Tbilisi: Otar Shamugia, the Georgian Minister of Agriculture and Environment Protection interacted with representatives of the wine-producing companies. A significant meeting was held at the vintage coordination headquarters in Telavi, where information about the progress of the vintage was heard by minister.
The vintage coordination headquarters in Telavi is responsible for coordinating grape production throughout the country. According to the latest updates up to 30 thousand tons of grapes have been processed as of September 6. Out of this total 15 thousand tons of Rkatsiteli, 10 thousand tons of Saperavi and the rest of grapes of different varieties have been processed as well.
Giorgi Aladashvili the state trustee in the Kakheti region attended the meeting. At the same time Davit Songhulashvili the majority deputy of Gurjaani, Sighnaghi, Sagarejo and Dedoplistskaro along with Yuri Nozadze the deputy minister of environment protection and agriculture were also present.
It was emphasized at the meeting that both the vintage coordination headquarters and the relevant bodies of the local government of the Kakheti region will work in full coordination. The wine enterprises have been fully mobilized to ensure the smooth progress of the vintage process and to accommodate all winegrowers for the harvest.
The grape harvest forecast for 2024 is estimated at 300 thousand tons. According to the preliminary forecast more than 500 wine enterprises will be involved in this year’s vintage production facility.
It is to be noted that 340 wine enterprises are already registered in the vintage coordination headquarters, which will gradually be involved in the grape processing process. Moreover to promote the sale of grape harvest by winegrowers and to support the stable development of the winemaking industry the government of Georgia is subsidizing the harvest this year as well.
The subsidy will enable more than 20000 winegrowers to sell their harvest and 500 companies involved in the harvest to purchase and process grapes smoothly.It should be noted that all companies that purchase and process at least 100 tons of Rkatsiteli grapes grown in the Kakheti region during the 2024 harvest will receive a state subsidy.
