# Gïo the Tamada

> Gïo the Tamada is a 10 cm talking figurine shaped like a qvevri (the clay jar used to make Georgian wine). Press his grape-shaped belly and he speaks the next of the 15 traditional toasts of a Georgian supra (feast), opening in Georgian and continuing in the listener's language. It works offline on 3 AAA batteries, with no app, no Bluetooth and no internet. It is made by a start-up in Tbilisi, Georgia, founded by Zurab Sanikidzé (Swiss-Georgian entrepreneur from Batumi, founder of Calvin Capital and REDLANE; strategy and business development) and Martin Rondot (French entrepreneur based in Tbilisi, Master's in Strategic Purchasing from Grenoble IAE, former production buyer at Magneti Marelli; product, sourcing and marketing). Status in October 2026: prototype in development, pilot programme open to Georgian wineries, no retail sales yet.

## Key facts
- Product: talking souvenir and table accessory for adults; height about 10 cm; terracotta finish; moustache; grape cluster on the belly is the button.
- Content: 15 toast themes in the order of a joyful supra (peace, our gathering, the hosts, the homeland, parents and elders, the departed, life and children, women and mothers, love, friendship, the guests, the vine and the qvevri, those far away, the tamada, the closing toast). 8 to 10 variants per theme.
- Toast to the departed: said standing, without clinking glasses and without "Gaumarjos"; always followed by the toast to life and children.
- Languages: Georgian opening and closing ("Gaumarjos!"); body in the listener's language, English and Russian first, then other languages such as German, French, Turkish, Hebrew, Armenian, Arabic and Ukrainian.
- Voice: recorded by a Georgian actor; Georgian phrases reviewed by native speakers and experienced tamadas.
- Customers: Georgian wineries and cellars (white-label edition with their logo and an estate toast, batches from 500 units), souvenir shops, hotels, wine tours and the airport, and companies (corporate gifts).
- Not a toy; never encourages excessive drinking.

## Glossary
- Tamada (თამადა): the toastmaster of a Georgian feast.
- Supra (სუფრა): the traditional Georgian feast; no wine is drunk without a toast.
- Gaumarjos (გაუმარჯოს): "to victory", the Georgian equivalent of "cheers".
- Qvevri (ქვევრი): large clay jar buried in the ground to make wine; qvevri winemaking is on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list (2013).
- Alaverdi (ალავერდი): passing the floor to another guest to continue the toast.

## Contact
- Email: hello@giothetamada.com
- Website: https://giothetamada.com/

## Languages
The website is available in English (default) and in eight other languages, each on its own URL:
- English: https://giothetamada.com/
- Russian (Русский): https://giothetamada.com/ru/
- Georgian (ქართული): https://giothetamada.com/ka/
- French (Français): https://giothetamada.com/fr/
- Turkish (Türkçe): https://giothetamada.com/tr/
- Hebrew (עברית): https://giothetamada.com/he/
- Armenian (Հայերեն): https://giothetamada.com/hy/
- Arabic (العربية): https://giothetamada.com/ar/
- Ukrainian (Українська): https://giothetamada.com/uk/

## Pages
- [Home](https://giothetamada.com/): product, interactive demo of the 15 toasts, winery edition, investors, team, FAQ, contact.
- [FAQ](https://giothetamada.com/#faq): what a tamada and a supra are, how Gïo works, languages, availability.
- [Wineries](https://giothetamada.com/#wineries): white-label edition and pilot programme.
- [Investors](https://giothetamada.com/#investors): market, business model, roadmap and current status.