Azerbaijan enjoys right conditions to develop wine industry
By Aynur Karimova
Azerbaijan, which is well known throughout the world for its rich natural resources, has both the necessary economic and natural conditions for expanding its wine industry, which could become one of the nation’s main revenue sources.
Azerbaijan has improved its wine industry in recent years. Nariman Agayev, the Chairman of the Center for Sustainable Development Research, told local media that, as of today, the situation in producing wine in Azerbaijan has improved.
"Wine production is well controlled, and the wine is of a relatively high quality. We have even started growing varieties of French grapes for the production of wine. Today, good wine is produced at Azerbaijan's Sharab 2 and Shabran Wine Distillery plants," he said.
Sabir Valiyev, an expert in the wine industry, believes that the main problem in Azerbaijan's wine industry is that the country does not have enough specialists in this field.
"The Institute of Agriculture does not prepare winemakers and modern entrepreneurs do not attract experienced specialists from previous years," he told media.
Referring to the quality of wine produced in the country, Valiyev said that it is of low quality, but this is due to the low quality of cultivated grapes.
"If, in the 1980's, Azerbaijan annually harvested 2 million tons of grapes, today this figure barely reaches 100,000-150,000 tons per year. Azerbaijan has everything to produce super-quality wine, which could be exported and offered to clients with the most discerning tastes, but it requires a professional approach," he noted.
Azerbaijan has an ancient history of growing grapes, which is proven by archeological findings in different regions of the country. Azerbaijan has all the natural conditions – a mountainous terrain and its close location to the Caspian Sea- for the development of a grape industry.
In the last century, the wine industry in Azerbaijan experienced its heyday, being independent and creating a dynamically developing field. In addition to well-known grape varieties, the country also planted local varieties that were in great demand abroad. More than 120 distilleries engaged in processing grapes, along with wine, brandy, and champagne plants operated in Azerbaijan.
In those times, more than 2 million residents were employed in viticulture, and 40 percent of Azerbaijan's budget came from revenues coming from the wine industry. In Soviet times, Azerbaijan also was one of the top wine producers, when roughly 2.136 million tons of grapes were harvested from 274 million hectares of vineyards. Of note, in the former Soviet Union, one-fifth of the nation’s wine production accounted for Azerbaijan's share.
However, after a law was adopted in 1985, more than 160,000 hectares of vineyards were destroyed.
After gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan began redeveloping this industry. Wine is produced in several regions of Azerbaijan, including at the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains and in the Kur-Araz lowlands. Additionally, Ganja, Nagorno-Karabakh, Shirvan, and Nakhchivan have emerged as centers of wine production in Azerbaijan in the 21st century.
The vineyards in these regions today account for about 7 percent of the country's cultivated land. The regions are famous for their varieties of 17 wine and 16 table grapes.
Among the grape varieties used to produce Azerbaijani wine are Pinot Noir, Rkatsiteli, Pinot Blanc, Aligote, Matrassa, Podarok Magaracha, Pervenets Magaracha, Ranni Magaracha, Doina, Viorica, and Kishmish Moldavski.
Local grape varieties in Azerbaijan include White Shani, Derbendi, Nail, Bayanshire, Gamashara, Ganja Pink, Bendi, Madrasa, Black Shani, Zeynabi, Misgali, Khindogni, Agdam Kechiemdzheyi, Tebrizi, and Marandi.
Wine production increased by 2.6 times, from 0.4 million to 1.063 million decaliters in Azerbaijan from 2005 to 2012. This is evidenced by data released by Azerbaijan's State Statistics Committee, as well as in the growth in exports.
In particular, wine exports increased 7.8 times, from 49,400 decaliters to 389,000 decaliters, in the reported period. The production of grapes also increased significantly. In particular, Azerbaijan harvested 79,700 tons of grapes in 2005, while in 2012 this figure reached 151,000 tons.
Experts believe this rapid growth is related to the adoption of the Law on Viticulture, which paved the way for increased investments in this sector of the economy. The investment, in turn, led to the growth of both sown areas and the production of grapes.
Experts also claim that demand for grapes and its production will continue to grow in Azerbaijan in the future, as well. If processing plants are built, this will pave the way for increasing the production of grapes in Azerbaijan.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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