VITIS VINIFERA - SEEDLING OF LIFE

"This is a grape seedling of your life ... This is a seedling … of your family. Plant it. And it will sprout ..." These words spoken at the end of a touching film "A Walk in the Heavens" were probably seen as something life-affirming by every viewer. They were said after a tragedy occurred in the lives of the main characters of the film - their entire vineyard was burned down and only a single seedling was saved ... The picture is somewhat reminiscent of the situation with well-known Azerbaijani vineyards of the early 1990s ...

Unfortunately, Azerbaijani winegrowers have not managed to preserve all of the national varieties of this wonderful berry, but the culture of its cultivation and processing has not disappeared. In fact, a company called Fireland's Vineyards has set up a beautiful vineyard in Novxani near Baku, on the shores of Salt Lake Masazir. Thus, it has shown that work can and should face up to the challenges of nature and this confrontation of human labor and extreme environmental conditions leads to the emergence of new quality. So the revitalization of viticulture and winemaking in Azerbaijan based on an understanding of the trends in the world of viticulture and winemaking and the peculiarities of local varieties, soil and regional climatic differences is a quite feasible prospect.

Viticulture has great traditions in Azerbaijan. It was particularly developed in the 1970s- early 1980s, when great vineyards were laid in the country and over 2 million tons of grapes were produced. But then Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign started, which for some reason resulted in the destruction of vineyards only in Azerbaijan. "Such arbitrariness was not observed in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia or Moldova. And it was a manifestation of the negative attitude of the then Soviet leaders to Azerbaijan," President Ilham Aliyev has said.

Due to the destruction of vineyards, Azerbaijan currently produces only 130,000 tons of grapes. Furthermore, some local (autochthonous) grape varieties are irrevocably gone. However, taking into account the state program on the development of viticulture, as well as the strong interest from local entrepreneurs, positive changes are already discernible. 

The director of Fireland's Vineyards, Elmar Saidov, says the companies engaged in viticulture and winemaking in the country seek to improve not only the quantitative indicators but also the quality of the product, given the increasing competition from European wine producers on the traditional markets of the former Soviet Union. It is noteworthy that many business people who purchased the remnants of vineyards and processing plants surviving the anti-alcohol campaign and the collapse of the USSR have tried to maintain their specialization. That served as a foundation for the revival of viticulture and winemaking. Although not all of them managed to reorganize their businesses in line with modern standards, there are many examples of the successful operation of the inherited "legacy". In fact, some have even established new vineyards using the varieties that brought fame to the wines of France, Italy, Chile and Australia.

At the same time, some companies have been trying to develop wine-making based on a complete cycle of production, processing and sale using modern technologies. This more difficult path was also chosen by Fireland's Vineyards.

- When we first began to cultivate the land for new vineyards in 2006, it looked like a fantasy to many. To grow a vineyard in Novxani near the salt lakes of Masazir and Mirzaladi was an open challenge to nature. Basically, if you look at the history of mankind, the best advanced stages of its development occurred after certain stressful situations - wars, natural disasters, etc. This holds true for grapes - in an extreme environment of Abseron winds, sand, lack of water and hot climate, they "show" themselves differently. But it proved a rather complicated task to grow these grapes. At the beginning of the project we conducted a thorough investigation of the soil on the land plot provided to us, consulted with our advisors and found out that the geology and soil composition vary throughout the area, which made our task even more difficult. We had to use agricultural techniques corresponding to each type of soil and select suitable varieties of rootstock. Let me note that the plot of land had been used for vineyards in the past too, but they were destroyed and all that was left of them was just a few furrows on the surface. In 2006, we conducted all the necessary preparatory work, marked up the area for specific varieties and ordered the seedlings.

- But as far as we know, it is not Azerbaijani varieties that are planted there…

- Unfortunately, it was and still is a bit of a problem. We could not find producers of seedlings grafted with local grape varieties. So we decided to turn to internationally recognized varieties and started to learn which ones can be cultivated in our conditions. Let me note that any country in Europe has an institution which divides the territory of the country into categories suitable for the production of grape and wine varieties. These are legislative procedures specifying how seedlings should be planted, looked after, harvested and how to make wine from the grapes. This "origin control system" exists in virtually all recognized wine-producing countries of Europe. It takes into account soil composition and climatic conditions, traditions of viticulture and winemaking. If a farm follows these requirements, it receives a certain status and the right to name its wine accordingly. It is necessary to clarify that the name of a wine and the brand under which it is offered on the market are different concepts. The name of a wine indicates the region where the grapes are grown and processed.

After reviewing all these practices and visiting many farms in Italy and France, we identified grape varieties, the drip irrigation technique, agricultural activities and the basic equipment for the production of wine. Together with our consultants, we developed a modern system for supporting the bushes, which enabled us to mechanize most operations. I believe that at the time of harvest in 2013 we will be able to use harvesting machines. We have purchased Azerbaijan's only machine for mechanized planting of grape seedlings and in the spring of 2007 planted 600,000 seedlings of 10 different varieties on an area of 112 hectares in Novxani and near the mountain village of Muganli along the Samaxi-Agsu road.

- When was the first crop obtained?

- In 2010, after the fourth growing season. In a sense it was a test crop, we wanted to see how these varieties will behave in Abseron. And it turned out that some of them fit quite well into our conditions, while others change their flavor and taste. Anyhow, the harvest was gathered. By then, the first phase of our processing enterprise was ready and some of the grapes were processed. A year later, in 2011, with some results in our hands, we made the necessary corrections to crop maintenance and wine production. Of course, this led to a qualitative and quantitative leap in yield in 2011. Let me add that the grapes are picked manually so far. In separate boxes they are sent directly to the plant for the production of wines, also located within the vineyard, thus preserving the quality of the grapes.

At all stages of farming operations and processing of grapes we have received expert advice from our contractors Agriman by Tecnovite, a recognized market leader in the construction of the vineyards in the Italian region of Tuscany, famous for its wines Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Bolgheri.

- Is your produce for the local market?

- We keep on studying the local market - consumer demand varies greatly according to social status, purchasing power, ideology, etc. Of course, the manufacturer must take into account the opinion of the majority of consumers, but there are also other consumers - they may be a minority but their preferences must also be addressed. Our common goal is to elaborate the culture of understanding and consumption of wine also by improving the quality and variety of wine products. For this, we carefully study the condition of vineyards almost daily and throughout the season, explore how to ensure that grapes have the best combination of parameters which will lead to the production of wines that can surprise and delight. This is hard work because we don't have statistical data or information as to how a particular variety may behave in the climatic conditions of Abseron. For example, there is no such concept as "bad weather" for European winemakers. They have protocols on how to care and treat grapes in each weather scenario throughout the season. We are only at the beginning of the road. And one of our key goals today is not only to create the appropriate database, but also to train successors who can continue to implement our vision. This is our global goal, so to speak. But in the short term, we, like any other business, would like to get a decent profit from the sale of our products. We plan to increase production as a whole and ensure timely return on investment.

Thus, we are preparing to enter the market of natural dry wines of primary and premium sectors, while in 2013 we plan to launch the first samples of limited edition wines. Of course, the volume of the latter will be small, but these are top quality samples worthy of Azerbaijani consumers. And our further action will depend on market reaction.

I do hope that through the joint efforts of the companies engaged in wine production we can soon win recognition and consumer confidence and become worthy representatives of Azerbaijan's wine sector in foreign markets - both traditional and those that have long formed an understanding of the quality of wine and a culture of its consumption. And our work will contribute to the revival of viticulture and wine-making in the Land of Fire.