George Grey Winery is Expanding Export Markets - Working on Obtaining a License in Canada
Increased production, new varieties of wine and liquor, expanded export markets - this was the year 2022 for the small wine farm George Grey Winery. Giorgi Rukhadze, founder and head of winemaking summarizes the results achieved by the company last year.
"It was quite a positive and good year. A positive trend of wine sales was revealed. During the year, we introduced 10 types of wine to the market - Kvevri Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Green, Graceuli, which is made from Budeshuri Saferavi, Tavkveri and Shavkapito sepages, as well as Saferavi, Kindzmarauli, blue and green wines. It was an important year in that we continued the production of liquor, which is made from our own wine, in collaboration with the company "Ornament", says Giorgi Rukhadze at Bm.ge
George Grey Winery produced approximately 50,000 bottles of wine in 2022, and increased production volumes by 20-30% this year. "The demand for wine has increased significantly. Sales in the local market were going at a good pace during the summer. The winter period is difficult for small wine boutiques in Tbilisi, therefore wineries have quite large debts," Rukhadze said.
As for export, the founder of George Grey Winery says that 70% of the small farm's production was exported. According to his information, in 2022, new markets were added to the selling countries.
After USA, Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, USA, Liechtenstein, Grey Winery was able to export wine to Uzbekistan, and at the same time, it has already concluded negotiations in several cases to acquire other markets.
"This year, the second big order from the USA was made in this direction. We sent liqueurs, green colored and Gray, whose name is "Vakhtang Gray" for the American market. This was the wish of our partners. We wanted to revive the story of Vakhtang Gorgasli and bring it to the American continent. That's why we put some historical information about Vakhtang Gorgasli on the label. It was also important for us to enter the Uzbek market. Last year, with the support of the Uzbek-Georgian trading house, the wines of George Grey Winery entered the Uzbekistan market with a wide portfolio, and today almost all wines are available there.
We also have news that soon our wines will enter the Tajik market. Negotiations in this regard have been completed and the first batches will be shipped soon. In addition, we presented our wine at exhibitions held in Italy and Korea. In Italy, "Graceuli" and colorful wines have received great approval. In Korea, negotiations are underway to sell wine, and we have positive expectations in this direction as well," Giorgi Rukhadze notes.
According to the winemaker, in 2023, the company's export rate will increase significantly, because George Gray Winery is working on obtaining a license to export wine to one of the largest markets - Canada. Giorgi Rukhadze notes that this will be the tenth export country for winemaking, where, in case of obtaining a license, they will be able to export not only Gray wines, but also the products of high-quality wine entrepreneurs operating in the country.