(VOANews) - Nabaz carefully poured red wine into a glass, then another glass. He set the bottle down and looked at the small group of people he had never met.

Then, he offered them his wine.

This was the first time that Nabaz himself had offered his homemade alcohol to others.

"I was a little anxious to see the reaction," he said later.

"Obviously this to me is a work of art, and all art depends on how people see it and evaluate it."

For Nabaz, the small gathering has special meaning. The wine tasting event was, in some ways, a triumph.

"I felt this was extending a hand of friendship, of offering something uniquefrom Kurdistan, and offering something for the very first time by Iraqi Kurdistan to the outside world," he said.