30th April 2020
Georgian Wine in the UK – April Update
Exports of Georgian wine to the UK have increased greatly: the latest figures from the National Wine Agency of Georgia show a tenfold increase year on year for the first quarter.
This is despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Sarah Abbott MW, who leads the promotional campaign for Georgian Wine in the UK, considers:
“We now have a brilliantly diverse range of Georgian wine available in the UK, from low intervention natural wine, to contemporary qvevri wine, to accessible, fresh and fruity styles that have mainstream appeal. These wines are increasingly available across multiple channels, from small specialist importers of purely Georgian wines, to national agency houses who have recently added a Georgian wine producer to their portfolio.
In the last 12 months, off-trade distribution of Georgian wine through the indie sector has greatly increased. We estimate that Georgian wine is sold by 50-100 indies. These shops have been included in “essential supplies” by the UK government, so have continued to trade (with social distancing measures in place) through the lockdown.”
The initial series of three Virtual Tastings of Georgian wine scheduled to the end of May 2020 is now fully subscribed. In-person tastings are provisionally scheduled for July. In the event that these cannot take place, they will be converted to digital events. Please contact Madeleine Waters to be kept informed of the latest details on Georgian wine.
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