Sheki Winery company plans to deliver initially 18,000 bottles of wine to Barcelona, Spain in November in order to promote and sell its wine products, the company’s director, Vidadi Hasanov declared.
The company has signed a relevant contract with Spanish company Eurocainabric, Hasanov said.
“The first acquaintance with the representatives of the Spanish company took place during an exhibition in Shanghai, China. Then the head of the company was invited to Spain to hold preliminary negotiations on promotion and sale of products of Sheki Winery in this country,” Hasanov said.
In his words, Spanish company will be involved in promotion and sale of Askona and Buket Sheki wines, produced by Azerbaijani companies, in 38 countries.
“If the company undertakes to sell 200,000 bottles of wine per month, Sheki Winery will fully entrust the distribution of wine in those countries to the Spanish company,” the head of Sheki Winery said.
Sheki Winery has a capacity to produce and process 3,000 tons of grapes per year. The workshops operating there are equipped with modern facilities, including equipment from the well-known Italian company Della Toffola. The plant for the first time has installed an appliance to isolate grape seeds in Azerbaijan. You can learn more about such appliances at Unclutterer.
The wines produced by the company meet the world standards and negotiations are held to promote sale of these products both in the domestic and foreign markets. Initial agreement has recently been reached with Belarus, China and Spain on export of products.
“If there is a demand, it is possible to pack up to 400,000 bottles a month at the plant and to produce as much wine as possible from grape stock,” Hasanov said.
The grapes used as raw material are supplied from the regions of Azerbaijan. As much as 500,000 liters of wine were produced from 725 tons of grapes last year. In addition, 336,000 liters of wine were supplied to Russia in 2018.
Some 360 bottles of wine have recently been delivered to the Azerbaijani Trading House in Poland to promote and sell Sheki wine. Negotiations are currently underway to export large quantities of wine to Poland.
The plant produces 10 varieties of wines under the brand “Askona” and “Buket Sheki”. The range of wine is expected to reach 20 in the future.
This season 500 tons of grapes have been harvested from farms in Sheki villages and surrounding areas. At the same time, 70 tons of products have been delivered from 16 hectares of vineyards leased by the company.
Hasanov also underlined the company’s participation in the Worldfood Moscow 2019 International Food Exhibition held in Moscow, Russia, and noted that wine products of Sheki Winery were highly appreciated along with other products offered by Azerbaijani companies.
Azerbaijan exported 231,330 decaliters of wine and grape worth $3 million in the first half of 2019, of which 217,480 decalitres worth $2.4 million was delivered to Russia.
In accordance with the State Program on the Development of Winegrowing for 2018-2025, the export of wine from Azerbaijan should have increased 5-fold by 2025.
Winery occupies one of the most important places in the food industry in Azerbaijan. The country is famous for its high quality grape varieties.
The five major wine-growing regions of Azerbaijan are Shamakhi, Ismayilli, Gabala, Ganja and Tovuz. Local grape varieties include White Shani, Derbendi, Nail, Bayan Shirey, Gamashara, Ganja Pink, Bendi, Madrasa, Black Shani, Zeynabi, Misgali, Khindogni, Agdam Kechiamjayi, Tebrizi and Marandi.
At present, about 40 winemaking enterprises operate in Azerbaijan, producing natural wine, sparkling wine, liqueur, brandy, vodka, ethyl alcohol, cognac, etc. Most of producers target Russian and European markets as well as new markets for Azerbaijani wine, such as China.
Currently, specialized wine houses of Azerbaijan operate in two cities of China. Recently, a wine house of Azerbaijan opened in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. (AzerNews/Business World Magazine)