Wine & Politics
Georgia
Economic Relevance
Wine and politics may seem like separate worlds, but in Georgia, they are inseparable forces shaping history, identity, and survival. Wine is more than an industry—it is a cultural and existential pillar, woven into religious rituals, national resilience, and geopolitical struggles. From ancient times to modern trade wars, wine has been a silent yet powerful actor in defining alliances, resisting oppression, and asserting sovereignty. Yet, its significance is often misunderstood, even by those who recognize its economic or cultural value. In this exploration, I will examine the deep-rooted relationship between wine and politics in Georgia, revealing how this dual-natured entity—both a sacred tradition and a market commodity—continues to influence the nation’s past, present, and future.
The numbers tell one story: wine represents 5.7% of Georgia's exports and contributes 1.28% to GDP, especially when most of other export items are just minerals, scrap and re-export. But these figures, while significant, fail to capture wine's role as a cultural vessel - a carrier of social meaning and historical memory that has shaped Georgian identity for eight millennia.
When 300,000 wine tourists visit Georgia annually, within a total tourism sector generating $3.5 billion in revenue, they're not just engaging in tourism but participating in a living cultural tradition. The 8,000-year continuity of Georgian winemaking suggests something far deeper than economic activity - it represents an unbroken chain of cultural transmission that few societies can match.
This dual nature of wine - as both economic commodity and cultural vessel - creates particular challenges for policy makers and reformers. When we reduce wine to statistics, we miss its fundamental role in Georgian society. Yet when we ignore the economic realities of wine production and trade, we risk romanticizing a vital economic sector. Finding the balance between these perspectives becomes crucial for understanding wine's true relevance in Georgian society.
Understanding wine's relevance in Georgia requires looking beyond market data to see its role in shaping national identity and resilience. When Georgian wine exports reached $253 million in 2022, with Russia accounting for $161 million, these figures represented not just economic activity but the complex interplay of cultural preservation and economic necessity.
Wine's role in Georgian-Russian relations has deep historical roots. Russian appreciation for Georgian wine dates back to the 17th century, when it began appearing on royal tables. By the time of Tsar Alexander III, Georgian wines like Kardanakhi had achieved such status that they were among the few permitted at the Russian imperial court. This history made wine an ideal pressure point - Russia understood exactly what it was targeting.
The distinction between statistical and cultural relevance became starkly clear during the 2006 Russian embargo. When Russia banned Georgian wine imports, citing quality concerns, it wasn't just attacking an export commodity—representing approximately 80-90% of Georgia's wine exports—but was also attempting to weaponize a cultural cornerstone. The impact was severe: a 62% decrease in wine exports. But these numbers tell only part of the story.
Georgian society's response revealed wine's deeper significance. The embargo forced a fundamental reimagining of wine production and export strategies. This diversification, while economically necessary, unveiled wine's role beyond commodity status. It catalyzed the rediscovery of ancient Qvevri traditions and elevated Georgian wine from regional commodity to global presence, albeit within certain limitations.
While Georgian wine exports have grown in new markets since 2006, the scale of the Russian market proved impossible to replace fully. EU wine exports grew from virtually zero to €20 million by 2020, and U.S. market presence increased incrementally, but these gains pale against the lost Russian market volume. Before the embargo, Georgia exported over 50 million bottles annually to Russia. Even after years of market diversification, the combined EU and U.S. markets account for less than 15% of Georgia's pre-embargo Russian market volume.
This difficulty in market substitution isn't merely about commerce - it reflects deeper historical patterns. Russian consumers had developed a specific taste for Georgian wine over centuries, while Western markets already had established wine preferences and supply chains. The challenge wasn't just about finding new buyers but about overcoming centuries of established cultural and trade patterns.
This persistence of historical trade patterns helps explain why, Russia accounted for 65% of total wine exports in 2023, indicating a percentage point increase as compared to 64% in 2022. Russia’s share in total wine exports has generally increased by single percentage points each year since 2017 with the exception of 2022 when it rose by six percentage points as compared to the previous year.
The pattern mirrors historical precedents where wine trade became entangled with political power. Even medieval trade in Bordeaux wines to London continued through periods of conflict, demonstrating how wine commerce often transcends - and sometimes complicates - political relationships.
Spiritual Relevance
At a political level, wine is treated as an economic commodity—a product that contributes to GDP, employment, and trade. Internationally, it is subject to taxation, tariffs, and competitive positioning in global markets. However, in Georgia, wine is not just a product—it is deeply woven into the country's identity, history, and even religious traditions.
One of the earliest and most profound symbols of this significance comes from Christianity itself. According to tradition, St. Nino of Cappadocia, who introduced Christianity to Georgia in the early 4th century, carried a cross made from vine branches tied together with her own hair. This cross is still venerated in the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, underlining how, from the very beginning of Christianity in Georgia, wine and faith were inseparable.
This sacred dimension of wine has persisted across centuries, reinforcing its role beyond simple consumption. Unlike in many parts of the world where wine is just an industry, in Georgia, its production and preservation were acts of cultural resistance—a way to affirm national identity against external domination, political oppression, and economic hardship.
Giorgio Agamben's theory of the sacred as exclusion provides a compelling framework for understanding Georgian wine—not as a relic of the past but as an entity that exists in a dual reality.
In modernity, many sacred objects or traditions lose their function and become neutralized artifacts—placed in museums, preserved as historical curiosities, but ultimately detached from lived experience. However, Georgian wine is different. It is highly relevant as a commodity, actively produced, traded, and consumed, yet at the same time, it exists in a sacred, almost untouchable realm. This duality makes it difficult for outsiders to fully grasp its nature.
To many foreign observers, Georgian wine appears to be just a product, culturally very significant but still as an economical product. The real trick is that Georgian wine is both— culturally significant economic product and a sacred entity at the same time. It embodies dualism in its purest form, functioning as both a lived tradition and an intangible, almost mythical cultural force.
This paradox is not unique to wine but reflects a broader phenomenon in Georgian society—one shaped by centuries of survival under existential threats. The ability to camouflage the sacred within the ordinary became a necessary adaptation. Unlike in many cultures where the sacred is visibly marked—placed in temples, restricted by ritual prohibitions, or removed from everyday life—Georgians embedded their sacred elements into daily existence, allowing them to persist even under foreign rule, forced assimilation, or economic hardship.
Agamben’s concept of the sacred as something set apart yet still under power applies here in a unique way: Georgian wine has never been fully removed from practical use, yet it has also never lost its symbolic, untouchable nature. This duophysitic existence—both tangible and intangible, both commercial and sacred—is what makes Georgian wine an enigma to those who attempt to categorize it through conventional economic or cultural frameworks.
Georgia’s endurance as a nation, despite repeated invasions and political upheavals, can be attributed to multiple factors. Among them, religion, language, and cultural traditions played a crucial role in sustaining national identity.
Wine was an integral part of this cultural and spiritual resilience. Unlike in many other regions where winemaking was mostly an economic activity, in Georgia, it became a defensive mechanism of identity. Even during periods of extreme hardship, wine was preserved, cultivated, and integrated into daily life, reinforcing a collective sense of belonging.
A striking example of how wine became a symbol of resistance occurred during the early 17th century under Shah Abbas I of Persia. During his brutal campaign to depopulate Kakheti, Shah Abbas ordered the systematic destruction of vineyards, aiming to erase Georgian identity by eliminating one of its core cultural markers. The Persian army cut down thousands of grapevines, believing that without vineyards, Kakheti’s wine culture would die and assimilation into Persian rule would be inevitable.
However, this strategy failed. Georgians replanted vines, often in hidden locations, ensuring the survival of indigenous grape varieties and winemaking traditions. This act of defiance was not just agricultural—it was a cultural and national statement.
The survival of qvevri winemaking and native grape varieties despite centuries of destruction highlights how wine was not just an industry but a form of resistance, a spiritual and national symbol that connected Georgians to their land, ancestors, and identity.
Wine in Georgia is not just an economic asset; it is a sacred element of national identity, deeply embedded in cultural traditions and historical continuity. The 2006 Russian embargo revealed both its strength and vulnerability, as economic dependence on a single market exposed its political significance. Yet, what truly sets Georgian wine apart is its dual nature—simultaneously a traded product and an untouchable cultural cornerstone. Policymakers, both domestic and foreign, often acknowledge its cultural value but fail to grasp its sacred dimension, treating it as a heritage commodity rather than a living, existential force. This oversight leads to strategic miscalculations, as wine in Georgia is not merely consumed or exported—it is practiced, preserved, and revered, shaping the country’s identity in ways that transcend conventional economic logic.