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Georgian winemakers wish to end dependency on Russian market: 'Otherwise, we risk losing our identity'
When she saw the photo on social media in September 2022, Nino Gagua, a 52-year-old Georgian woman, first thought it was a fake. In the image, the then Ukrainian defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, posed with a bottle of wine produced by her husband, a winemaker based in Kakheti, the wine-growing region in eastern Georgia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine had begun seven months earlier, on February 24, 2022. The minister, dressed in a sweatshirt and khaki cap, promised to celebrate Ukraine's victory with that vintage. With this single photo, the label of the Georgian winemaker, Winiveria, became a symbol of support for Ukraine against Moscow.
"We didn't even know he was aware of our wine," recalled the producer, Giorgi Piradashvili, a cigar in hand, sitting with his wife on the terrace of his wine estate on a May morning. "It came as a huge surprise." It was also a source of pride, because, like the entire Georgian population, he declared his solidarity with the Ukrainians: "We have the same enemy. Russia also invaded Georgia [during a lightning war in August 2008] and still occupies 20% of our territory."
The photo also marked the start of the winemaker's troubles. A Russian blogger spotted it and circulated it on his social media, accusing Piradashvili of funding the conflict. The producer's name ended up on a list held by the FSB, the Russian security services. "It became dangerous for me. They know exactly where I live and could come and get me here," he said, obviously anxious. "It's so absurd. All this just because I sell wine?" Feeling uneasy, his Russian customers canceled their orders, fearing reprisals from the Kremlin. But although Piradashvili defends the Ukrainian cause, he is above all a pragmatic and shrewd businessman.
