VININTELL NOVEMBER 2016, ISSUE 30 GEORGIA TASMANIA UNITED KINGDOM SURPRISING ENCOUNTERS The Emergence of Old-New Traditional Wine Producing Regions CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............... 3 TASMANIA ....................... 18 Brief Background ............. 27 GEORGIA .......................... 3 Brief background .............. 18 Area under vines............... 29 Brief background ................ 3 Area under vines............... 20 Cultivars ........................... 31 Area under vines................. 4 Cultivars ........................... 21 Certification systems ........ 32 Cultivars ............................. 5 Certification systems ........ 22 Production ........................ 33 Certification systems .......... 8 Production ........................ 23 Stock status ..................... 34 Production .......................... 9 Stock status ..................... 24 Domestic Consumption .... 34 Stock status ..................... 13 Domestic Consumption .... 24 Exports ............................. 37 Domestic Consumption .... 13 Exports ............................. 25 Imports ............................. 39 Exports ............................. 13 Imports ............................. 25 International position ........ 41 Imports ............................. 15 International position ........ 25 Genetic Manipulation International position ........ 17 Genetic Manipulation and Biotechnology ........... 41 Genetic Manipulation and Biotechnology ........... 26 and Biotechnology ........... 17 Prices (Grapes, Taxes and Prices Prices (Grapes, Packaged Wine, (Grapes, Packaged Packaged Wine, Bulk Bulk Wine, Spirits) ............ 26 Wine, Bulk Wine, Wine, Spirits) .................... 17 Taxes, producer income Spirits) .............................. 41 Taxes, producer income and state revenue ............. 27 Producer income and and state revenue ............. 17 Forecasts ......................... 27 state revenue .................... 44 Forecasts ......................... 18 UNITED KINGDOM ......... 27 Forecasts ......................... 44 2 INTRODUCTION pro-Western foreign policy, introducing a series of democratic and economic reforms This edition of VinIntell builds on the previous aimed at NATO and European integration. editions in describing some of the lesser- This led to worsening of relations with Russia known wine producing countries or areas in and the brief Russo-Georgian War. Georgia is the world looking at the wine industries of a member of the Council of Europe and the Georgia, Tasmania (as part of Australia) and GUAM Organisation for Democracy and Eco- the United Kingdom (UK). nomic Development. It contains two de facto 1. GEORGIA independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 1.1 Brief background Georgia, a semi-presidential republic, lies in The Georgian wine industry of the present day the Caucasus region of Eurasia and borders can be described as emerging. It is still frag- the Black Sea, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbai- mented and looking for new export markets jan. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi. and maturing from a regulatory and viniculture Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 km2 its viewpoint. Yet it is one of the oldest wine population is about 3.75 million (2015). Since regions in the world and the country has a the establishment of the modern Georgian strong wine culture. The fertile valleys of the republic in April 1991, post-communist Geor- South Caucasus house the source of the gia suffered from civil and economic crisis for world’s first cultivated grapevines and Neo- most of the 1990s until the peaceful Rose lithic wine production, from over 8,000 years Revolution, when Georgia pursued a strongly ago. The wine tradition is entwined with the FIGURE 1: Georgian Wine Regions. 3 country’s national identity. Most wine con- the law on “Vine and Wine”. The Agency sumed is produced by families for their own operates in cooperation with the Ministry of use. Among the best-known regions of Geor- Agriculture and relevant state and private gia where wine is produced are Kakheti (fur- companies. Not much imported wine enters ther divided onto micro-regions of Telavi and Georgia and the large part of commercially Kvareli), Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and produced wine is exported.1 Kvemo Svaneti, and Abkhazia. 1.2 AREA UNDER VINES During Soviet times wines produced in Georgia were very popular and preferred over Georgia’s wine industry has undergone wines from Moldova and Crimea. In 1950, significant change since independence from Georgia had 57,870 ha under vines increasing Russia and post Glasnost that saw a mass to 127,880 in 1985 due to increasing demand campaign of uprooting vineyards throughout with wine production of 881,000 tons. Mikhail the Soviet Union. Georgia’s total vineyard area Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign put a halt of 160,000 ha was reduced to almost a quarter. to the boom and many old Georgian vineyards In 2015, 170 million litres of commercial wine is were demolished and later, political tensions produced from over 45 000 ha of area under ii with Russia have contributed to the 2006 vines; an area that is growing. Russian embargo of Georgian wine. This led According to the NWA, a total of 5,000 ha of to Georgia turning to new export markets and vineyards were planted in Georgia in 2013 and cordiality within the European Union (EU). 2014. Of this, about 4,700 ha were planted in Georgia is optimistic its recent Association Kakheti, 50 ha in Racha and 250 ha in Shida Agreement with the EU will expand its export Kartli, Imereti, Guria and Samegrelo combined. markets and reduce the risk presented by any According to NWA statistics, a total of 217,678 future unilateral embargoes by Russia. tonnes of grapes were processed in 2013 and As sign of maturing, the first online Catalogue 2014 (93,072 tonnes in 2013 and 124,606 of Georgian Wine with an independent rating tonnes in 2014) and the revenues from the system was launched in 2014 allowing users sales amounted to about GEL 289million in mostly export markets to enter names of (US$ 119 million): 2013: US$72million (GEL specific wines and get ratings and information 175,341,271) and 2014: US$47million (GEL 1 about the producer. In terms of industry 113,750,322). bodies, Georgia has the National Wine Special attention is paid to the quality and the Agency (NWA) that is a legal entity of public place of origin (appellations) as well as the law under the Ministry of Agriculture of correct development of the industry and Georgia founded in 2014 in accordance with exporting more branded wines. 1 1 US$=2.43 Georgian Lari-GEL 4 Table 1: Area of vines by regions in 2014 (ha) Area Ha Georgia, Overall 37 419 Including: Ajara 42 Guria 268 Imereti 8 584 Kakheti 22 227 Mtskheta-Mtianeti 792 Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti 1 348 Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti 775 Samtskhe-Javakheti 6 Kvemo Kartli 1 757 Shida Kartli 1 622 Source: Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Table 2: Georgia Wine production (excluding juice and must): mhl 2015 & 2016 2015/2014 2015/2014 2011 2012 2013 2014 Ranking forecast Variation in volume Variation in % 1.1 0.8 1.0 1.1 1,7 0.6 0 19 Source: OIV, 2016iii The growth of Georgia’s commercial vineyards 1.3 CULTIVARS is also being spurred by the rising middle class Georgia has traditional and well as more main in Asia and its increasing demand for wine. In stream varieties. Traditional Georgian grape 2014 China consumed 144 million cases of varieties are little known in the world. Although wine, a 69% rise since 2009. As part of its there are nearly 550 to choose from, only 38 programme to boost the wine industry, the varieties are officially grown for commercial Georgian government plans to offer low- viticulture in Georgia: Georgia has a greater interest loans to farmers and reform the current diversity than any other country. As the vineyard certification system and quality con- industry emerges so these varieties are trols on wine. Furthermore new foreign direct becoming less obscure. Traditionally, Georgian investment in the industry will bring in much wines carry the name of the source region, needed investment and technical knowledge. district, or village, much like French regional The government will also fund a new winery wines such as Bordeaux. Georgian wines are that is set to be one of the country’s largest, usually a blend of two or more grapes and are with processing capacity for 12,000 tonnes of classified as sweet, semi-sweet, semi-dry, dry, grapes per year. fortified and sparkling. The semi-sweet varie- 5 ties are the most popular. Georgia’s moderate water into the valleys. The soil in vineyards is climate and moist air, influenced by the Black so intensively cultivated that the grape vines Sea, provide the best conditions for viniculture. grow up the trunks of fruit trees eventually Extremes of weather are unusual: summers hanging down along the fruit when they ripen. tend to be warm, and winters mild and frost- This method of cultivation is called maglari.iv free. Natural springs abound, and the Cau- Table 3 contains the list of grape varieties in casian Mountain streams drain mineral-rich Georgia. Table 3: Grape Varieties Red grapes White grapes • Aladasturi • Arabeuli Tetri • Alexandrouli (Alexandreuli, Alexsandrouli) • Brola • Arabeuli Shavi • Budeshuri Tetri • Arabeuli Tsiteli • Buera • Asuretuli Shavi (Shaltrauben, Shala) • Chinuri (Chinebuli) • Berbesho • Chvitiluri • Cabernet Sauvignon • Dondghlabi Tetri • Chkhaveri • Kapistoni Tetri • Chumuta • Khikhvi is grown in Kardanakhi. • Gianni