Russian regulator finds drop in quality of Georgian wines days after anti-Russian demonstrations begin in Tbilisi

Russia’s Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) issued an announcement saying that the quality of Georgian alcohol products has been in decline for several years.

According to the agency, the quantity of substandard Georgian alcohol nearly tripled to 203,000 liters between 2014 and 2018, necessitating new quality controls for Georgian imports to Russia. Data from Georgia’s federal wine agency indicates that almost half of Georgian wine exports go to Russia, and Russian federal data indicates that Georgia is consistently the third- or fourth-largest exporter of wine to Russia in the world.

Georgian-Russian relations took a sharp downturn after anti-Russian protests broke out in Tbilisi on June 20. Beginning July 8, each country will prohibit passenger flights from landing in the other country.