By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova

Winery occupies one of the most important areas in the food industry of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is famous for its high quality grape varieties. Five major wine-growing regions of the country are Shamakhi, Ismayilli, Gabala, Ganja, Tovuz. 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.

The share of Azerbaijan in the wine production in the former Soviet Union has always been high.

Nevertheless, the Alcoholism and Anti-Drinking Initiative of the former Soviet Union in 1985 caused the destruction of the vineyards of more than 130,000 hectares in Azerbaijan. One of the first steps towards the restoration of vineyard and winemaking in the country was the Law on Winemaking, adopted in 2001.

Recently, a group of Russian journalists, bloggers and wine experts traveled to Azerbaijan to familiarize themselves with the local wine production facilities and products.

The five-day visit took place on November 14-18 with the support of Azerbaijan's Trade Representative Office in Russia, especially its head, Ruslan Aliyev, and with the support of the Azerbaijan Wine Manufacturers and Exporters Association, "Support for tourism and national cuisine" Public Union.

Experts familiarized with wine products of Shirvan Wines, Absheron Sharab, Ismay?ll? Sharab-2, Savalan, Goygol Sharab, Ganja Sharab-2, Yar?mada, Calilabad Sharab-2, Marandi brands and tasted them.

They also visited Shamakhi, Ismayilli, Gabala, Mingachevir and Ganja where these wine production facilities are located.

Based on the results of the wine tour, a video clip will be shot about the history of wine production in the country, its development phases and prospects, especially about the new wines of Azerbaijan.

Organization of such events will facilitate popularization of Azerbaijani winemakers not only in Russia, but also beyond its borders.

The State Program on the development of wine growing in the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2018-2025, which will lead to development of wine tourism and increase the amount of loans allocated to the wine industry in Azerbaijan, has been approved in May this year to ensure sustainable development of winemaking in the country, increasing interest in wine production and exports.

According to the State Program, the export of wine from Azerbaijan should increase five-fold by 2025.

Azerbaijan Wine Manufacturers and Exporters Association was established to coordinate activities between producers and exporters of wine and winery products with the support of the Export and Investment Promotion Foundation of Azerbaijan (AZPROMO) in 2016.

Azerbaijani Wine Houses are opened in foreign countries to promote national brands and exports of local products. The first wine house of Azerbaijan was opened in China this year.

Production of wine and wine-making products in Azerbaijan exceeded 1 million decalitres in 2017, of which 375,000 decalitres were exported. Thus, wine products from the country were mainly sent to Russia (338,000 decals) and China (27,000 decals). Wine exports increased by more than 80 percent over five months of 2018 compared to the first five months of 2017.