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Monday,
August 20,
2007, #158 (1425)
By Anna Kamushadze The Ministry of Agriculture publicized a tasting of Georgian wines August 16, conducted by a 36-member committee newly-formed for that purpose. The commission, composed of certified wine tasters, will grant holographic seals of approval to Georgian wines they feel are up to snuff. The Georgian wine industry suffered mightily after its bottles were banned from Russian shelves in early 2006. Moscow officials put an embargo on the wines, along with many other Georgian products, as purported health hazards because of counterfeit production. The commission, and their holographic seal, are meant to assuage any lingering concerns about Georgian wine-and counterfeit appellations have run rampant at times-whilst boosting marketing efforts, already vigorously underway in Europe. "We are at the beginning of reforms and we are taking a risk because it's possible that, at first, wine exports from Georgia will decrease. But we're sure that in exchange, truly high-quality wines will be exported," declared Agriculture Minister Petre Tsiskarishvili. In tandem with the tasting commission's unveiling, the Ministry of Agriculture is raiding markets across Georgia to check for counterfeit wines. The state is spending
GEL 500 000 in the bid to flush out counterfeiting in the wine industry. |
Wine
tasting and market raiding as state tries to polish wine industry's
image