Gvino – the first Georgian wine bar in Norway, which will take guests on a journey to the world of Georgian wine. The goals is to popularize Georgian wine and let more people know that Georgia is the homeland of wine.
Everything started with that small incident when Natia, who came to the professional course, was introduces to Egypt as the homeland of wine. On the same day, she prepared a letter of complaint and proved to the lecturer that he was wrong with all kinds of arguments.
T: what was the inspiration to open a Georgian wine bar in Norway and how did your story begin?
I remember how I proudly waited for Georgia to be named at the first lecture, I was very surprised when it did not happen. I corrected the lecturer and after returning home I sent an email, where I sent all the arguments. Actually, Georgian wine was very rare in Norway and I decided to bring it to the country. It was at this time that I found a business partner, Zviad Gurashvili, with whom we had a good collaboration, and today we are already represented by a bar.
In general, there are wine bars in many cities, although it is very rare to have just one countries production. Many people told us that you have a very narrow segment, however, we did our best and have been working with full bookings since the opening day.
T: how did Norwegians get wine from the homeland of wine?
Back then, when we started amber wine was new to consumers. I remember when I was standing on the stand, they would pass by the Georgian banner without even looking at it. They did not know Georgian and chose to go there, which was familiar to them. Those who once took a risk would definitely come back. It was important for the wine to be light and not heavy with body and tannin so that the consumer could easily adapt to the taste.
In general, the press is very important in Norway. Alcohol advertising is banned, so people rely on articles and bloggers to make choices. Because there is very little information about Georgian wine, it was a bit difficult for people to take the first steps.
T: what makes your wine bar stand out and what unique features does it offer customers?
Our sommelier is Georgian – Lasha Bedenashvili, who in turn is a winemaker and introduces guests to Georgian wine with amazing enthusiasm.
We have full emphasis on Qvevri wine in the assortment. I think, for wine enthusiasts, it is precisely these exotic and sparkling flavors that we have in Georgian wine that are attractive. We cannot even complete with European-style wines because there are so many on the market and it is hard to get into the highest category.
As part of events, every week we invite different winemakers and importing companies from all over the world and hold tastings. From autumn, live music and cultural evenings will be added to introduce Georgian culture to the guests along with Georgian wine.
Ultimately, Gvino wants to be a place where everyone feels at home.
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