Kristine Vachadze

I am Kristine Vachadze, a Bachelor of Viticulture and Enology and a Master of Wine Tourism.

T: How and why did I end up where I am:

As with most Georgian families, it is rare to find one without a qvevri (traditional Georgian clay vessel for wine), and mine was no exception. During my childhood, I used to help my grandparents fill the qvevris during the grape harvest, and it was here that I developed a great interest in this drink. This subsequently influenced my choice of profession.

T: Why did I choose this profession?

Because of the variety it offers. In this field, there is always something new to discover and create every day, and I wanted to break stereotypes about gender not being important in this profession. What matters is a love for the work and those happy moments when people enjoy the wine we have produced and truly feel the emotions we intended to convey.

T: My goal:

With the theoretical and practical knowledge gained abroad, I realized that at this stage, I want to help the wine industry from the perspective of tourism and marketing. I believe that no matter how extensive your history is, we are still newcomers in this field. People are just getting to know us, and there are many new and wonderful things we can do for the new generation.

T: What motivates me to do what I do:

I believe that a winemaker, when producing wine, tries to share its character and introduce us to its individual nature. Sharing all of this with others motivates me to offer and introduce more Georgian products to people.

T: What is missing in Georgian winemaking?

We are so convinced that we are the homeland of wine and have a history that we are doing very little new, as if we have frozen in one place and are clinging to qvevris. However, there is so much more to try. The key is to take risks and have less fear of experiments.

T: Advice for those choosing this profession now:

The most important thing is not to lose faith in yourself during small failures. Personally, I faced many challenges, and during the grape harvest in Croatia, we used to pick grapes from the ship. Nowadays, many doors are open; all that’s needed is determination and not being afraid. There are many good directions in this field, and excellent experiments can be conducted. Never stop searching, and you will be able to achieve everything.