On the ‘Georgia - Homeland of Wine Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan

Georgia, is the birthplace of wine. We present the Georgian wine, its history, culture, nature and the charms of the country – states the website of Georgia - Homeland of Wine, serving as a promotion for the exhibition carrying the exact same name, happening in Tokyo, Japan.

‘Georgia- Homeland of Wine’ opened on March 10 at the Terrada House exhibition center and will welcome visitors until May 7. The exhibition brings together unique archeological artefacts and latest Warpsquare technologies to bring to life Georgian culture and winemaking history, enabling visitors to travel to the ancient homeland of winemaking through interaction.

The project ‘Georgia – Homeland of Wine,’ organized by the National Wine Agency and Association ‘Georgian Wine’ is being implemented in partnership with Sony music communication and TOPPAN. Numerous promotional events have already taken place:

• Famous British journalist and wine writer Andrew Jefford read a lecture in Tokyo on the importance of Georgian wine. Jefford has been to Georgia a number of times and is a significant figure in the tight circle of Georgian wine experts. “Who would say no to Georgian wine?” he asked. “Georgia is the homeland of wine and has an 8000-year history of winemaking!”

• A presentation was held in the headquarters of Tokyo Marine Holdings, the biggest insurance company in Japan, to discuss the potential Georgian wine has on the Japanese market, with renowned sommelier Azusa Segawa in attendance to talk about the unique traits of Georgian wine. Head of Tokyo Marine Holdings and Director of Sony, Shuzo Sumi, and the famous TV reporter Hitoshi Kusano shared their impressions about their visits to Georgia and the representative of the Georgian Embassy in Japan, David Goginashvili, introduced the history and culture of Georgian wine, the investment climate and Georgian-Japanese relations.

• Exhibition posters were placed on the walls of the five Tokyo subway stations The posters offer basic information about the project, Georgia, and its phenomenal wine. The five subway stations carry over 770,000 passengers daily.

• At the ‘Georgia- Homeland of Wine’ exhibition, Wine Master of Japan, Kenichi Ohashi, highlighted that the Georgian winemaking method is unique in a presentation about Georgian wine given to Japanese wine professionals. The event was attended by up to 120 guests, among them local wine experts, members of the Japanese Sommelier Association, and representatives of restaurant and trade chains.

Ohashi underlined the diversity of Georgian grape varieties which contribute to the taste and uniqueness of Georgian wine.

"Georgia is truly the first producer of wine and therefore deserves respect. The diversity of varieties is also interesting. All this is new to us [Japanese] and I want us to learn more about Georgian wine: this is an ancient historical knowledge that is completely new to us,” Ohashi said.

• A presentation about Georgia’s tourism potential was held for the representatives of Japanese tourist companies at Terrada Republic / TMMT Hall, Tokyo.

Representative of the Embassy of Georgia to Japan David Goginashvili spoke about Georgian wine, history, culture and gastronomy to representatives of Intourist Japan, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Turkish Air & Travel, Latera International, Europe Express, and others. After the presentation, business meetings were held between representatives of the Georgian and Japanese sides, where future cooperation plans were discussed.

The implementation of the Georgia-Homeland of Wine project started in 2017, at the Bordeaux Center for Wine and Civilizations, France, and involved a scientific study, based on which the scientific community recognized Georgia as the homeland of wine.