Avag Harutyunyan: Armenia needs to change its mentality to become wine country

PanARMENIAN.Net - Chairman of the Union of Wine Producers of Armenia, Director of Maran company Avag Harutyunyan said that the wine produced in Armenia is of low quality due to old equipment, technologies, vineyards and mentality.

Armenia’s grape is of low quality, as farmers lack funds to plant new, higher-quality sorts of grape, Harutyunyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “Besides, farmers sell their grape until September 20, when its sugar content is low – around 17%. Such grape can be used only for brandy production, while grape with sugar content of 22-23% is required for wine production and it matures in mid-October. Farmers are not willing to keep their harvest for so long period due to additional expenditures. Besides, grape loses 30% of its weight by that time,” noted Harutyunyan.

The expert said that grape can be bought at AMD 100/1kg in September, while its price rises up to AMD 300 in mid-October, but the demand for it is low, as wine production volume is low in the country as well. Harutyunyan added that the wine culture is underdeveloped in Armenia – only 1 liter of wine is consumed per capita annually, while this figure makes 50 liters in Europe

Presenting Maran company at ARMENIA EXPO 2010, Avag Harutyunyan said that it produces wine from grape of its own vineyards (15ha) and purchases grape from other farmers.