Iago
It would be hard to find any individual of such integral importance to an entire nation’s wine fortunes as Iago Bitarishvili – as explained in the article here. Also, more relevant here, it would be hard to find a more photogenic subject. The critical point though is that the stark, up-close, intense reality of Iago Bitarishvili’s face and specifically of his eyes is so perfectly apt or in keeping with the stark, up-close, intense reality of his wines and indeed of the best of Georgia’s wines in general. The wines feel personal. The wines feel alive. The photograph feels personal. The photograph feels alive.
Welcome to a world where sterility has never been allowed to take over.
This is where photography and story are one. The below image, which I particularly like both because the silhouette highlights the amber colour of the wine but also because it’s a complement to the above, completes the photography scene.
I had about five minutes with Iago. Maybe less. I’m happy with this result. Sometimes you just get lucky.
I was also happy with the wines of Iago that I tasted.
This image was shortlisted in the 2026 World Food Photography Awards.
—
This image was taken on a Sony A6700 with a Sony 24mm f1.4 lens. I wouldn’t chose this camera/lens combo – for a portrait – deliberately but I was travelling and the ability to use a 24mm lens on both a full-frame camera and a crop-sensor camera gave me some flexibility. which accidentally worked a treat here.
