Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the Shaki winery

President Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of the Shaki winery of the Agroinvestcom LLC.

The head of state was informed that the winery, established in accordance with the State Program on the socioeconomic development of districts for 2004-2008, covers an area of 7.8 hectares. Its construction commenced in 2008. It has a processing capacity of 3,000 tons of grapes a year, but the figure is expected to be raised to 10,000-15,000 tons in the future.

President Ilham Aliyev reviewed the photo stand reflecting the attention nationwide leader Heydar Aliyev and the head of state have been paying to the development of the private sector, including viticulture.

Then the head of state pushed the button to launch the winery.

It was indicated that there are workshops for receiving grapes, fermentation, processing, production of branded wines and bottling. There are two receptacles for white and black grape varieties and grape pressing equipment in the workshop for receiving grapes. Two lines are intended for white and black grape varieties and one for the production of elite wines. Azerbaijan’s first equipment for separating grape seeds is installed here. Other workshops are also fitted with the latest equipment. The process is controlled by a computerized system.

During familiarization with the bottling shop, President Ilham Aliyev was told that the modern equipment available here enables the filling of 3,000 wine bottles an hour. At the initial stage the factory intends to produce table wine. The wines are produced using the Chinar technology. The production of Shaki, Chalabi, Karvansaray and Khan Sarayi wines is envisaged at a later stage. At the third stage of production, i.e. starting from 2012, preference will be given to the production of semisweet, port wine and dessert wine varieties. A workshop for the production of cognac spirit and cognac is to be established at the fourth stage. The winery will use the produce not only of Shaki, but also of Oguz and Gabala Districts. To put an end to reliance on outside produce, a 200-hectare grape plantation is to be set up. When setting up the plantation, preference will be given to local varieties, such as Madrasa, Bayanshira and Shirvanshah.

The head of state examined the finished goods warehouse. It was indicated that 228-liter oak-tree wine casks brought from France had been installed in the workshop for the production of branded wine. This enables the factory to store wine in better conditions.

It was indicated that all the equipment at the winery was produced by a specialized Italian company, which contributes to the competitiveness of the enterprise. The delivery, installation and trials of the process equipment have also been carried out with the supervision and participation of Italian specialists. The winery also has a two-storey office building, a laboratory for technical, chemical and microbiological control over the process and finished goods, a cafeteria and a conference room. There is also a guest-house here. The factory yard has been landscaped and a green area established.

President Ilham Aliyev gave a high assessment to the work done and wished the staff every success.