Women winemakers at the Natural Wine Festival

The village of Sabué in Kvareli Municipality is located in a winemaking corner of eastern Georgia’s Kakheti region. On the southern slope of the Caucasus Mountains, in the Kindzmarauli microzone, which is one of the best places for viticulture, local winemaker Tamar Gerliani, 37, grows organic grapes on about 2 hectares of land. She also has her own wine cellar, where she produces seven types of natural wine using traditional Georgian technology.

“I started this business in 2015,” Tamar explains. “I planted a vineyard because I wanted to grow only organic grapes. I already export my wines outside the country and sell them in the US, UK and Germany. I am also in talks with France and Japan for export.” She presented her products to guests at the Natural Wine Festival in Tbilisi on 28 June.

The festival was hosted by Ninoshvili Bazaar. The presentation space, which is a popular place for locals and tourists, brought together representatives of about 100 small wineries. The event was organized by the SuperNatural Group. One of the festival’s sponsors was UN Women, with whose support five women winemakers, including Tamar Gerliani, participated in the event free of charge.

UN Women, within the framework of projects implemented in the direction of women’s economic empowerment, helps a number of women winemakers throughout the country to develop and promote their activities, acquire the necessary knowledge and skills, tap into new markets and establish useful connections. The winemakers who presented at the Natural Wine Festival with the support of UN Women are participants in these projects.

The festival gave women winemakers the opportunity to promote their brands, establish useful business contacts and find new markets. In addition, they had the opportunity to better assess production techniques and standards, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the specifics of the sector or market as well as competitiveness and sales methods.

After the event, Tamar noted: “Such festivals are important to me primarily because I can reach out to more Georgians, have a direct relationship with them and explain to them what quality wine and authentic flavours mean. I made a lot of new contacts and met those who have liked and appreciated my wine for a long time.”

The Natural Wine Festival, which is held regularly in Tbilisi, aims to raise the profile of ecologically clean wine producers, showcase the diversity of Georgian wine and promote traditional wineries. Supporting women winemakers’ participation in the event was part of the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia regional programme “Women’s Increased Leadership for Resilient and Peaceful Societies”, funded by the Government of Denmark.