2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines

The 2006 Russian import ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines began in late March 2006 and created a diplomatic conflict between the Republic of Moldova and Georgia on the one hand and Russia on the other.

The Russian Consumer Agency claimed that it had examined 21 sorts of Georgian wine sold in Moscow and concluded that 85.7% did not comply with sanitary requirements.

Prior to the ban, the Georgian government closed down several testing laboratories in Georgia, and several wineries were made to dump their product.

The differences involved the Rose Revolution and pro-NATO/pro-EU moves in Georgia and a divergence of the Russian and Moldovan positions regarding the future of Transnistria.

A year earlier, the Russian Duma had demanded a ban on Moldovan wine imports, because Moldova was considered to pursue anti-Russian policies.

[13] The president of NATO Parliamentary Assembly Pierre Lellouche also said that he was deeply concerned about the Russian ban on Georgian products.

The main reason is that the market became much more competitive since 2006, with manylocal, Western European, and South American wine brands, especially in the mid-price segment.