According to the National Agency of Wine of Georgia, in the first 9 months of 2014 revenues from exports of cognaci ncreased by 41% compared to the same period the previous year, amounting in value terms to about 29 million dollars. For brandy production in such a small country as Georgia it is a huge figure.
Since the beginning of the year 8.8 million half-liter bottles of brandy were exported to 14 countries. And many of them could not be labeled "cognac" (as Georgian producers normally do), in order not to violate the indisputable copyright of France. Nevertheless, "Georgian brandy" is becoming increasingly popular. Among importers Ukraine still leads (4,281,222 bottles), followed by Russia (3,976,884 bottles), and as Vestnik Kavkaza reported earlier, Russia's share is growing.
Several companies are engaged in brandy production in Georgia. Among the most successful is "Sarajishvili", named after the well-known philanthropist and social activist David Sarajishvili. Drinks produced by the company are called "Caucasian cognac." It was sold in St. Petersburg and other Russian cities under that name until the publication of the historic decree of the French government on the protection of the origin of the name "cognac", issued in 1909.
But no less famous is another Georgian brand. It is known that during the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill drank "Eniseli" and thought that it was his favorite French cognac.
Another successful company is "Askaneli Brothers", which exports eight kinds of "Georgian brandy" to the CIS countries. The company executives believe that the Russian market is the most promising. However, all Georgian companies are trying to diversify export flows and, if possible, to enter new markets, because Russian-Georgian cooperation in trade is still fragile and can be damaged by the continuing political tensions.
