Chat with Shorena, Human Rights Advocate Meets Georgian Wine

Yasi: Shorena Messerli is a Georgia citizen. Georgia is a country located at a crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. She has a background in law focusing on human rights, but also every Georgia and wine evangelists. Now residing in Switzerland, she opened an online wine shop with her husband and works in local NGOs part-time to help asylum seekers. We are glad to have her here today, talking about her work on human rights and of course, Georgian wine.

Hello, Shorena welcome to Fast Track podcast. 

Shorena: Hi Yasi. I’m so happy to be here with you. 

Yasi: Nice to have you here too. And tell us a little bit about your personal story. That’s you a human rights lawyer and you are from Georgia and many of the audience might think that Georgia is the state from the US but where is Georgia or what did you do in Georgia?

Shorena: Yes. So Georgia is a small country at the cross road of, um, Asia and Europe. It is a country. It’s not the state. That’s there. That’s the mostly mistake. I think about Georgia. Uh, I remember you coming to Georgia a couple of years ago and saying, oh my God, this feels sexually so far. I saw it was closer, but, uh, for many people eat, uh, it felt, and maybe it still feels a bit far away, even though it is really at the border of European Asia.

I like to ask people who have to Georgia, um, how they would describe the country. I specifically ask whether they feel it’s Europe, whether it’s Asia and they always tell me, no, it’s neither nor it’s it’s something in between, but for me and for my generation, with considering all the aspirations. And the values that we have, I can, um, I can relate it to more European, especially after the revolution and the political change that we had, uh, in the early two thousands.

Uh, but, our tradition and that is kept up until today in many ways, relates to Asia, even, uh, even the food. So it’s really interesting. And the more I go back to Georgia now that. Lived outside Georgia for over five, six years. I fell in love with our traditional culture more and more. And I appreciate, uh, uh, this, uh, unique, uh, uninterrupted, uh, uh, traditions and that we have, uh, one of which is of course wine making, but we can talk about it later.

Yeah. 

Yasi: We will talk about the wine later from Georgia, which is very interesting. I know that you have a background, like your study is on the rise. And then later on you venture into, um, importing Georgia. And why, so maybe tell us why you decided to study human rights. 

Shorena: Actually, if you had told me, um, five, six years ago at the time, We are living in Switzerland, having an online Georgian wine shop, I would not have believed because back then I was fully and exclusively invested in the nonprofit sector. I had no intention of joining the business world. Firstly, because I saw businesses are primarily for making money. I seen it is something that I did not aspire. I want you to help vulnerable communities.

I had myself. Uh, had experience of. The devastation effect of conflict. I knew how hard it could be for certain groups, especially for women to overcome the challenges. And the moment I heard about the concept of human rights, that was when I studied for my law degree at the state university. I realized that that is exactly what I wanted.

Four or five years, I worked in Georgia for different 10 national and international organizations. I joined the first, this small NGO that helped the big teams of, uh, August, uh, Russian Georgian war. I interviewed them to present their cases to the European court of human rights. And I felt that those, those weak teams, not just the victims of war, but generally victims of human rights and needed somebody to help them, uh, have their voices.

After working for five years, I decided to continue my studies in the international human rights. I did my LLM degree in international human rights law, outside of Georgia. And right after my graduation, I moved to Switzerland for family reasons. It was actually here, uh, first time in my life that I kinda had this opportunity to pick time.

To pause, to reflect and in many ways to find new ways to expand outside my field. Because I realized, um, that, uh, many of the human rights arguments we’re often confronted by the major disbelief and criticism in favor of the economy growth and, um, um, stability. Uh, so I, I knew you could not, um, find really term sustainable human rights solutions without providing some economic logic.

Oh, wait. Besides many human rights topics, especially when it comes to social economy, Crites, such as, um, right to education, right. To housing, a right to adequate standard of living, uh, right to health. Um, all of them. Comes with a set of costs and just, uh, the commitment or the wheel to ensure those rights are not enough.

You have to have certain resources. And here is where my interest to towards business started to grow because. Uh, I, um, I believe that businesses have responsibilities and they are accountable for not just towards their stakeholders or, um, economic market, financial market, but also for, um, the society at large, because whatever they do, it has implications for the greater good or the whole society.

So I became increasingly aware of, uh, economic logic that can be used in favor of human rights instead of disregarding the whole economic efficiency arguments and focusing merely on the ethics and on the international law and conventions that have been signed. Another fact actually is a bit selfish because in many ways, after I moved to Georgia, I rediscovered my own country and I fell in love with it.

Every time we would go back with my husband, with my family or my friends, I would, I would appreciate more and more our culture, especially when it came to the culture of hospitality. Big part of which was the wine. I would always try to convey this also in, and we would always. In port wine privately and share it with friends.

I would really enjoy this joy of discovery from the side of the people who have not heard, uh, about Georgia, not to say anything about the Georgian wine or they have heard was that it’s perhaps, um, the place where a stallion was born. That’s not the best. Um, The point. So finally in 2008, actually there was a wine ship expo in exhibition where Georgia was their guest country.

I remember going there almost every day with my husband, just drinking different wines, made catching with people that we met. Some of these, those wine makers. That we then partnered up. We didn’t not have this idea of importing wine, but we were just so encouraged by, by the people who have tried the wine there.

Or we met the people who have already been to Georgia and we’re so excited about their experiences. So I realized that would be actually great for both countries and for both people for season Georgia, to kind of bring the best pace of Georgia here and help us with people discover something. That would help them, you know, connect.

I think Swiss market is really the best when it comes to innovation. And when it comes to openness of trying, uh, trying new things.

Yasi: I have a different experience on that. It was like the stereotype of the Swiss culture, very precise. 

Shorena: I think it’s a part of the, you know, way, because in some ways it can be really open.

In other ways you can just, you know, yeah. To why maybe. Yes. Okay. I think when it comes to food, traveling wine, Yeah. Yes. 

Yasi: And then you mentioned that a business can also help the society in a way. How did you integrate that concept into your business? 

Shorena: Yeah, maybe to give you, um, to give you a little bit of context and to your listeners starting Georgian wine in Southern times, Georgia was very close country and the Georgian economy was based on these cost efficiency.

Planned economy. So many traditions and many, especially the traditional way you find making was conceived as something romantic, but not really practical. So it was not encouraged. People usually made the wine with this traditional method, but it was for their own private use or perhaps to share it with their friends and relatives.

Uh, even my grandma made wine. Parents of my grandma and grandfather made wine. We all this tradition has managed to maintain an interrupted, which is, I think so amazing. Despite all the pressure from the Carmen, then in the aftermath of, um, the Soviet union collapsed, there was simply no money or. No market for a Sankey query wines, Russia, and mostly post Soviet union countries continued to remain the primary wine market for Georgian wines.

They were not really the best quality wines, often falsified mines as well. I think. In this way, like only these big, huge companies kind of managed to make big profits and margins and the small or middle side winemakers did not even exist. They did not even had an opportunity to bottle the wines. Then in the late nineties and early twenties slowly, then new winemakers started to emerge.

And finally, in 2006, when. Due to political reasons. Russia decided to ban the import of Georgian wine. Things started to change for good. How are wine makers like to say that those times were the worst and the best times for Georgian wine? Because on the one hand, several wine companies went bankrupt without market existing market, but others had to re-invent themselves to change their strategy, to improve their quality.

And nowadays Georgian wine is already exporting in more than 50 countries. That’s probably increasing every year. So when we started importing wine in Switzerland last year, of course, our focus was primarily on, uh, um, on quality because here in Switzerland, you cannot really compete all the exist. Uh, low budget, decent wines from those from Georgia, it makes no financial sense.

And besides we really wanted to bring something that is truly authentic and worthwhile trying. Uh, so when we held our meetings in Tbilisi, we selected the wineries that were small, perhaps, you know, even the first generation of winemakers where their parents and grandparents. It make wine. They did have the knowledge of how to make good wine, but they have never bought whole beets.

So it was a true joy to first even visit those places and see how things were growing and changing for. Good. Um, yeah, you could see the joy in the eyes of the father, of course, who was, uh, the first in the generation to bottle the wine, but also you could see the excitement in the eyes. Uh, he, his kids, um, or haircuts, we also have a lot of female winemakers that we’re interested in.

So something value they would work on the labels. They would sometimes see when hand writes on the labels. We have a lot of handwriting labels, so it’s, um, it’s a really a passion and, uh, uh, professional is knowledge coming together. I think. How we try to support small and middle-sized businesses. 

Yasi: And I also like the fact that through importing Georgia and why you also bring Georgia and culture to the people who are not familiar with.

Shorena: Yes. Yes. Um, I think that is the best part of doing what we do. I get so excited every time somebody makes an order and tells us that, you know, um, just hosting a Georgia and evening I’ve been there. And I just want to share it with my friends, or we have even people who are saying, you know what? I have never been there.

I actually wanted to go. But now because of the COVID, I cannot go, but I just still want to cook something. And they peak usually Cali, which is considered to be. Well, the most complicated thing that they used to make, and I feel so overjoyed besides fine. I usually then like start including Hertz, which is hard to get in Georgia.

Like I get overjoyed because that is truly what, um, wine means in Georgia. It’s not really, what’s in the class. It’s about, uh, uh, the lifestyle. It’s the. What happens at the super supra is a traditional Georgian. I dunno, it’s hard to translate, but you can say some sort of thing or party where you have layers and layers of delicious food and of course wine, and you make a toast of the toast where you introduced the print topic.

It’s about peace and whoever makes the post about peace. A few words about it states about best times in life. Where is your, uh, the joy that you experience or the worst times best in the family? So over the course of the supra, you show the most vulnerable part of yourself to somebody who perhaps you just met and like that, uh, you both find this kind of connection that is so hard these days to find.

Many ways become friends. And we had some customers who would ask me for. Uh, second request that that was for somebody that they met in Georgia. Like you said, I was in Georgia for a couple of days and I met this guy. He’s such a nice guy. Can you please that, you know, people trying to help each other because they feel connected.

I like it so much about our culture. 

Yasi: And also when I was in Georgia, I really like the fact that people that are so friendly, they are very authentic and very welcoming. It’s really different travel experience when I was there. 

Shorena: Yes. And you probably noticed the Georgia is the religious country for us, God is conceived, uh, considered a, somebody sent by God.

And when I say this, considering how religious people are, it means a lot. So even when I worked for the non-profit sector and we would visit them conflict affected regions, we would sometimes we visit them. Sacraments were internally displaced. People lived, uh, Has just lost everything. They lost everything.

They were just living in this small settlement and had really nothing. But yet when we would go, they would. Try it base. They would go out, get to go to the shop, get something to just put on the table and to host us that is truly in our DNA. And for me moving to Switzerland, it was a bit hard. I had this instinct every time my husband’s friends came, I had this instinct just to rush, to do something on there, to put something on the table.

Um, my husband would say, come on, but yeah, it’s, it’s really now it’s, you know? 

Yasi: Yeah. Like tell us a little bit about Georgia and why, what side, the interesting facts about, about Georgia and why? 

Shorena: Yes. I think there are many interesting facts and stories about Georgian wine, which we can talk, but if I had to.

Some app, uh, all the experiences associated with Georgian wines and all the feedbacks that we have been getting in one word that would be, uh, discovered those who have tried, um, natural wine, orange wine, or have not tried that they all find Georgian. Query winds, very unique, unusual. Uh, they sometimes just fall in love with it immediately.

Sometimes they say, oh, that’s just sounds a bit unusual. In either case you will find something. You, if you try Georgian wine, it is considered. Now officially after them, after the archeological findings, the birthplace of wine, because they have found out then one creation back to this house, Caucasian.

They trace it back to the house. Caucasian people. And now we say that, you know, Georgia has 8,000 years of wine-making tradition with which we can back up with the same results in the way. We’re proud of that. Besides Georgia has over 500 native grape varieties that grow nowhere else in the world. Of course not all of them are now, uh, cultivated, but, um, But, but, uh, because also considering our past and with the Soviet union, many grapes were not encouraged to grow.

So, but now, uh, we kind of, um, you know, try to bring those grapes back to life in the biggest scale so that, uh, we can see what kind of potential those grapes have. It’s a lot to, uh, to learn still, um, Uh, the key to the uniqueness of Georgian wine is, um, this traditional wine-making technology, uh, called, um, query winemaking query is the largest.

Panacotta poets. It was initially historically used for, um, the Fermin patient and for the maturity of the wine. But gradually, somehow it got forgotten everywhere. Uh, except in Georgia in Georgia. Uh, people continue to use this, um, pots for winemaking. Uh, so in other actual practice of winemaking that is using Georgia is skin contact.

It’s when the skin, when the grape skins are not removed as in the typical red wine production, but they are kept in contact with the juice for days or even months, depending on the region. And that’s how we make white wine. Uh, and the result of the skin contact wine making is this unique. Also referred is Amber, uh, this unique texture and flavor of Georgian wine.

Um, it’s particularly appealing for, uh, people who like natural wine who like, um, who like this, uh, fresh taste of, uh, of, of query. So I think, uh, for, for everybody who loves wine and wants to try something new, there is a, there is plenty to. 

Yasi: And besides the wine business you are running out in Switzerland, are you still engaged something with NGO or human rights?

Shorena: Yes, I work part-time at Swiss angels and the sweet angel, um, as an intercultural, um, translator, meaning that I help, um, lawyers who are assisting, um, the asylum seekers from Georgia interests. And I also coordinate a weekly meetups for, uh, the female, um, migrants here in my region in, uh, we meet weekly to help each other, uh, better integrating the new culture.

I believe that we are on this planets in many ways to help each other and then to strive together. So for me being where I am today, um, acknowledging all the privileges that I had, including the opportunity to get, uh, the quality legal education. I felt really privileged. And because I know from the firsthand experience, all the challenges that they individuals and especially women can face in the, uh, the developing countries on, especially in the conflict affected countries.

So I really want to help them make them feel that they are not alone. Even, uh, when it times, uh, their experiences might, um, seem very unique and it might seem very isolating in many ways, the human sphere at our core, uh, connected, we all want the same things from wines. We have the same way of experiencing pain.

So that’s how I, I try to. Um, make my small contribution for the people who are just arriving in Switzerland that are in the process of getting their, um, asylum application. Uh,

Yasi: And if the audience are interested to learn more about your stories or your engagement with human rights or evil and try Georgia and wine, where can they find you? 

Shorena: Um, I think personally, to connect with me then LinkedIn would be a good place. My name is Shorena Messerli. Uh, but yeah, with this last name, you can find me on LinkedIn for the wine.

We have an online shop it’s called ninovino.ch. Um, and we offer currently perhaps the largest selection of Georgian wine in Switzerland. So if you could read it the, uh, page, um, you’ll find all the different varieties, grapes types, uh, and I hope you find something that you like. I’m thinking you and exciting.

Yasi: Thank you very much for today’s session. And we learned a lot about Georgia and wine.

Shorena:  Thank you. 

Yasi: Shauna has nicely offered 20% discount for the audience of this podcast for all their product range on online wine.

Shorena: shop@www.ninovino.ch 

Yasi: So check it out and all the details will be in the show notes.