Borjomi (water)
Encyclopedia
Borjomi is a brand of naturally carbonated
mineral water
from springs in the Borjomi Gorge
of central Georgia
. The artesian springs in the valley are fed by water that filters from glaciers covering the peaks of the Bakuriani mountains
at altitudes of up to 2300 m (7,545.9 ft). The water rises to the surface without pumping and is transported by pipes to three bottling plants in the town of Borjomi
.
The Borjomi springs were discovered by the Imperial Russian
military in the 1820s. They were made famous throughout the Russian Empire, making Borjomi a popular tourist destination. The history of the brand is closely associated with the Russian imperial dynasty of Romanov. By the 1890s, Borjomi was bottled in the Georgian estates of Grand Duke Mikhail of Russia. After the Russian Revolution of 1917
and subsequent Soviet takeover
of Georgia, the Borjomi enterprise was nationalized and the water was made into a top Soviet export.
Borjomi is Georgia's third largest export and is exported to over 30 countries. Since 1995, Borjomi has been trademarked and produced by the Georgian Glass and Mineral Water Company (GG&MW). The use of Borjomi water has been suggested by the Georgian and Russian researchers for complex treatment of several digestive diseases and diabetes mellitus
.
were discovered over one thousand years ago. Seven large rock tubs discovered by archeologists dating back to the beginning of the 7th century attest to the availability and use of the spring waters, most likely for bathing purposes. The springs were abandoned before being rediscovered in the early 19th century. By that time, as a result of the incessant warfare, Borjomi and its environs had been depopulated and covered with impassable forests.
In 1829, when the Imperial Russian Army
Kherson
Grenadier Regiment was deployed in Borjomi for operations against the Ottoman Empire
, Russian soldiers found mineral springs on the right bank of Borjomi river. Intrigued by the find, Colonel Pavel Popov, the commander of the regiment, ordered that the springs be cleaned and that the water be bottled and transported to the military base. Popov, who suffered from stomach disease tried the water first. Seeing positive results, he ordered the construction of rock walls around the spring and he had a bath house built nearby, along with a small cottage house for himself. In 1837, when the Kherson regiment was replaced by the Georgian grenadiers regiment, its medical doctor Amirov examined the water components and their effects, sending the first results of analysis to Saint Petersburg
and Moscow
. By 1841, the healing effects of Borjomi water were so famous that the viceroy of the Russian Tsar in the Caucasus
Yevgeni Golovin brought his sick daughter to the springs for treatment. In light of the quick results of the treatment, he called the first spring Yekaterinsky after his daughter Yekaterina and the second Yevgeniyevsky (Евгеньевский) after himself.
Golovin also expedited the official transfer of the waters from the military to civil authorities. In 1850, a mineral water park
was opened in Borjomi and in 1854, the authorities commissioned construction of the first bottling plant. Borjomi water gained popularity for its curing effects all over the Russian Empire
and the government began building palaces, parks, public gardens and hotels to accommodate incoming tourists and patients. The commute from Tiflis to Borjomi usually took 8–9 hours by phaetons
, however the new Mikhaylovo
-Borjomi railroad built in 1894 significantly reduced the length of the journey. Renowned figures such as Anton Chekhov
, Pyotr Tchaikovsky
as well as members of the royal Russian family were among the common visitors of the springs. By that time, Borjomi was a rival of similar European spas, such as Vichy
, frequented by Russian tourists, the fact that earned for Borjomi the reputation of "the Russian Vichy" and "the pearl of the Caucasus".
In 1894, Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov built a bottling plant in the Borjomi park which continued to operate until the 1950s. The income from the Borjomi waters enterprise contributed to the wealth of Mikhail's son and successor Nikolay
, who was the richest of all Russian grand dukes by 1914. A glass factory
was built in 1896 and by 1904 bottling of Borjomi water was partially automated. According to archives, in 1854 only 1350 bottles of water were produced, in 1905 the number reached 320,000 and by 1913 over 9 million bottles were sold. After the establishment of Soviet rule in Georgia, Borjomi was widely sold around the Soviet Union
and was favored by Soviet leaders such as Joseph Stalin
. Exploration of the Borjomi Gorge was conducted in 1927. Between then and 1982, 57 exploration wells (depths ranging from 18.4 m (60.4 ft) to 1502 m (4,927.8 ft)) were drilled. In 1961, 423,000 bottles of Borjomi was exported to 15 countries including the United States, France and Austria. During the existence of the Soviet Union, Borjomi was recognized as the third best known brand of the USSR after the Volga
car and Aeroflot
airlines. In the 1980s, annual production of Borjomi water reached 400 million bottles.
The production slowed down with the collapse of the Soviet Union and economic stagnation in the independent Republic of Georgia. In 1995, bottling of Borjomi was restarted by the Georgian Glass and Mineral Waters Company (GG&MW), which increased the production forty-fold. According to the company, 80% of Borjomi produced that year was exported abroad—more than half of this amount to Russia. Despite counterfeit drinks being produced under the Borjomi label as a result of rising piracy during the 1990s, Borjomi water was able to reclaim its reputation by 2000 in a distinctive packaging campaign. The piracy also slowed down due to the 1998 Russian financial crisis.
In May 2006, Russia banned
imports of the Georgian mineral waters, declaring them unsafe. Georgia viewed this as an attempt to restrict access to the Russian market and making Borjomi a pawn in post-Soviet political power play. As a result of the ban, GG&MW lost GEL
25 million in 2006, but the company declared the crisis to have been overcome by 2008, with sales volumes reaching pre-2006 level. The sales and export of Borjomi mineral water dropped again by 30-40% starting from October 2008 due to the global financial crisis
.
pressure. Borjomi does not cool down before it reaches the surface and comes out at a temperature of 38–41 °C (100.4–105.8 F). The Borjomi springs are located in the central part of the Adjara-Imereti mountain range
of Greater Caucasus
at an altitude of 760 metre above sea level. The average depth of each of the nine spring wells is 1200 metre.
In order to preserve the mineral composition of the springs, in 2006 the Georgian Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources
approved a production plan for 2006–2031 estimating 561,000 litres per day which allows bottling of over 1 million bottles a day using 9 wells in Borjomi Gorge. The wells are located in 3 exploitation lots: Central (in the vicinity of Borjomi town), Likani (in Likani
village) and Vashlovani-Kvibisi (in villages Vashlovani and Kvibisi). The water received from the wells travels by a 25 km (15.5 mi) stainless steel pipeline to two bottling plants where it is cooled and bottled. The first plant specializes in glass bottling, the second in PET
bottling.
The production of mineral water and the associated tourist economy in Borjomi and the nearby Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
make up 10 percent of Georgia's export trade. Construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline near the Borjomi has been controversial because of potential negative environmental and economic impacts on the region.
sizes of 0.33 and 0.5 litres and plastic bottle
sizes of 0.5 litre and 1 litres. Both types of bottles are screw-capped. The signature greenish color of the glass bottles (so-called Georgian Green) is based on a proprietary formula.
In February 2011, new packaging of Borjomi water presenting a new and more sophisticated modern look was introduced, accentuating relief of the deer image and sign of the manufacturer on the label. More than 30 countries, including Ukraine, Israel, the United States, Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Canada, Austria, Turkey, Japan, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and South Korea, will get Borjomi in newly designed bottles.
Carbonated water
Carbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....
mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
from springs in the Borjomi Gorge
Borjomi Gorge
Borjomi Gorge is a picturuesque canyon of the Mtkvari River in central Georgia. The Gorge was formed as a result of the Mtkvari River cutting its path through the Lesser Caucasus Mountains where the Trialeti and Meskheti Ranges meet. A significant portion of the Borjomi Gorge is covered by mixed...
of central Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. The artesian springs in the valley are fed by water that filters from glaciers covering the peaks of the Bakuriani mountains
Bakuriani
Bakuriani is a skiing resort in the Borjomi district of Georgia. It is located on the northern slope of the Trialeti Range, at an elevation of 1,700 meters above sea level....
at altitudes of up to 2300 m (7,545.9 ft). The water rises to the surface without pumping and is transported by pipes to three bottling plants in the town of Borjomi
Borjomi
Borjomi is a resort town in south-central Georgia with a population estimated at 14,445. It is one of the districts of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern part of the region in the picturesque Borjomi Gorge on the eastern edge of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park...
.
The Borjomi springs were discovered by the Imperial Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
military in the 1820s. They were made famous throughout the Russian Empire, making Borjomi a popular tourist destination. The history of the brand is closely associated with the Russian imperial dynasty of Romanov. By the 1890s, Borjomi was bottled in the Georgian estates of Grand Duke Mikhail of Russia. After the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and subsequent Soviet takeover
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
of Georgia, the Borjomi enterprise was nationalized and the water was made into a top Soviet export.
Borjomi is Georgia's third largest export and is exported to over 30 countries. Since 1995, Borjomi has been trademarked and produced by the Georgian Glass and Mineral Water Company (GG&MW). The use of Borjomi water has been suggested by the Georgian and Russian researchers for complex treatment of several digestive diseases and diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
.
History
The mineral springs of the Borjomi valleyBorjomi Gorge
Borjomi Gorge is a picturuesque canyon of the Mtkvari River in central Georgia. The Gorge was formed as a result of the Mtkvari River cutting its path through the Lesser Caucasus Mountains where the Trialeti and Meskheti Ranges meet. A significant portion of the Borjomi Gorge is covered by mixed...
were discovered over one thousand years ago. Seven large rock tubs discovered by archeologists dating back to the beginning of the 7th century attest to the availability and use of the spring waters, most likely for bathing purposes. The springs were abandoned before being rediscovered in the early 19th century. By that time, as a result of the incessant warfare, Borjomi and its environs had been depopulated and covered with impassable forests.
In 1829, when the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
Kherson
Kherson Governorate
The Kherson Governorate or Government of Kherson was a guberniya, or administrative territorial unit, in the Southern Ukrainian region, between the Dnieper and Dniester Rivers, of the Russian Empire. It was one of three governorates created in 1802 when the Novorossiya guberniya was abolished...
Grenadier Regiment was deployed in Borjomi for operations against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, Russian soldiers found mineral springs on the right bank of Borjomi river. Intrigued by the find, Colonel Pavel Popov, the commander of the regiment, ordered that the springs be cleaned and that the water be bottled and transported to the military base. Popov, who suffered from stomach disease tried the water first. Seeing positive results, he ordered the construction of rock walls around the spring and he had a bath house built nearby, along with a small cottage house for himself. In 1837, when the Kherson regiment was replaced by the Georgian grenadiers regiment, its medical doctor Amirov examined the water components and their effects, sending the first results of analysis to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. By 1841, the healing effects of Borjomi water were so famous that the viceroy of the Russian Tsar in the Caucasus
Viceroyalty of the Caucasus
The Viceroyalty of the Caucasus is a term used to denote the Imperial Russian administrative and political authority in the Caucasus region exercised through the offices of glavnoupravlyayushchiy and namestnik...
Yevgeni Golovin brought his sick daughter to the springs for treatment. In light of the quick results of the treatment, he called the first spring Yekaterinsky after his daughter Yekaterina and the second Yevgeniyevsky (Евгеньевский) after himself.
Golovin also expedited the official transfer of the waters from the military to civil authorities. In 1850, a mineral water park
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
The Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park is a protected area in central Georgia, situated in the Lesser Caucasus, southwest to the nation’s capital of Tbilisi....
was opened in Borjomi and in 1854, the authorities commissioned construction of the first bottling plant. Borjomi water gained popularity for its curing effects all over the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and the government began building palaces, parks, public gardens and hotels to accommodate incoming tourists and patients. The commute from Tiflis to Borjomi usually took 8–9 hours by phaetons
Phaeton (carriage)
Phaeton is the early 19th-century term for a sporty open carriage drawn by a single horse or a pair, typically with four extravagantly large wheels, very lightly sprung, with a minimal body, fast and dangerous. It usually had no sidepieces in front of the seats...
, however the new Mikhaylovo
Khashuri
Khashuri is a town in central Georgia. It is located on the Mtkvari River.Khashuri is first mentioned in the 1693 document. Modern Khashuri was founded in 1872 as a modest railway halt called "Mikhaylovo" after Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia, Viceroy of the Caucasus. In 1917, it was...
-Borjomi railroad built in 1894 significantly reduced the length of the journey. Renowned figures such as Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
, Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
as well as members of the royal Russian family were among the common visitors of the springs. By that time, Borjomi was a rival of similar European spas, such as Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
, frequented by Russian tourists, the fact that earned for Borjomi the reputation of "the Russian Vichy" and "the pearl of the Caucasus".
In 1894, Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov built a bottling plant in the Borjomi park which continued to operate until the 1950s. The income from the Borjomi waters enterprise contributed to the wealth of Mikhail's son and successor Nikolay
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia , 26 April 1859 – 28 January 1919 was the eldest son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III....
, who was the richest of all Russian grand dukes by 1914. A glass factory
Glass bottle
A glass bottle is a bottle created from glass. Glass bottles can vary in size considerably, but are most commonly found in sizes ranging between about 10ml and 5 liters....
was built in 1896 and by 1904 bottling of Borjomi water was partially automated. According to archives, in 1854 only 1350 bottles of water were produced, in 1905 the number reached 320,000 and by 1913 over 9 million bottles were sold. After the establishment of Soviet rule in Georgia, Borjomi was widely sold around the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and was favored by Soviet leaders such as Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. Exploration of the Borjomi Gorge was conducted in 1927. Between then and 1982, 57 exploration wells (depths ranging from 18.4 m (60.4 ft) to 1502 m (4,927.8 ft)) were drilled. In 1961, 423,000 bottles of Borjomi was exported to 15 countries including the United States, France and Austria. During the existence of the Soviet Union, Borjomi was recognized as the third best known brand of the USSR after the Volga
Volga (automobile)
Volga is an automobile brand that originated in the Soviet Union to replace the venerated GAZ-M20 Pobeda in 1956. Modern in design, it became a symbol of higher status in the Soviet nomenklatura...
car and Aeroflot
Aeroflot
OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
airlines. In the 1980s, annual production of Borjomi water reached 400 million bottles.
The production slowed down with the collapse of the Soviet Union and economic stagnation in the independent Republic of Georgia. In 1995, bottling of Borjomi was restarted by the Georgian Glass and Mineral Waters Company (GG&MW), which increased the production forty-fold. According to the company, 80% of Borjomi produced that year was exported abroad—more than half of this amount to Russia. Despite counterfeit drinks being produced under the Borjomi label as a result of rising piracy during the 1990s, Borjomi water was able to reclaim its reputation by 2000 in a distinctive packaging campaign. The piracy also slowed down due to the 1998 Russian financial crisis.
In May 2006, Russia banned
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...
imports of the Georgian mineral waters, declaring them unsafe. Georgia viewed this as an attempt to restrict access to the Russian market and making Borjomi a pawn in post-Soviet political power play. As a result of the ban, GG&MW lost GEL
Georgian lari
The lari is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri. The name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term used from the 13th century....
25 million in 2006, but the company declared the crisis to have been overcome by 2008, with sales volumes reaching pre-2006 level. The sales and export of Borjomi mineral water dropped again by 30-40% starting from October 2008 due to the global financial crisis
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
.
Features
Borjomi is a water of volcanic origin which is over 1,500 years old. It is pushed up to the surface from 10 km (6.2 mi) below ground by natural carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
pressure. Borjomi does not cool down before it reaches the surface and comes out at a temperature of 38–41 °C (100.4–105.8 F). The Borjomi springs are located in the central part of the Adjara-Imereti mountain range
Meskheti Range
Meskheti Range is a part of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range in Meskheti region, in southwestern Georgia....
of Greater Caucasus
Greater Caucasus
Greater Caucasus , sometimes translated as "Caucasus Major", "Big Caucasus" or "Large Caucasus") is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains....
at an altitude of 760 metre above sea level. The average depth of each of the nine spring wells is 1200 metre.
In order to preserve the mineral composition of the springs, in 2006 the Georgian Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources
Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources (Georgia)
The Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources is a ministry of Georgia. The ministry regulates activities related to protection of the environment and natural resources in the republic. It is currently headed by Giorgi Khachidze.-History:...
approved a production plan for 2006–2031 estimating 561,000 litres per day which allows bottling of over 1 million bottles a day using 9 wells in Borjomi Gorge. The wells are located in 3 exploitation lots: Central (in the vicinity of Borjomi town), Likani (in Likani
Likani
Likani is a townlet in Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region, located at the west end of the town of Borjomi in the Borjomi Gorge, some 160 km west of Tbilisi, capital of Georgia...
village) and Vashlovani-Kvibisi (in villages Vashlovani and Kvibisi). The water received from the wells travels by a 25 km (15.5 mi) stainless steel pipeline to two bottling plants where it is cooled and bottled. The first plant specializes in glass bottling, the second in PET
Polyethylene terephthalate
Polyethylene terephthalate , commonly abbreviated PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P, is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming applications; and engineering resins often in combination...
bottling.
The production of mineral water and the associated tourist economy in Borjomi and the nearby Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
The Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park is a protected area in central Georgia, situated in the Lesser Caucasus, southwest to the nation’s capital of Tbilisi....
make up 10 percent of Georgia's export trade. Construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline near the Borjomi has been controversial because of potential negative environmental and economic impacts on the region.
Packaging
Borjomi comes in glass bottleGlass bottle
A glass bottle is a bottle created from glass. Glass bottles can vary in size considerably, but are most commonly found in sizes ranging between about 10ml and 5 liters....
sizes of 0.33 and 0.5 litres and plastic bottle
Plastic bottle
A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed of plastic, with a neck that is narrower than its real body and an opening at the top. The mouth of the bottle is normally sealed with a plastic bottle cap. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking...
sizes of 0.5 litre and 1 litres. Both types of bottles are screw-capped. The signature greenish color of the glass bottles (so-called Georgian Green) is based on a proprietary formula.
In February 2011, new packaging of Borjomi water presenting a new and more sophisticated modern look was introduced, accentuating relief of the deer image and sign of the manufacturer on the label. More than 30 countries, including Ukraine, Israel, the United States, Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Canada, Austria, Turkey, Japan, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and South Korea, will get Borjomi in newly designed bottles.
Awards
- 1907 SPA Grand Prix
- 1909 Kazan Grand Golden Medal
- 1911 Dresden Diploma of Honour
- 1940 Tallinn Golden Medal
- 1975 Budapest Diploma of Honour, World Exhibition
- 1998 Novosibirsk Golden Medal
- 1996, 1997, 1998 St.Petersburg Golden Medal