The beginning of cultivated viticulture in present-day Georgia is dated to around 8,000 years ago. Grape seeds, tools and vessels up to 8,000 years old have been discovered at excavation sites.

In the second half of the 19th century, Georgia had a total wine-growing area of around 71,200 hectares.

Between 1816 and 1818, Swabian separatists with knowledge of winemaking immigrated to southern Georgia. In addition to growing fruit and vegetables, the “Caucasian Germans” devoted themselves particularly to viticulture.

In addition to their domestic demand, Georgian wines were very popular with the European aristocracy due to their high quality.

Georgian wine enjoyed strong sales during the Soviet era. An era of mass production began. During this time, Georgia's vineyard area increased to around 128,000 hectares by 1985.

Prohibition in the 1980s during the Gorbachev era hit viticulture in Georgia hard. In connection with the fight against alcoholism, many hectares of vineyards were closed down.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia had no difficulties selling wine. The demand for Georgian wines was so great that the Russian and post-Soviet markets could not be fully served.

In 2006, Putin imposed an import ban on Georgian agricultural products, which also affected Georgian wines. After this boycott came into force, the Georgian wine industry had to look for new markets “overnight”.

While the production policy up to this point had been focused on “quantity production”, the emphasis now had to be placed on quality.

Many Georgian wineries seized this opportunity and began by investing in the quality of their wines.

This was done by bringing in foreign specialists, training young Georgians abroad or investing in winemaking technology.

Since the 2007 harvest, it is pleasing to note that the quality of Georgian wines has been continuously improving.

Today, Georgia cultivates a vineyard area of around 45,000 hectares.