registration. Wines evaluated by IWSC are viewed by the whole world, including buyers from different countries. The results of the competition have shown us once again that in recent years Georgian wine has been gaining its place on international markets, we need many more international level competitions and even more success," - Davit Songhulashvili, chairman of the Parliament's Sectoral Economy and Economic Policy Committee, talks about the importance of the competition and the success of Georgian wine.
"The competition was successfully held. Small and medium-sized wineries were especially active. There were quite a few high-quality wines presented and many of them were truly outstanding. Accordingly, this was also reflected in the result. The jury that evaluated Georgian wine was represented by world-class winemakers, sommeliers and buyers. Holding a competition of this level in Georgia will contribute to raising awareness of Georgian wine and entering the international arena. A medal-winning wine is a step forward for any Georgian winemaker who is trying to increase sales in Europe and the world," explains Levan Mekhuzla, chairman of the National Wine Agency.
Kakha Chotiashvili, a winemaker of "Satsnakheli", notes that such competitions are very important in Georgia: "First of all, I am very glad that competitions of such level are already held in Georgia, it gives a great chance to entrepreneurs and especially to small wineries like us. This is a chance for the whole world to learn about Georgian winemaking and wineries."
The official partner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) in Georgia is the Gurjaani Wine Festival, and the supporters of the competition are the National Wine Agency and Wine Days in Georgia.