Wines of Georgia is calling on wine shops and restaurants to take part in Georgian Wine Month this October, a new month-long celebration of the country widely credited as the birthplace of wine and the origin of the orange wine category.
The campaign starts on October 5th, which is International Orange Wine Day. It will run throughout the month with a national PR push, a digital campaign via @georgianwineuk, and a suite of trade and consumer assets including tasting notes, producer profiles, educational content and imagery, all made available to participating venues and retailers free of charge.
While orange wine has become one of the most talked about trends in the global wine world over the past decade, Georgia has been making it for more than 8,000 years. The traditional method of fermenting white grapes on their skins in clay qvevri is a living heritage, recognised by UNESCO, and remains at the heart of Georgian winemaking today.
Master of Wine Sarah Abbott, who heads up the Wines of Georgia campaign in the UK, said: “Georgia isn’t chasing the orange wine trend, it invented it eight thousand years ago. For a trade that’s constantly hunting for something with genuine provenance, this is about as authentic as it gets: a living heritage which is recognised by UNESCO and still being made the same way today. Georgian Wine Month is a chance for wine shops and restaurants to offer their customers something with real heritage, not just another buzzword on the list.”
The orange (or amber as it’s called in Georgia) wine category is experiencing strong momentum in the UK, with growing consumer curiosity, increasing listings across specialist retail and the on-trade, and rising interest from both trade and lifestyle press. Georgian Wine Month gives the trade a ready-made opportunity to meet that demand with the wines that started the category in the first place.
Wines of Georgia UK is asking wine shops, restaurants, bars and independent merchants to take part in whatever way suits their business. Suggestions include:
- Featuring Georgian wines on the list or introducing a by-the-glass offer during October
- Hosting a tasting, pairing dinner or masterclass with a Georgian orange wine focus, supported with POS and merchandise from Wines of Georgia UK
- Tagging @georgianwineuk in social content, for amplification across the campaign’s channels
- To register your interest please visit https://www.winesgeorgia.uk/events and complete the form
Wines of Georgia UK will also be holding a Georgia Palate Event at Trivet Restaurant on 13th October, as part of the activities. Designed as a way for trade buyers to deepen their understanding of Georgian wines, the series of tastings matches Georgian wines with food in the context of fine dining. To register your interest, please visit: www.georgianwine.uk.
