Shalva Kurdadze, founder of Papari's Valley winery, says Georgia must significantly increase its wine marketing budget in Western markets amid Russia’s import restrictions on some Georgian wine producers and the country’s heavy dependence on the Russian market.
Speaking on the TV-program Business Course, Kurdadze said the GEL 17–18 million allocated this year for promoting Georgian wine in Western markets is insufficient even to conduct market research in key countries. He argued that reliance on Russia, which accounts for around 70% of the market, makes long-term marketing strategies difficult to develop.
Kurdadze also criticized the imbalance between wine marketing spending and state subsidies, which he said have exceeded GEL 1 billion. He argued that allocating even half of those funds to developing Western markets could have reduced the sector’s dependence on subsidies and put Georgian wine exporters in a stronger position. “We need to identify priority markets and launch a major promotional effort. There is no other way,” he said.
According to Geostat, Georgia exported US$188.7 million worth of wine in the first nine months of 2026, down by 0.6% in value and 6% in volume. Russia accounted for US$119.7 million, or 63.4% of total wine exports. Meanwhile, Russia has temporarily restricted imports of certain Georgian wines and non-alcoholic beverages, citing alleged non-compliance with quality and safety requirements.
