Grape and wine culture in Georgia, the South Caucasus

¹ National Wine Agency of Georgia, 6 Marshal Geloveni Ave., 0159 Tbilisi, Georgia
² National Museum of Georgia, 3 Purtseladze Str., 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
³ University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 3260 South St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
⁴ INRA-CIRAD-SupAgro, UMR AGAP, 1334 Montpellier, France
⁵ University of Milan, via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy
⁶ University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5–7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
⁷ Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, University of Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 22, 34095 Montpellier, France
⁸ Georgian Wine Association, 12 Mtatsminda Str., 0108 Tbilisi, Georgia
⁹ Scientific – Research Center of Agriculture, 6 Marshal Geloveni Ave., 0159 Tbilisi, Georgia
¹⁰ University of Toronto, Dept. of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations, 4 Bancroft Ave, Toronto, Canada
¹¹ Environmental Agency of Georgia, David Aghmashenebely Ave., 0112 Tbilisi, Georgia
¹² Minister of Agriculture of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia

^a Corresponding author: david.maghradzer@georgianwine.gov.ge

Abstract

In 2014, the National Wine Agency of the Republic of Georgia initiated a three-year “Research Project for the study of Georgian Grapes and Wine Culture. Through collaborative research by Georgian and foreign institutions and researchers, the project aims to: stimulate research of Georgian viticulture and viniculture, through the lens of the country with the earliest tradition of grape domestication and winemaking; and to reconstruct the continuous development of viticulture and wine culture through time. The project advances the study of grape and wine culture by utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, including: archaeology, history, ethnography, molecular genetics, biomolecular archaeology, palaeobotany, ampelography, enology, climatology and other scientific fields. These studies are diachronic in their approach, beginning with the oldest Neolithic civilizations, to present day, creating a holistic understanding of the continuity and complexity of Georgian Wine Culture to help popularize Georgian Wine throughout the global wine market.