The President of Georgia visited the vineyard of a local person of Akhalsopeli Tengiz Gagnidze, and personally participated in the vintage. Mikheil Saakashvili spoke about the importance of vintage and focused attention on the popularization of Georgian wine. As Mikheil Saakashvili noted, it is overly important to retain the quality of Kakhetian grapes in order for the Georgian wine to settle on the world market with a reputation for being of high quality.

“Vintage is a big celebration. There are a lot of other things in Georgia, including in Kakheti, but vintage is the main Georgian celebration. This is a lot more than harvesting agricultural crops. This is a big holiday of ours, of our identity, our manhood; of us being Georgian…we should familiarize the entire world with Kakhetian grapes and wine. I understand that people want to harvest grapes as soon as possible so that it is not destroyed by wind or rain. However, it is important for the population to let the grapes mature, and for us to be able to export wine of better quality with a higher price” – stated Mikheil Saakashvili during the vintage.

The Head of Sate also noted that despite the Russian embargo and natural disasters, the Georgian State stands by the side of the farmers and maximally helps them overcome obstacles.

The candidate for Majoritarian Deputy from Kvareli Marika Verulashvili, and the President’s personal representative in Kakheti Levan Bejashvili, also participated in the vintage.

Tengiz Gagnidze’s vineyard covers around one hectare, where he mainly has the Saperavi breed of grapes. He is expecting up to 6 tons of harvest this year.