Georgië: Nieuwkomer van het Jaar op The Wine Professional Fair in Amsterdam
Despite the current political situation, Georgia will be the "Newcomer of the Year" on The Wine Professional Fair in Amsterdam.
Date: from 13 to 15th January 2025.
Georgia: The Historical Cradle of Wine Takes Center Stage at Wine Professional
For the first time, Georgia proudly presents itself as a country at the Wine Professional Fair, showcasing its centuries-old winemaking tradition to the Benelux region. Renowned as the birthplace of wine, Georgia’s viticulture is deeply intertwined with its cultural identity. At a time when the country is emphasizing its European connections, this presentation holds even greater significance, highlighting the timeless bond between its heritage and its aspirations.
A Legacy of 8,000 Years
Georgia's winemaking tradition dates back 8,000 years, making it the oldest wine-producing region in the world. Archaeological evidence has established the country’s centuries-old reputation as a land of grapes and the "Cradle of Wine." Situated at the crossroads between East and West, Georgia has emerged as a unique hub where time-honored winemaking practices coexist with cutting-edge oenological expressions.
Georgia boasts an extraordinary viticultural heritage, with over 525 indigenous grape varieties identified to date. This remarkable diversity showcases the country's varied terroir and centuries of meticulous cultivation. As winemakers continue to explore and revive these unique varietals, they are preserving a rich cultural legacy while simultaneously enhancing the global appeal of Georgian wines.
Bridging Unique Tradition and Innovation
Georgian vintners masterfully balance ancient methods with contemporary expertise, crafting authentic wines that honor their rich heritage while embracing the future. Their commitment to authenticity and sustainability is evident in three key aspects of their winemaking approach:
Qvevri Winemaking: The Heart of Tradition: This UNESCO-recognized method, dating back millennia, involves fermenting wine in large clay vessels buried underground. Often having a capacity of 1,000 liters or more, Qvevris are used for making, ageing, and storing wine. It remains a cornerstone of Georgian winemaking, preserving a unique cultural legacy.
Modern Vinification: Many producers have seamlessly integrated state-of-the-art equipment and techniques into their processes. This allows them to create wines that appeal to international palates while retaining the distinctive Georgian character.
Sustainable Viticulture: An increasing number of Georgian wineries are adopting organic and biodynamic practices. This approach aligns with global sustainability trends while paying homage to the traditional Georgian reverence for the land.
Unparalleled Varietal Diversity
Georgia's rich viticultural landscape boasts 10 distinct wine-producing regions: Abkhazia, Ajara, Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Kartli, Meskheti, Racha, Lechkhumi, and Samegrelo. Among these, Kakheti stands out as the most productive, benefiting from a moderate climate with subtropical influences and hosting 65-70% of all Georgian vineyards. The country’s viticultural heritage is featuring over 525 recognized indigenous grape varieties. For white wines, popular varietals include Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane, Kakhuri Mtsvivani, Kisi, Khikhvi, Rkatsiteli, and Tsolikouri. Red wine enthusiasts can enjoy Aleksandrouli, Chkhaveri, Ojaleshi, Saperavi, and Usakhelouri, among others. While 45 varietals are maintained for commercial production, Rkatsiteli (white) and Saperavi (red) reign as the most popular.
Rkatsiteli, widely cultivated throughout Georgia and beyond, produces high-quality table wines known for their balance, noticeable acidity, and refreshing notes of crisp green apple, quince, and white peach.
Saperavi, the preferred red grape, thrives across Georgia's viticultural districts. Whether fermented using the barrique method or the traditional qvevri process, Saperavi wines offer a complex bouquet of dark berries, cassis, and spice, with notes of cherry, blackberry, and hints of licorice, chocolate, and tobacco.
An exciting trend is the renewed interest in Georgia's heritage grapes. Winemakers are rediscovering overlooked varieties like Budeshuri, Dzelshavi, Khikhvi, and Kisi, planting new vineyards with these ancient grapes to create unique and distinctive wines that complement the established Saperavi and Rkatsiteli offerings.
Quality and Authenticity in Georgian Wine
Since 2018, Georgian winemakers have implemented rigorous quality control measures, significantly enhancing the integrity of their exports. All wines destined for international markets undergo stringent testing for quality and authenticity, with an official tasting panel assessing each wine for quality and typicity. This ensures adherence to high standards and bolsters Georgia's reputation in the global wine market.
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) wines are subject to comprehensive monitoring from harvest to bottling, guaranteeing the authenticity of their specified origin. This commitment to origin-specific wines has led to increased interest in Georgian PDO wines globally. As of July 2020, Georgia has 24 PDOs for wine, including: Akhasheni, Akhmeta, Akhoebi, Atenuri, Bolnisi, Gurjaani, Kakheti, Kardenakhi, Khvanchkara, Kindzmarauli, Kotekhi, Kvareli, Manavi, Mukuzani, Napareuli, Salkhino Ojaleshi, Saperavi Khashmi, Sviri, Teliani, Tibaani, Tsarapi, Tsinandali, Tvishi and Vazisubani. This commitment to origin-specific wines has led to increased interest in Georgian PDO wines globally.
Rising Global Presence
The Georgian wine industry is diverse and robust, with approximately 1,088 registered wine companies. Of these, 341 are registered exporters with distribution to more than 53 countries worldwide. This expansion reflects the growing international appreciation for Georgian wines. These wineries focus on a range of products, from commercial grape varietals to PDO wines and heritage grapes, showcasing the rich viticultural heritage of the country. Collectively, these winemakers produce 200,000 - 250,000 tons of grapes annually from 55,000 hectares of vineyards, yielding approximately 93.4 million bottles (0.75L) of wine. It is expected that wine production will increase, based on the establishment of new vineyards and increased capacity, by 5.1% per year for at least the next five years.
Remarkable Achievements
Georgian winemakers have been diligently refining their craft, showcasing an impressive evolution in the wine industry. Their efforts encompass improving techniques, reviving ancestral varietals, planting new vines, and revitalizing long-neglected vineyards. The result is a remarkable collection of wines gaining international recognition for their excellence and, in some cases, achieving best-in-class status.
Every year, Georgian producers evaluate their annual production for excellence, then subject them to further scrutiny and evaluation during some of the international winemaking community's most prestigious competitions. At these events, wines are judged by the world's most highly regarded wine experts and sommeliers - nominating those wines that are considered superior to all others. While Georgian winemakers will participate in 20 or more international competitions every year, a few of the more prestigious include the International Wine Challenge, Sakura, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition, and Berliner Wine Trophy. At each of these events, Georgian wines are consistently being recognized for excellence and receive an impressive number of awards.
A Symbol of the Georgian Spirit
Georgian wine culture stands as a testament to the country's 8,000-year-old viticultural heritage and has emerged as a dynamic hub for winemaking, honoring its historical roots while boldly embracing contemporary practices. More than just a beverage, Georgian wine embodies the nation's indomitable spirit, independence, and creative energy, serving as a powerful symbol of cultural identity and artistic expression.
With ongoing development and innovation taking place throughout Georgia's winemaking community, and interest in traditional winemaking techniques on the rise, the outlook for Georgian wines remains excellent for years to come. The distinctive flavors and rich heritage they offer are poised to enchant global palates, solidifying Georgia's vibrant and lasting presence in the international wine scene.
Profile The Wine & Food Association (WFA)
The Wine & Food Association (WFA) was founded 35 years ago. The WFA is not only consultant and publisher of various digital magazines, guides and other media, but also organize various events, competitions and trade fairs. The Wine & Food Association focuses especially on wines, fine food, gastronomy, restaurants and hotels, but also on lifestyle and traveling.
Wine Professional (Amsterdam)
Wine Professional is since 23 years the largest wine and fine food fair in The Benelux. It is organized in the RAI Exhibition Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and welcomes 10,000 professional visitors from restaurants, hotels, sommeliers, chefs etc. from the world of gastronomy. It is a B2B fair only.
During the three days of the fair, more than 100 exhibitors (wine importers and producers) present their wines and other products to a pre-selected group of professionals who work in the middle- and high end of the Dutch gastronomy and hotel sector. At Wine Professional the focus is 70% wine and 30% fine food products.
Wines originate not only from classical European wine producing countries, but also from the New World and upcoming wine producing countries which are not well known on the Dutch market yet. For example, last year Wine Professional presented also wines from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Croatia, Georgia, Israel, Lebanon, Luxemburg, Russia, The Netherlands etc. etc.
Wine Professional also provides more than 50 programs, demonstrations and masterclasses during the fair in which famous (inter)nation chefs from the Gault&Millau and Michelin restaurant guides present wine and food pairings. By doing so, also gastronomy related drinks as sake and sherry found their way again to the Dutch market.
Events
As producer, The Wine & Food Association organizes not only Wine Professional. During the entire year various different events, tastings and competitions such as the Proefschrift Wijnconcours and special tailor made presentations are organized.
Cooperation with Dutch Gastronomy & Hotels
Our fairs and events are supported by the ‘Gastronomische 7’ (G7), the most important restaurant associations in The Netherlands (G7): Alliance Gastronomique, Les Patrons Cuisiniers, Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe Nederland, Relais Restaurants, Fine Eastern Restaurants, Selected Indonesian Restaurants en Châteaux et Résidences Gastronomiques. The Wine & Food Association organizes both ‘own’ events but also works on request of for example national and regional governments, embassies, regions, consortia, trade delegations, marketing and public relations agencies, fairs, producers, importers etc.
The Wine & Food Association also advises and experiments with wine making in Europe and various other continents around the globe. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, The Wine & Food Association invested in wineries in e.g. Hungary (1993) and Croatia (1998) in order to learn from each other’s ways and methods of wine making.
With most of its relations The Wine & Food Association has long term partnerships. The network and activities are global with Europe, North- and South-America, Caribbean (St. Maarten), Middle East, Africa, Asia (China and Japan), Australia and New Zealand.
Network
A powerful asset is both the use of the large internal network of The Wine & Food Association as well as the published media sites (www.proefschrift.nl and www.wine-professional.nl) and our digital newsletters. These are sent to 25,000+ members within our target group to promote activities and events. You can also find us on www.facebook.com/TheWineAndFoodAssociation,
www.instagram.com/wineprofessionalnl/ and www.instagram.com/thewineandfoodassociation/
Royal Decoration
As founder of The Wine & Food Association, Jan G.T. van Lissum received in 2012 the royal decoration ‘Ridder in de Orde van Oranje Nassau’ from H.M. Queen
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