08/27/2026
Now featuring the wines of Центр культури вина SHABO 🍷 Shabo, a village in Ukraine, is one of Europe’s oldest terroirs, dating back to 2,000 years ago. The winery was founded by Vazha Iukuridze and his son Giorgi, who is the CEO and winemaker.
Having hardly any experience within the wine industry, U.S. Veteran Sam Lerman drew on his experience in the military, government logisitics work, and humanitarian volunteerism to create the Ukrainian wine and spirits import business: Spyrt Worldwide. In April 2022, less than two months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lerman was contacted and asked if he’d be willing to spend a few days in Ukraine on an advisory mission to Kyiv.
“I absolutely fell in love with the mission, the people, the culture, the resilience and steadfastness in the face of absolutely overwhelming adversity,” said Lerman.
He also fell in love with the wine of Ukraine, and was dismayed when he couldn’t find any upon his return to the U.S. Thus, one of Lerman’s ventures became Spyrt Worldwide, through which he is now introducing the wines of Shabo into the United States. A portion of all proceeds support Invictus Global Response, a group of American veterans who volunteer to deactivate and remove landmines in Ukraine, currently the most heavily mined country in the world.
We had the pleasure of hosting a wine dinner with Giorgi and Sam, amazed by the support for the winery and the positive reviews of the wines. Here’s to continuing the support and drinking delicious wine! 🥂
