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"The Russian embargo has played a positive role," Georgian Wine Association official Tina Kezeli said. "The emphasis has shifted clearly toward quality." Wine has long been an important source of revenue in Georgia and an essential part of its national identity. The nation claims to be the world's inventor of wine making 8,000 years ago and treats it with sacramental reverence. Its more than 500 grape varieties are used for wines ranging from golden to deep red, dry, and semi-sweet. Some of the tongue-twisting names have become internationally known, including Kindzmarauli, Usakhelauri, and Mukuzani. Georgian culture centers hold sumptuous feasts during which a tamada, or banquet leader, initiates countless toasts with elaborate etiquette, praising parents, deceased loved ones and the nation itself. Georgians often claim their wines are better than those produced in countries such as France, Italy, the United States and Australia. For that reason Gela Gamtkitsulashvili, a proprietor at the Twins Old Cellar winery in the Kakheti region, predicted Russians would soon put aside such wines when they can once again buy Georgian ones. Georgia hopes to increase annual wine production 50 percent to 40 million bottles by 2015, or even earlier if Russia soon drops its import ban.
[Associated
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