22

Exhibition

GEORGIA
the

CRADLE
of

VITICULTURE

GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 23

T
he newly created Foundation for
Wine Culture and Civilisations in
Bordeaux, France offers an op-
portunity to present a cultural exhibi-
tion to a “Guest Wine Region”. The first
Guest Wine Region exhibition at Cité du
Vin was “Georgia, the Cradle of Viticultu-
re”, which took place from 31 July to 5
November 2017.
Wine, a ubiquitous part of Georgia’s
history, has accompanied the develop-
ment of culture in this region from the
Neolithic era to present day Georgia.
This history has long been linked to the
rich variety of the region’s soils and cli-
mates: more than 500 of the grape va-
rieties grown in Georgia are indigenous.
The country’s contribution to the de-
velopment of the global wine industry,
in particular to the unique qvevri wine-
making method in large buried jars, has
been recognized by UNESCO.
In Bordeaux, a world center of wine-making,
Neolithic pottery fragments discovered in
southeastern Georgia were exhibited for
the first time, studied during interdisci-
Clockwise: Levan Davitashvili, the Minister
of Agriculture; Ekaterine Siradze-Delaunay,
Ambassador of Georgia to France; Giorgi
Kvirikashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia;
Sylvie Cazes, President of the Foundation for
Culture and Wine Civilizations; Alain Juppé,
Mayor of Bordeaux and Former Prime Minis-
ter of France at the official exhibition opening
of the “Georgia, the Cradle of Viticulture”.
24 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
plinary research in the Caucasus, repre-
senting the oldest biomolecular archae-
ological findings for grape-based wine.
The archaeological and ethnographic
objects, and works of art from the Geor-
gian National Museum collections, as well
as contemporary installations and video
screenings were presented at the exhibi-
tion to testify that viticulture has always
been an inseparable part of the region’s
culture from the 6th millennium BC to mo-
dern day.
The exhibition was organized by the
Georgian National Museum in collabo-
ration with the Foundation for Wine Cul-
ture and Civilizations and funded by the
Georgian Government.
Exhibitions and programs were co-orga-
nized by the Georgian Ministry of Agricul-
ture and the Embassy of Georgia in France.
The project was supported by the National
Wine Agency, the Georgian Wine Associa-
tion, and the National Intellectual Property
Center of Georgia.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 25
26 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 27