On June 9, 2023, 'Abrau-Durso' Group of Companies presented the results of its investment activities in Azerbaijan. The official opening of the modernised Sheki winery plant was held and the newest line of filtering sparkling wines was introduced. Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Sahib Alakbarov and owner of 'Abrau-Durso' LLC Boris Titov officially launched the production. 

The investor stated the important role of the development of wine tourism in the region. 'AzAbrau Museum' was opened in the enterprise, and an exposition on the history of viticulture and winemaking in the territory of Azerbaijan was presented. 

Abrau-Durso Group announced the investment project in Azerbaijan at the end of 2021. At that time, the Group became the winner of the competition for the privatization of the ‘Sheki Sharab’ winery. A great amount of work has been carried out by Abrau-Durso Group: modernization of manufacturing process, purchase of new equipment for production and filtration of sparkling wine, purchase of 430 hectares of land for planting vineyards, and other preparatory works for planting vines. 

On June 9, the most modern line of sparkling wine production was launched with a production capacity of 4,000 bottles per hour. The first filtered wine is a sparkling wine made from local and international grape varieties grown in the area of ‘Abrau International’ Azerbaijan.  Sparkling wine will be sold both in the country and exported to other countries.

A unique wine museum - ‘AzAbrau Museum’ was opened on the territory of the enterprise, and an exposition on the history of the rich culture of viticulture and winemaking in Azerbaijan was launched. The museum will create an opportunity for its guests to visit the operating enterprise and get acquainted with the wine production process. ‘AzAbrau Museum’ will become an important sightseeing spot in the region and a must-see place for tourists in Sheki, famous for its history.

“Viticulture and winemaking are one of the main development directions of Azerbaijani economy. The winemaking traditions of our country are more than 100 years old, but the development of the field got a wide scope in the 70s of the last century, when Heydar Aliyev led Azerbaijan. Today, attracting an investor with such knowledge and experience as 'Abrau-Durso' takes the enterprise to a new level. The development of tourism infrastructure that attracts both domestic and foreign tourists to the region is also gratifying," said Sahib Alakbarov, Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan. 

"We have done great things since we became the winner in the competition for the privatization of the Sheki Wine plant. Today, ‘Abrau-Durso’ LLC has fully fulfilled its obligations by exceeding the initially set investment amounts. The total volume of funds invested by the group in the enterprise, resource base and infrastructure amounted to 6.6 million euros. In the future, ‘Abrau-Durso’ will focus primarily on the marketing of the wines produced here on the territory of Azerbaijan and on the development of the '1870 Abrau Durso' gastronomy project," said Boris Titov, the main shareholder of 'Abrau-Durso'.

"Development of viticulture and winemaking in Azerbaijan is one of the main tasks for us. We are very glad that "Abrau-Durso" has decided to expand its business activities in Azerbaijan and opened a winery. I am certain that the experience and habits of this company will create an opportunity for us to reach new goals and successfully demonstrate our winemaking products in international markets" - said Yusif Abdullayev, Executive Director of the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (AZPROMO).

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov , Trade Representative of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Azerbaijan Ruslan Mirsayapov, Head of the Sheki City Executive Authority Elkhan Usubov , Conductor of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater Yalchin Adigozalov , well-known writer Chingiz Abdullayev and other persons took part in the event. The special guest of the event was the famous Russian theatre and film actor Leonid Yarmolnik .

At the event, guests enjoyed a music program performed by the State Chamber Orchestra named after Gara Garayev and Azerbaijan's unique "Odlar Yurdu" folklore dance ensemble under the conductorship of People's Artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan Yalchin Adigozelov. "Kumovya" folk quartet, who specially visited this event from the Krasnodar region, presented the musical traditions of southern Russia to the guests.

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Most of the land, which is suitable for viticulture and acquired by "Abrau-Durso" LLC in Azerbaijan, is located in the Fuzuli district of the Karabakh economic zone. Local "madrasa" and international "Rkatsiteli" varieties were planted here. Currently, the total area of existing vineyards is 100 hectares, and in the future, it is planned to plant vineyards on an additional 300 hectares. It is also planned to plant the famous grape varieties of Azerbaijan called "Madrasa" and "Bayanshira" in the second field of 30 hectares, which is located near the winery in the Sheki district.

Today, wines under the brand name "Az Abrau" from unique grape varieties of Azerbaijan and also mixed wines of the "Abrau" collection.

The investment project was implemented with the support of the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan - AZPROMO. Since its inception, "Abrau-Durso" LLC has successfully imported its products to Azerbaijan. Today, the best sparkling and still wines are presented to customers in "Bravo", "Araz", "Qurmaniya" and other main trade chains, as well as in leading restaurants of the country. Export sales are also actively growing: since 2021, the volume of deliveries has exceeded 1.5 million bottles - now "Az Abrau" has become the largest exporter of wine from Azerbaijan to Russia.

In the future, the "1870 Abrau-Durso" gastronomy project will be an important direction of 'Abrau-Durso''s activity in Azerbaijan. The concept of the restaurant will allow the guests to creatively appreciate the gastronomic traditions of southern Russia together with Abrau-Durso still and sparkling wines. The restaurant's wine list includes excellent wines from Abrau-Durso, Az Abrau and other wineries available at retail prices. An important feature of the project is a wide range of shops where guests can buy their favourite wine. Today, "1870 Abrau-Durso" restaurants are successfully operating in various cities of Russia - Abrau-Durso, Moscow, Novorossiysk, Gelinjik and Rostov-on-Don, as well as in Baku, Nizami Street 48.

"Abrau-Durso" is the leading producer of sparkling and still wines in Russia. The private property of "Abrau-Durso" was established in 1870 by the decree of Emperor Alexander II. "Abrau-Durso" presents collections of various wineries: "Abrau-Durso", "Vinodelnya Vedernikov", "Loza", etc. According to the results of 2022, "Abrau-Durso" has sold 54.1 million bottles of alcoholic and non-alcoholic products.

Contact persons:
Director of Communication and Public Relations of "Abrau-Durso" Group of Companies
Olga Firstova
+7 (926) 904-97-54, +7 (495) 933-33-33
[email protected]
Head of marketing and public relations department of "Bloom Group" agency
Fatima Huseyn-zadeh
+994518827959
[email protected]

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