Georgia Wine Festival celebrates popularity of Georgian wine in Korea

The Georgia Wine Festival, featuring high-quality wines from the country with the earliest known traces of winemaking, was held in Seoul for the first time amid increasing demand for Georgian wines in Korea, the event organizer said Thursday.

Held at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, central Seoul, on Tuesday, the Georgia Wine Festival featured engaging activities such as a concert by popera group Bellavoce, a buffet featuring dishes regularly paired with wines, as well as a quiz show in which participants had the chance to deepen their knowledge of Georgian wine and win prizes. Participants also had an opportunity to sample a wine of their choice from a selection of 90 wines from 24 Georgian wineries.

Hosted by the Georgia National Wine Agency and sponsored by the Embassy of Georgia in Korea, the event attracted around 200 attendees, including Georgian Ambassador to Korea Tarash Papaskua. Other notable figures from the wine industry, media representatives and social media influencers were also in attendance.

According to the event organizer Wine 21, the festival took place for the first time in Seoul as demand for Georgian wine continues to grow in Korea, following the country’s evolving wine culture.

"Up until now, we've held various events such as tastings and seminars to promote Georgian wine, but this is the first time we've had a wine festival," Papaskua said during the welcome speech.

"I'm pleased to see Georgian wine's (popularity) gaining significant traction in South Korea, which is a key strategic market for Georgia's wine exports and where we've invested considerable effort (to facilitate growth)," he added.