Former head of the National Wine Agency, Giorgi Samanshvili, says the agency urgently needs reform to regain credibility and independence. Speaking on BMGTV’s “Tsertili”, he claimed the Ministry of Agriculture and the agency’s leadership are defending policies they know are flawed, suggesting undisclosed pressures behind recent decisions.
His comments come amid major changes to Georgia’s wine legislation. From May 1, planting commercial vineyards now requires agency approval. More regulations are planned, including mandatory labeling fees, universal organoleptic testing for all wines, and reducing small winery production limits. Authorities argue these steps will improve quality, but Samanshvili disputes the approach.
He believes the real authors of these changes are not the agency’s leaders and that the institution is being weakened. Samanshvili outlined three reforms he considers essential: removing spirit certification from the agency due to high corruption risks; separating the state-owned “Harvest Management Company” from the agency to eliminate conflicts of interest; and appointing the agency’s chairman through a fixed-term, protected process independent of political shifts.
According to Samanshvili, only by addressing the real structural problems can Georgia protect the credibility of its wine sector and avoid “becoming a typical post-Soviet country.”
