Japanese Wine Master Tests Georgian Wine Potential

Kenichi Ohashi, Japanese Master of Wine, is visiting Georgia for a week-long wine market investigation.

During his trip to Georgia, Kenichi Ohashi is accompanied by the representative of Japanese Sommelier Association journal (JSA), wine writer Akihiko Yamamoto, who will publish an article about Georgian wine in JSA next year.

The Georgian National Wine Agency reports that Ohashi is the only wine master in Japan and his visit aims at studying Georgian wines in order to recommend them to Japanese consumers.

On the first day of his visit to Georgia, the Japanese guests held a meeting in the Georgian National Wine Agency, visited the museum and enoteca of the Agency and visited wine company Chateau Mukhrani.

The visit continued in Kakheti where the guests had opportunity to taste over 100 different varieties of Georgian wine.

Georgian wine made quite an impression on the Japanese wine master.

“My impression of Georgian wine is absolutely fantastic. I am very ashamed for not having been familiar with it before now. Once I came here, I learnt a lot of new information, number one being the 8,000 year history of Georgian wine,” he said.

Ohashi said he believes that Georgian wine has a brilliant future in Japan.

“Japanese cuisine is on the list of UNESCO Heritage, as is Qvevri winemaking. The combination of these two is a double World Heritage, and they perfectly fit each other,” he added.

After visiting Kakheti, the Japanese guests also tasted some wines in the Kartli region.

Marketing and PR Department of National Wine Agency, Irakli Cholobargia, stated that Kenichi Ohashi represents the contractor marketing company Red Bridge, which is organizing a marketing and advertising campaign for Georgian wine in Japan this year.

Thea Morrison