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Only 2% know Georgia as ‘birthplace’ of wine

16 April 2024 By James Evison

UK-based drinkers are unaware of Georgia being one of the ‘birthplaces’ of wine, according to research undertaken by one of the country’s wineries, Tbilvino.

The research of 2,000 drinkers by Mortar Research for Tbilvino found that only 2% knew of Georgia as the birthplace of wine, despite sales from the country rising by 100% across an eight year period.

It discovered that less than a third (29%) know that Georgia is a country in Europe and almost a fifth (19%) believe that it is inside Russia.

Some 15% of drinkers thought that it was in South America and 1% said it was in the Bermuda Triangle. Nearly two-thirds (62%) didn’t know the capital of the country was Tbilisi.

The study also showed that a third (33%) believed that France was the first producer of wine, 27% thought it was Italy and 27% thought it was Spain.

Georgia makes a strong claim to being the ‘official birthplace’ due to archeological evidence that some of its first wine were produced as early as 8,000 BC.

The country claims to have around 500 indigenous grape varieties, including Saperavi, which Tbilvino described as the ‘new Malbec’. It exported around 120 million bottles of Georgian wine last year.

According to the survey, around 11% of Brits have tried a wine from Georgia, but it also found that 98% of drinkers were open to trying new wines.

Tbilvino uses ancient wine-making techniques, including the qvevri method, where juice is fermented with grape skins in clay pots buried in the ground. Unlike wood, the clay doesn’t impart flavour, but it acts as a driver for flavour and texture complexities, developing fruit aromas and tannins, the producer said.

The study revealed that only 19% of drinkers knew you could make wine using clay pots.

George Margvelashvili, Founder of Tbilvino Wines said Saperavi was “making its mark” with wine drinkers, and following the survey its ambition was to “help develop people to discover and appreciate Georgian wines”.

He said: “We combine ancient craft techniques with a very modern and dynamic mentality. This helps us to create distinctive wines which appeal to those wanting to try something new and different.

“The UK has continued to see the emergence of wines from lesser-known regions, despite not knowing a huge amount about the origin of the country, our UK sales show that wine drinkers are starting to develop a thirst for Georgian wine – and we are proud to be at the forefront of this new and emerging trend in the UK.”

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