On July 20, Consul Cunanan met a group of Manila-based wine merchants, distributors, and experts in Sala Bistro at Greenbelt Commercial Center in the Makati Business District. Leading the group was Mr. Lester Harvey Jr., President of Zen Asia Inc., one of the leading wine distributors in the country.

The event, entitled “A Light Liquid Lunch”, was aimed at introducing new wines to the group for possible retail and distribution in the Philippine market. The wine merchants brought bottles mainly from South Africa. Consul Cunanan, however, brought a bottle of white wine (Manavis Mtsvane 2010) from the Teliani Valley in the Kakheti region of Easter Georgia.

It was the first time Philippine wine distributors had tried Georgian wine and the first initiative at introducing Georgian wine to the local market. The experts agreed that the Teliani Valley wine was an interesting but rather young vintage and quite different in body and style from western European or traditional New World bottles. They expressed interest to try other Georgian wines, which Consul Cunanan will bring back to the Philippines from Georgia.