In its effort to stake claim to the title of being the "birthplace" of wine, Georgia a few years back petitioned the European Union, successfully earning the right to sell its wine in Europe using the tagline "The Cradle of Wine."
Considering there are others -- namely next door Armenia -- that are also claiming to be the place where wine was born, it appears that Georgian authorities are taking extra steps to solidify their claim on the title. As the Georgian wine news site Hvino.com reports, Levan Davitashvili, director of Georgia's National Wine Agency, has said his organization has provided numerous labs -- including one run by the American space agency NASA -- with archeological material that will prove "Georgia’s status as the motherland of wine." From Hvino's report:
According to Levan Davitashvili, the research project can’t be accomplished in a short period of time, but the Georgian side expects that a lot of material will prove that grape vine domestication and wine production started in Georgia.
Director of the National Wine Agency notes that in April new excavations were carried out in the region of Kartli, and the unearthed artifacts will supposedly prove that Georgia is the homeland of wine. "We have a fragmentary material. However, it is not recognized by leading scientists.
We are convinced that we are a wine country, but it must be proved scientifically," said Levan Davitashvli.
While NASA's scientists work their way through Georgia's artifacts, they might want to take a look at the research of Swiss botanist Jose Vouillamoz, who studies the DNA of grape varieties. His findings? That many of the most famous grape varieties used to make wine in Europe trace their roots back to not Georgia but to yet another "cradle" of wine, Turkey.
Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.