Interview with the Importer - Doug Wregg, Les Caves de Pyrene

The series of interviews with the importers of Georgian Wine in the UK is going on. Today, we are talking to Doug Wregg from Les Caves de Pyrene, a specialist importer, distributor, and retailer of natural, sustainably farmed wines from all over the world.

How and when did you come up with the idea of importing Georgian wine?

My colleague, Eric Narioo, visited Georgia fairly early on (around 2010) and became friends with John Wurdeman, one of the co-owners of Pheasant’s Tears Winery in Sighnaghi. John, passionate about Georgia and its culture — history, landscape, art, and gastronomy — introduced us to the wines and winemaking techniques, particularly skin maceration and qvevri vessels.

Eric was fascinated, and we invited eight Georgian growers to our first Real Wine Fair in 2012, and every year since. By then, we had just started importing Georgian wines and seized every opportunity to tell the Georgian wine story.

John helped us connect with several growers, and Eric and I visited the country multiple times for buying missions, diving deeper into the culture.

Is it B2B, B2C, or both? Where can wine lovers find the wines you import?

Our business is split 60/40 between the on-trade and independent retail, including online retailers. We also work with UK wholesalers who distribute locally. Wine lovers can find our wines either through our online shop at Les Caves, or by contacting us directly at shop@lescaves.co.uk or sales@lescaves.co.uk.

Main challenges you’re facing when selling Georgian wine, and how you overcome them?

Selling Georgian wines within the natural wine community (wine bars, bottle shops, and small restaurants serving Eastern Mediterranean-inspired food) isn’t too difficult. Georgian wines are integral to the natural wine story. However, more traditional establishments may worry that the wines are too "natural" (funky) or overly tannic or powerful for their customers.

The best way to address these concerns is through tasting. We emphasise the diversity of Georgian wine styles: from the more intense, traditional wines of Kakheti to lighter, fresher styles from Imereti and the west of the country.

Different winemakers are experimenting and moving away from tradition, so it’s a great time to explore Georgian wines.

Can you share some pleasant moments related to your Georgian wine connection?

Anyone who has visited Georgia and experienced its hospitality, food, and wine often returns enchanted. They want to bring a piece of that experience back and introduce Georgian wine to their customers.

This month, for example, a pop-up restaurant in Manchester ran a series of supra-style banquets paired with Georgian wines.

Yotam Ottolenghi, who also visited Georgia, fell in love with the food and wine, and we even did a supra together at one of his restaurants.

Who is your favourite type of customer?

All customers are important to us, for whatever reason they buy. I love adventurers, those people who are naturally curious and want to try new things and also want to understand what they are buying.

Wine is a liquid, but it is also the story of the people and the place behind that liquid.

Which wines are your bestsellers?

We sell around 25,000 bottles of Georgian wine per year. The varieties with the greatest recognition are Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane, and Saperavi, followed by Tsolikouri. Many customers still associate Georgian wine with intensity (like long skin macerations).

We work a lot with producers such as Pheasant’s Tears, Okro’s Wine, and Iago Bitarishvili, and in total, we represent 14 producers.

We’re also working to raise awareness of wines from Imereti and other regions, along with lesser-known grapes like Tsitska, Krakhuna, Dzelshavi, and Aladasturi.

Are there any new arrivals or events we should be looking forward to?

We held our second trade tasting, entirely devoted to Georgian wines, at the end of January, which was very well attended. This event helps showcase our latest Georgian arrivals. We are always very happy to do events and host supras throughout the year and be part and parcel of education about Georgian wines and share our experiences.

Your message to UK wine lovers:

Sharing wine is a pleasure and binds us to others in friendship. Enjoy the good things in life – that is what they are there for. Try new things! And approach life as if your wine glass is (more than) half full! The shortened version of this would be Gaumarjos!