Georgian Wines to Be in U.S. Supermarkets Soon

When Russia imposed an embargo on imports of Georgian wines in March 2006, the country lost its traditional and most important export market, which constituted about 89 percent of Georgian wine sales. Georgian wine producers sought to diversify their products and penetrate new export markets in the West, primarily in the European Union and the United States.

To support the efforts of Georgian wineries to expand to new markets, ACDI/VOCA’s AgVANTAGE program is helping them gain exposure at key international marketing venues. In July 2007 ACDI/VOCA, with cofinancing from the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture, helped six of Georgia’s leading wineries participate at the internationally renowned Fancy Food Show in New York City. The exhibition provided a unique opportunity for the companies to gain U.S. exposure and was the biggest presentation to date of Georgia's agricultural products to the United States.

The fruit of these efforts is a partnership between Whole Food Markets, the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods, and two wineries in Georgia’s Kakheti Province—Vinoterra and Tsinandali Old Cellar. The first large-scale export of Georgian wines totals 10,500 bottles from both companies and is worth $48,000. The wine has been bottled and is due to be shipped in March 2008 to Seattle, Washington. This year, both companies plan to ship 30,000 bottles of wine of a combined value of $130,000 to the United States.

Applauding the partnership, U.S. Ambassador John Tefft said, “I am happy that U.S. citizens will also have the chance to taste high-quality Georgian wines.”

In May AgVANTAGE will continue its support by facilitating the participation of several Georgian wineries in the National Restaurant Association’s International Wine, Spirits and Beer Event to be held in Chicago. This event will be an integral part of AgVANTAGE's strategy to increase and stimulate Georgian wine exports to the United States.

“This will be a great relief because we used to be focused on the Russian market and found ourselves in a very difficult situation after the economic embargo was imposed,” Eldar Mildiani, owner of Tsinandali Old Cellar, said.