THE SMALL COUNTRY OF GEORGIA, which shares the Caucasus region with Azerbaijan and Armenia, proudly lays claim to being the cradle of wine. Indeed, archaeologists have found traces of winemaking on shards of earthen amphora dating back to eight thousand years! Today, it is only a minnow among global wine producers with 180 million litres coming from 55,000 hectares of vineland in 2021, but wine culture is taking hold as Georgians are training as professional sommeliers, winemakers, and winery tour guides, and there are increasing numbers of wine education classes for consumers.
What explains this recent transformation of the Georgian wine industry? Before the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia had over 500 grape varietals and hundreds of small family-run vineyards. But the Soviets who prized quantity over quality crushed this wine culture by uprooting indigenous grape varietals and forced Georgian producers to focus
