On September 10, 2015, winemakers gathered in front of the Gurjaani District Administration to protest against the low price of grapes. Wine factories were offering 35 tetri (about $0.15) per kilogram for Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane varieties, and 70 tetri (about $0.30) for Saperavi. The government provided an additional subsidy of 35 tetri for Rkatsiteli and 15 tetri for Saperavi, bringing the total prices to 70 and 85 tetri respectively—rates that local winegrowers deemed unacceptable.

“If these prices stay, we’ll uproot the vines! Who do you think you are, Agha Mohammad Khan or Jalal ad-Din? We won’t sell our grapes for pennies,” shouted the protesters gathered in front of the Gurjaani administration building.

Ten days after the protests began, the government still refused to increase the subsidy. The winegrowers warned that unless the prices rose to 1 lari for Rkatsiteli and 1.50 lari for Saperavi, they would refuse to deliver their harvest. They demanded meetings with current and former prime ministers and the minister of agriculture, but their requests went unanswered. Some growers began to lose faith in negotiations, noting that the grape harvest in Kakheti was already underway and that local farmers were suffering losses, for which they held the government responsible.

In the following days, protesters repeatedly blocked the Telavi–Bakurtsikhe–Tbilisi highway. Several participants were detained for disobedience but were later released.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili blamed the opposition party, the United National Movement, and specifically Gurjaani MP Giorgi Gviniashvili, for organizing the demonstrations.

The issue was later discussed in parliament within a committee format, but ultimately, the subsidy amount remained unchanged.