Interview: Winemaker Lado Uzunashvili of GEORGIAN SUN Wines

Renowned internationally, Lado Uzunashvili is an 11th generation winemaker in his family. For many years, he traveled through countries with celebrated winemaking traditions, learning their methods and perfecting his craft. With experience from France, Japan, Australia, and Georgia, Lado’s knowledge has culminated in his wine projects including Georgian Sun — a range designed for wine enthusiasts who wish to discover new flavors, quality, and affordability.

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Lado Uzunashvili about his background, career and Georgian Sun wines.

What was your very first memory of winemaking in your family?

I remember this very clearly, because I was rewarded for something I did when I was about eleven or twelve.

I had cleaned a Qvevri, and much later, at Christmas, I was rewarded by being allowed to taste the wine made in that very same Qvevri (it must have been a much shorter maceration than what we usually do).

The reward was this wine, from this Qvevri, served with the famous Georgian Satsivi made with turkey, the must‑have dish of Christmas and New Year, always accompanied by endless debates about how it should be prepared, when it should be enjoyed, and what it should be enjoyed with. Very much like the debates we have about wine. 

 How did your many global travels inform your skills as a winemaker?

 Every culture has its deep roots. The wisdom found within each of them is never accidental, I believe this strongly. Such wisdom is directly proportional to the depth of those roots. Natural habitat shapes everything into a single form of adaptive survival, yet within that process we also find local heroes and pioneers (and, contrary to the famous saying, they do not always die). Each culture has had its own revolutionaries who sensed the needs of the future and reshaped their societies accordingly. From this long path, all customs, diets, pleasures, and sorrows emerge as organic outcomes of that (r)evolutionary journey.

Some may argue that certain customs and traditions are wrong while others are right, but the truth is simple: this is what we have, and whether right or wrong, modern society is largely built upon them.

Wine culture lives within these same layers of life.

After saying all the above, the short answer is that communication teaches you a great deal of rites, customs, tastes, the methods behind those remarkable tastes and most importantly, it gives you a deeper understanding of your own uniqueness. A uniqueness you grow proud of, one you instinctively protect and carry forward into tomorrow.

This concerns me directly as a winemaker. Tasting and feeling those ways and unique tastes coming from what enriches you and yet keeps you close to your original roots.

This is how my travels have informed me.

Why do you think Georgian wines are increasing in popularity?

The story behind it is so simple, yet so impressive: a tale of resilience, loyalty, generosity, and something truly unprecedented. 

 And above all, it is honest. It never diminishes anyone else’s truth; it simply stands on its own. Interest is growing, but the pace could be faster. 

What we lack is the ability to market ourselves, i.e. to present our cultural uniqueness and draw more people into this extraordinary story of man and wine travelling together through centuries of struggle for dominance. 

We have witnessed sixteen empires rise and fall, and through it all we fought to protect our culture, healing our wounds with wine before the next battle. Whether those wounds were physical or of any other kind and we are still here.

Tell us about some of the indigenous grapes from the country of Georgia.

I think we all agree, that geography shapes ecosystems in every form they choose to reveal themselves. 

And then come the humans. The complexity of a landscape is directly proportional to the complexity of the life it carries, including us.

With the birth of Vitis Vinifera (a moment we still cannot fully explain) we were confronted with a simple but profound question: how could we cultivate this pleasure across the many suitable corners of our inheritance?

Georgia’s answer became 525 surviving varieties out of the 1,400 historically recorded. Most were lost, yet what remains is spread across an astonishing mosaic of micro‑climates, what we now so elegantly call terroirs.

Returning to the heart of the question, I have many favorites, but from the profile of where I stand, two rise above the rest: Kakhuri Mtsvane and the undisputed Saperavi.

Both are endlessly versatile in their stylistic expressions and are unforgettable when shaped with intention, they are almost intelligent in how they communicate what they expect from you during winemaking. Working with them feels as if you share one body - an integrated organism moving toward the same purpose.

 We’d love to know about the Georgian Sun Estate.

Once again, the story behind it is very simple and organic. 

Living in this tiny and diverse country you think how to place most of your countries terroirs and styles in one single glass at the given instance. 

Our common Sun on the Planet (which we cannot yet divide who does it belong to … so “good” we still are in the 21st C) makes it all happen in Sakartvelo (Georgia), too. It helps grow those truly rare varieties in different areas. 

Our idea was to create a brand of undivided Sun and Earth within our small Country and then pour it into a single glass thus offering cross varietal, cross regional and even cross epochal styles of wines. Yet, we try to make it fun brand to enjoy it greatly on any occasion. 

Since we have vineyards in three different areas of Georgia, we do blend varieties, regions and stories in a single blend of each wine of Georgian Sun

Georgia has a long history of winemaking. How does the Georgian Sun brand honor the country's legacy? 

We try to rediscover the forgotten, but what has not yet been lost forever. With this in mind, I personally talk to locals on any silly and funny or even on very serious subjects. They are the true sources of many rediscoveries not me/us. Thanks to them and their storytelling, we have this richness of styles across the country, and we simply follow the pace they set.

We like that Georgian Sun wines can be purchased at an accessible price point. Can you suggest wine and a food pairings that you personally like?

All of my thoughts on this are already on the back labels of each wine.

In general, I am a supporter of individual decisions. Yet our busy lives rarely give us the time to explore everything as deeply as we would like to.

What I can say with certainty is that our Georgian Sun wines contain zero animal‑origin fining agents: no gelatine, casein, isinglass, or anything of that sort. This makes them wonderfully compatible with all types of cuisine, whether conventional, vegetarian, or vegan.

Each wine is crafted to suit the choice of the day. Once you’ve chosen your dish, you can be sure that one of the Georgian Sun wines will be truly yours to accompany the feast.

Reds:  Excellent for meat‑based dishes.
Dry Amber:  Spanning almost the entire culinary spectrum with virtually no limits.
Off‑dry Amber: Leaning beautifully toward, Georgian, Italian and Asian recipes.
White:  Perfectly at home with salads, salt‑ and freshwater dishes, and poultry.

Still, I believe it always comes down to the individual.

When I was young, I once asked a wine professional, a man I consider a giant in our field:
— What is wine experience?
He replied, simply:
— It’s the number of bottles tasted and the conversations we share around the table. But never forget to talk about the wine you enjoyed.

A simple answer, and simple to do.

What is your vision for the future of Georgian Sun wines?

The future is always built on a solid past, and I believe we are unmistakably laying that foundation for the future of this brand.

I should add that it will reach wider audiences, even those modern‑day sceptics who have drifted away, or are drifting away, from wine and the culture surrounding it.

I truly hope that efforts like Georgian Sun and there are many similar sparks around the globe, will help regenerate a genuine affinity for wine across a broader spectrum of ages, bringing people back to this timeless dialogue between land, craft, and pleasure.

To learn more about Georgian Sun wines, visit their Instagram page at Georgian Sun Wine (@georgiansun.wine) • Instagram photos and videos.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Georgian Sun