Georgia promoting its wine in Turkey

Minister of Agriculture Bakur Kvezereli has visited Turkey to promote Georgian wine. On March 20 there will be an exhibition of Georgian wine in Antalya, where Georgian businessmen will meet Turkish counterparts, wine traders and hotel and restaurant owners.

Some days ago the Georgian President criticized wine industry bosses for not being active enough in marketing Georgian wine in Turkey. He said that Turkey is a popular tourist destination and a lot of wine is therefore consumed there.

As is known since Russia imposed an embargo on Georgian wine in 2006 the country has been in desperate need of a new wine market. Georgia sold 80% of its wine in Russia, where it was and still is quite popular. The embargo has been very painful for the Georgian wine industry and for the economy as a whole as wine is the major agricultural branch and pride of Georgia. The current economic crisis has made the wine sales situation even more bleak.