Georgian UK wine exports continue to surge

By Lisa Riley

Published: 21 April, 2020

Georgian wine exports to the UK surged, albeit from a small platform, in the first quarter of this year boosted by a quartet of new importers.

In the first three moths of 2020, Georgian wine exports to the UK jumped 317% in volume terms to 42,924 bottles, up from from 10,292 bottles in the same period last year, according to the the latest data from the National Wine Agency.

The steep increase was driven by a number of new importers, including Amathus, Berkmann, Boutinot and Hallgarten Novum, which joined the likes of Clark Foyster, Les Caves de Pyrene and other Gerogian specialist importers at the beginning of the year.

With four new key companies joining the “already established” national importers, 2020 looked set to be “a good year for Georgian wines in the UK, despite the challenges currently facing the wine trade”, said Sarah Abbott MW, whose company, Swirl, runs the UK campaign on behalf of the National Wine Agency.

“We are so pleased to see these latest export figures. We have run the campaign for three years, and a key objective has been to bring the contemporary, accessible side of Georgian wine to the UK market. We also continue to support the many specialist importers of quirky, niche styles of wine with which Georgia first caught our attention,” she said.

In light of Covid-19, Abbott said Swirl was creating new ways to reach audiences and engage the trade about Georgian wine.

“We want to reassure the trade that we will support them in any way we can in the coming months."

The adapted promotional campaign includes a series of webinars and virtual tastings, hosted by Abbott, poised to be held from May, with UK-based attendees invited to receive sample wines while online resources will also be provided to make the tastings as “enriching as possible”.

The National Wine Agency hopes to reschedule postponed events, such as the Georgian Trade Tastings, for later in the year. Additional initiatives and adaptations will be announced as the situation develops.

At the beginning of February, the National Wine Agency announced Georgia had exported over 168,000 bottles to the UK in 2019, up from 105,608 bottles in 2018.

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