Wine, Society, and Geopolitics
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Please join us for a unique, multi-panel event exploring the history, geopolitics, and political economy of wine production in the South Caucasus region. As a primary driver of Georgia’s burgeoning tourism industry (representing 18% of Georgia’s GDP in 2017) wine has been crucial to the internal development of Georgia’s trade, finance, and legal infrastructure. Panels will explore the following themes: how wine production has evolved historically in Georgia and the Caucasus and transformed Georgia’s economy, offering lessons for the region as a whole; the geopolitical consequences of a new wave of trade liberalization and foreign investment for the Caucasus; and the dynamics of local and global economies of wine, their politics and prospects.
9:30 - 9:50 AM | Welcome
Giorgi Tsikolia, Chargè D'Affaires, Embassy of Georgia
Mamuka Tsereteli, President, America-Georgia Business Council
9:50 - 10:00 AM
10:00 am - 12:00 PM | Wine, politics, and society in historical perspective
Patrick McGovern, University of Pennsylvania
Stephen Batiuk, University of Toronto
Rachel Berndtson, University of Maryland
Moderated by Mark J. Plotkin, Amazon Conservation Team-USA
12:00 - 1:00 PM | Lunch
Lunch will be served on the 1st floor
1:00 - 2:30 PM | The Geopolitics of Wine Today: Trade, Tourism, and International Relations
Lisa Granik, Master of Wine
Darra Goldstein, Author, The Georgian Feast
Levan Mekhuzla, Chairman, National Wine Agency of Georgia
Shota Kobelia, CEO, Teliani Group
Moderated by Jeffrey Mankoff, CSIS
2:30 - 3:00 PM | Coffee Break
3:00 - 4:30 PM | foreign investment, local economies: Case Study of Georgian Wines in the DC Market
Baia Abuladze, Baia's Wines
Daniel Runnerstrom, Founder/Sommelier, Maxwell Park Wine Bar
Carlie Steiner, Sommelier, Himitsu
Jonathan Nelms, Founder, Supra
Noel Brockett, Director, www.georgiawinehouse.com
Moderated by Dave McIntyre, The Washington Post
Closing remarks by Mamuka Tsereteli, President, America-Georgia Business Council
4:30 - 6:00 PM | Reception
Please join us for hors-d'oevres and beverages on the 1st floor.This event is made possible by the generous support of the America Georgia Business Council.
