Georgia represents a meeting of worlds, straddled between Europe and Asia, both the food and wine culture embody the best of Old and New World traditions. Considered the birthplace of wine, clay vessels and grape seed residue verify the first known archaeological evidence of wine production. Its surprising Georgian wines don’t play a larger role in modern wine lists with the story of tradition and provenance laid out for us so succinctly, and more so now as the nation steps precariously away from neighbouring Russia.
The IWSC Georgia judging included leading UK wine figures and local experts
The year 2025 chimes the fourth IWSC Global Judging in Georgia, led by IWSC committee member Sarah Abbott MW who is an ardent advocate of Georgian wine and committed to bridging the gap between Georgian wine producers and UK trade. Her on-the-ground knowledge of the Georgian wine scene is second to none and her presence in Georgia received with reverence.
Abbott comments in the days before judging that Georgia harbours over 525 indigenous grape varieties, labelled the cradle of wine, many of the autochthonous grape species contain large proportions of “wild” ancestral Vitis vinifera DNA.
Most Georgian wine is produced in the Kakheti region to the East of Georgia which accounts for 70% of the country’s vineyards, and is famed for shining examples of grape varieties Saperavi and Rkatsiteli.
These two varieties have become ubiquitous with Georgian wine in Europe alongside the tradition of using the most ancient of wine technolgy: the qvevri (large tear shaped clay fermentation vessels that are buried underground).
Like many marvels of the ancient worlds, they were produced to perfectly fulfil a role well before our understanding of the science behind that role. The shape of these clay vessels channel bitter grape seeds to the bottom so they’re out of the way in fermentation, they assist the formation of convection currents to accelerate grape skin extraction during fermentation, and the under-soil storage means fermentation temperatures are better regulated – all engineered before we fully understood the role of living yeast in fermentation.
This year’s judging was held in Batumi, the far west of Georgia nestled on the coast of the Black Sea near the border of Turkey. This year’s judges were exposed in the west to a lighter and fresher style of qvevri wines, an Imeretian style.
IWSC's Georgia judging was the latest in a series of in-country judging sessions that took place around the world in 2025
It’s common practice here to rack a proportion of the skins of orange and red wines before fermentation, often using just 30% of the skins to create a softer and less tannic style of wine.
The all-star lineup of international judges included:
- Rebecca Palmer, associate director, Corney & Barrow.
- Will Hill, managing director, Novel Wines.
- Adam Michocki, founder, Central Wines.
- Joanna Nerantzi, runner up 2025 UK Sommelier of the Year.
- Salvatore Castano, wine buyer, Friarwood Wines.
- IWSC presenter and broadcaster, David Kermode.
These well versed judges were joined by a stronghold of local expertise on the judging panel that included Levan Mekhuzula, chairman Georgian National Wine Agency, Mariam Khomasuridze, Professor of Department of Viticulture and Enology, Jaba Dzimistarishvili, Best Sommelier of Georgia 2021, Maia Katsitadze, head of the technological department atSarajishvili and Daria Kholodilina, co-author, Georgia: A Guide to the Cradle of Wine.
Awards overview
Novel Wines' Will Hill taking part in the judging
The two days of judging resulted in an impressive collection of 30 gold medals, 119 silver medals and 113 bronze medals for wines. Georgian spirits garnered an additional four golds, six silvers, and 12 bronze medals.
White and red wine categories took an even split of most gold medals whilst orange and rosé wines accounted for just under 20% of gold medals. Just two producers swept up three or more golds this year with standouts including Giuaani (taking seven medals in total) and Tsinandali Old Cellar LTD (who took 18 medals in total).
This year was dominated by an array of grape variety diversity in the gold medal ranks. The usual suspects of Rkatsiteli and Saperavi in qvevri style were found, but alongside them in the lineup stood Kisi in both white and qvevri orange styles, plus skin contact Mtsvane wines. A real shift towards spreading the quality across lesser-known grape varieties was visible. This trend was also reflected across the silver and gold medal winners.
Notable medallists include Teliani Valley who took 11 medals, Armenian producer Noah of Areni who took five medals this year including a gold, Shumi Winery who pocketed 13 medals, and Naberauli Wines whose Reserve Tsolikouri has received gold for two years running.
Sunny Hodge is a wine writer, judge and founder of London wine bars Diogenes the Dog and Aspen & Meursault. His science of wine book “The Cynics Guide to Wine” was released in April 2025. You can see Sunny Hodge’s IWSC bio here: Sunny Hodge Judge | International Wine & Spirit Competition.
The full results of the 2026 Georgia judging, in partnership with the Gurjaani Wine Festival and the National Wine Agency of Georgia, can be seen here: IWSC Wine & Spirits Judging in Georgia: medal results and Producer Trophy revealed | IWSC.
You can read more about IWSC’s Global Judging campaign here: Global Judging | IWSC International Wine & Spirit Competition.
