This year’s grape harvest will be one of the largest and highest-quality harvests in the history of independent Georgia, Agriculture and Environment Minister Davit Songulashvili said while visiting the harvest coordination headquarters in Gurjaani. He said nearly half of the vineyards have already been harvested and the harvest has entered its peak phase.
According to the ministry, as of October 5, 168,500 tons of grapes had been processed in Kakheti, 99% of which was high- or medium-quality. The processed harvest included 86,700 tons of Saperavi, nearly 70,000 tons of Rkatsiteli and grapes of other varieties. More than 12,000 growers have delivered their harvest to wineries.
Songulashvili said the quality-based grape differentiation introduced this year for the first time has given growers an additional incentive to focus on quality, which will ultimately improve wine quality. In case of excess supply, the Harvest Management Company will purchase grapes from individual growers at state-set rates.
For Saperavi, the rates are GEL 1.50 per kg for sugar content above 20%, GEL 1 for 16–20% and GEL 0.50 for below 16%. For Rkatsiteli and other wine grapes, the rates are GEL 1.30 for sugar content above 19%, GEL 0.90 for 16–19% and GEL 0.50 for below 16%. In September, growers protested over grape prices, after which the government announced changes to purchase prices and lowered the required quality thresholds.
