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IT'S OFFICIAL: GEORGIA IS THE "CRADLE OF WINE"
Yigal Schleifer
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65730
July 31 2012
NY
The title of being the birthplace of wine is a contested one, with
Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and even Azerbaijan all vying for it. But now
Georgia can at least claim that it is officially the "cradle of wine."
As the all-things-Georgian-wine blog Hvino News reports, the European
Union has just awarded Georgia the exclusive right to sell wine within
its territory with the tagline "Georgia - the Cradle of Wine." From
Hvino's dispatch:
According to "Sakstat" (Georgia's statistical institution), until 2011
this brand has belonged to a British company. The new registration
allows Georgia to ban any other company using the name without
permission. Use of the brand "Cradle of Wine" is supposed to help
promote Georgia as the oldest wine-producing country.
But even before Georgians had a chance to raise a celebratory glass,
the Financial Times weighed in on the question of Tbilisi's plan to
label every bottle of wine with the now exclusive slogan, calling
the victory in Brussels a "mixed blessing":
Emphasising its rich heritage is the obvious way for Georgian wine
to make its mark in a highly competitive global market. But some
consumers may more readily associate cradles with babies or bottle
racks than the history of the Alazani Valley.
This slogan may need more time to ripen.
Georgia has certainly been clever when it comes to marketing its wine.
When President Mikhail Saakashvili went to a 2006 summit meeting
of the GUAM group of countries -- Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and
Moldova -- in Kiev, soon after Russia had initiated a boycott on his
country's wine, Tbilisi arranged for billboards to be put up in the
Ukrainian capital which promoted Georgian wine as "containing more
freedom than allowed" and as the wine "prohibited in Russia."
Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure, below is a "Cradle of Wine"
promotional film made by the Georgian government, which lets the
viewer know that, along with wine, Georgia is also the birthplace of
"singing, toasting and merrymaking":
From: A. Papazian
Yigal Schleifer
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65730
July 31 2012
NY
The title of being the birthplace of wine is a contested one, with
Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and even Azerbaijan all vying for it. But now
Georgia can at least claim that it is officially the "cradle of wine."
As the all-things-Georgian-wine blog Hvino News reports, the European
Union has just awarded Georgia the exclusive right to sell wine within
its territory with the tagline "Georgia - the Cradle of Wine." From
Hvino's dispatch:
According to "Sakstat" (Georgia's statistical institution), until 2011
this brand has belonged to a British company. The new registration
allows Georgia to ban any other company using the name without
permission. Use of the brand "Cradle of Wine" is supposed to help
promote Georgia as the oldest wine-producing country.
But even before Georgians had a chance to raise a celebratory glass,
the Financial Times weighed in on the question of Tbilisi's plan to
label every bottle of wine with the now exclusive slogan, calling
the victory in Brussels a "mixed blessing":
Emphasising its rich heritage is the obvious way for Georgian wine
to make its mark in a highly competitive global market. But some
consumers may more readily associate cradles with babies or bottle
racks than the history of the Alazani Valley.
This slogan may need more time to ripen.
Georgia has certainly been clever when it comes to marketing its wine.
When President Mikhail Saakashvili went to a 2006 summit meeting
of the GUAM group of countries -- Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and
Moldova -- in Kiev, soon after Russia had initiated a boycott on his
country's wine, Tbilisi arranged for billboards to be put up in the
Ukrainian capital which promoted Georgian wine as "containing more
freedom than allowed" and as the wine "prohibited in Russia."
Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure, below is a "Cradle of Wine"
promotional film made by the Georgian government, which lets the
viewer know that, along with wine, Georgia is also the birthplace of
"singing, toasting and merrymaking":
From: A. Papazian