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ARMENIAN VINTNERS' GRAPES OF WRATH
EurasiaNet.org, NY
Feb 13 2013
February 13, 2013 - 1:49pm, by Yigal Schleifer
In previous posts, this blog has taken a look at the effort some
vintners are making to revive Armenia's historic but troubled wine
industry. Armenia, of course, is best known for its cognac and the
country's latest alcoholic beverages production figures show what
an uphill battle Armenian winemakers are fighting. While cognac
production grew by 20 percent last year, the amount of wine produced
dropped by some seven percent, despite the recent moves to revive
the wine industry.
In a recent article, the Hetq.am website took a look at what ails
the Armenian wine industry, offering answers that ranged from the
technical to the historical. From the article:
Globally, 10 billion bottles of wine are sold every year. Armenia sells
around 600,000 bottles per year, some in the Russian market, where 1.2
billion are sold yearly. Russia also consumes 93% of Armenian cognac.
Only 5% of the Armenian cognac sold in Russia is purchased by the
wealthy elite. That's because most of it is sold for 25-300 roubles;
the price of Russian wine. There are a few Armenian cognac varieties
that go for 1000 roubles.
All these numbers concern Avag Haroutyunyan, President of Armenia's
Wine Growers Union. He says that cognac production and exports have
risen 10% over last year and are 30% higher than the record years
back in the Soviet era.
"Armenian cognac is fairly well known throughout the world. But
Armenian wine is another story," says Haroutyunyan. He believes that
wine growing in Armenia is losing out to cognac because that's where
the investment is being directed. Armenian wines also aren't well
represented on the international market.
He argues that for the past 150 years, first Russia and then the
Soviet Union targeted the best winemaking technologies to Georgia
and Bessarabia, while Armenia got the nod for cognac. This was due
to the fact that under Seljuk and Persian rule Armenia had lost a
majority of its grape gene pool - the best Armenian vineyards were
in the possession of foreign conquerors.
"The Georgians had an independent state in the 17th-18th century
and made sure their grapes weren't destroyed. Thus, when Armenia was
incorporated into Tsarist Russia in 1828, we had grapes that were only
suited for vodka production. When European technology reached Armenia
in 1860-1870, it was quite easy to produce cognac from the grape
alcohol. That's exactly what happened," says Haroutyunyan. Armenia
led Tsarist Russia in terms of cognac production.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66549
EurasiaNet.org, NY
Feb 13 2013
February 13, 2013 - 1:49pm, by Yigal Schleifer
In previous posts, this blog has taken a look at the effort some
vintners are making to revive Armenia's historic but troubled wine
industry. Armenia, of course, is best known for its cognac and the
country's latest alcoholic beverages production figures show what
an uphill battle Armenian winemakers are fighting. While cognac
production grew by 20 percent last year, the amount of wine produced
dropped by some seven percent, despite the recent moves to revive
the wine industry.
In a recent article, the Hetq.am website took a look at what ails
the Armenian wine industry, offering answers that ranged from the
technical to the historical. From the article:
Globally, 10 billion bottles of wine are sold every year. Armenia sells
around 600,000 bottles per year, some in the Russian market, where 1.2
billion are sold yearly. Russia also consumes 93% of Armenian cognac.
Only 5% of the Armenian cognac sold in Russia is purchased by the
wealthy elite. That's because most of it is sold for 25-300 roubles;
the price of Russian wine. There are a few Armenian cognac varieties
that go for 1000 roubles.
All these numbers concern Avag Haroutyunyan, President of Armenia's
Wine Growers Union. He says that cognac production and exports have
risen 10% over last year and are 30% higher than the record years
back in the Soviet era.
"Armenian cognac is fairly well known throughout the world. But
Armenian wine is another story," says Haroutyunyan. He believes that
wine growing in Armenia is losing out to cognac because that's where
the investment is being directed. Armenian wines also aren't well
represented on the international market.
He argues that for the past 150 years, first Russia and then the
Soviet Union targeted the best winemaking technologies to Georgia
and Bessarabia, while Armenia got the nod for cognac. This was due
to the fact that under Seljuk and Persian rule Armenia had lost a
majority of its grape gene pool - the best Armenian vineyards were
in the possession of foreign conquerors.
"The Georgians had an independent state in the 17th-18th century
and made sure their grapes weren't destroyed. Thus, when Armenia was
incorporated into Tsarist Russia in 1828, we had grapes that were only
suited for vodka production. When European technology reached Armenia
in 1860-1870, it was quite easy to produce cognac from the grape
alcohol. That's exactly what happened," says Haroutyunyan. Armenia
led Tsarist Russia in terms of cognac production.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66549