Azerbaijani wine
Encyclopedia
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. Prior to 20th century communist rule, Azerbaijan had a thriving wine industry that dated back to the second millennium BC. Azerbaijan's long history of wine production was rediscovered at archaeological digs of settlements in Kültəpə, Qarabağlar
Qarabaglar, Nakhchivan
Qarabağlar is a village and the most populous municipality in the Kangarli Rayon of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 5,833....
and Galajig
Qalaciq, Ismailli
Qalacıq is a village and municipality in the Ismailli Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,752....
where archaeologists discovered stone fermentation
Fermentation (wine)
The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...
and storage vessels that included residue and grape seeds dating back to the second millennium BC. The Ancient Greeks were well aware of wine production in the area by at least the 7th century BC according to Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
. Later Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
would comment in the 1st century BC about an Azerbaijani wine known as Albania. Arabic historians and geographers—most notably Abu'l-Fida
Abu'l-Fida
Abu al-Fida or Abul Fida Ismail Hamvi was a Kurdish historian, geographer, and local sultan...
, Al-Masudi
Al-Masudi
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Mas'udi , was an Arab historian and geographer, known as the "Herodotus of the Arabs." Al-Masudi was one of the first to combine history and scientific geography in a large-scale work, Muruj adh-dhahab...
, Khaukal and Al-Muqaddasi
Al-Muqaddasi
Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din Al-Muqaddasi , also transliterated as Al-Maqdisi and el-Mukaddasi, was a medieval Arab geographer, author of Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma`rifat il-Aqalim .-Biography:Al-Muqaddasi, "the Hierosolomite" was born in Jerusalem in 946 AD...
--described the extensive viticulture around Ganja
Ganja, Azerbaijan
Ganja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
and Barda
Barda, Azerbaijan
Barda is the capital city of the Barda Rayon in Azerbaijan, located south of Yevlax and on the left bank of the Terter river. Once an Armenian town, and later the capital of Caucasian Albania perhaps since the end of the fourth century, Barda became the chief city of the Islamic province of Arran,...
that was taking place even after Islamic conquest of the area.
Since the fall of Communism and the restoration of Azerbaijani independence, ardent attempts have been made to revive and modernize the Azerbaijani wine industry. Today vineyards are found in the foothills of Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
as well and the Kur-Araz lowlands near the Kura River
Kura River
Kura is a river, also known from the Greek as the Cyrus in the Caucasus Mountains. Starting in north-eastern Turkey, it flows through Turkey to Georgia, then to Azerbaijan, where it receives the Aras River as a right tributary, and enters the Caspian Sea...
. In the 21st century, Ganja, Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
and Nakhchivan have emerged as centers of wine production in the region. Among the grape varieties used to produce Azerbaijani wine include Pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
, Rkatsiteli
Rkatsiteli
Rkatsiteli is a kind of grape used to produce white wine.-History:This ancient vinifera originates in Georgia and is one of the oldest grape varieties...
, Pinot blanc
Pinot Blanc
Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produced white fruit....
, Aligote
Aligoté
Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines in the Burgundy region of France, and which also has significant plantings in much of Eastern Europe including Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria. With , it was the 22nd most planted vine variety in the world in 2004...
, Matrassa, Podarok Magaracha, Pervenets Magaracha, Ranni Magaracha, Doina, Viorica and Kishmish Moldavski. Local grape varieties indigenous to Azerbaijan include White Shani, Derbendi, Nail, Bayanshire, Gamashara, Ganja Pink, Bendi (grape), Madrasa
Madrasa (grape)
Madrasa is a pink-skinned red grape variety cultivated in the southern Caucasus at least since the nineteenth century , in particular in Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as several Central Asia countries...
, Black Shani, Arna-Grna, Zeynabi, Misgali, Khindogni, Agdam Kechiemdzhei, Tebrizi, and Marandi.
History
According to historians, wine-making in Azerbaijan dates back to ancient times. Several sorts of grapes were cultivated throughout the AzerbaijanAzerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. In Goygol Rayon of the country, archeologists have found jars with remains of wines which date back to the second millennium BC.
In the Khanlar district of the Azerbaijan Republic, for example, archeologists have found jars buried with the remains of wine dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. Greek historian Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
who had travelled to norhtern Azerbaijan (Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
at the time) described cultivation of crops of grapes as so abundant that the residents were not able to harvest them. Other sources such as the epic poem Kitabi Dada Gorgud
Book of Dede Korkut
The Book of Dede Korkut, also spelled as Dada Gorgud, Dede Qorqut or Korkut-ata , is the most famous epic stories of the Oghuz Turks The stories carry morals and values significant to the social lifestyle of the nomadic Turks and their pre-Islamic beliefs...
written in 7th-11th centuries describe enriched culture of wine-making. Sources from 13th-14th centuries indicate that the annual harvest of grapes from the fields around Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
in southern Azerbaijan was nearly 150 tons. The wines produced in ancient and medieval ages, however, are not similar to contemporary wines. They were thick and sweet as honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
which people had to dilute with water. One of the latest discoveries was nearly 10 years ago when the residents of Shamakhy, two hours west of Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, found a big ancient ceramic jar containing thick syrup which turned out to be a very concentrated fragrant wine.
One of the most ancient and notable regions known for its wine-making produce is Tovuz
Tovuz, Azerbaijan
Tovuz is the capital of Tovuz in Azerbaijan.-History:The city takes its name from the turkic Oghuz tribe....
in northwestern Azerbaijan. Archeological findings in this region speak of ancient vessels for wine storage, stones and remains of tartaric acid
Tartaric acid
Tartaric acid is a white crystalline diprotic organic acid. It occurs naturally in many plants, particularly grapes, bananas, and tamarinds; is commonly combined with baking soda to function as a leavening agent in recipes, and is one of the main acids found in wine. It is added to other foods to...
used for wine-growing. In addition to historians and travellers such as Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
, Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, Columella
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella is the most important writer on agriculture of the Roman empire. Little is known of his life. He was probably born in Gades , possibly of Roman parents. After a career in the army , he took up farming...
, Hovgell, Masoodi, who made remarks about wine-making in Azerbaijan, the Arabian geographer of the 10th century Al-Muqaddasi
Al-Muqaddasi
Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din Al-Muqaddasi , also transliterated as Al-Maqdisi and el-Mukaddasi, was a medieval Arab geographer, author of Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma`rifat il-Aqalim .-Biography:Al-Muqaddasi, "the Hierosolomite" was born in Jerusalem in 946 AD...
, noted in his writing that the sweet kind of wine found in Nakhichevan
Nakhichevan
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,363 km² and borders Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest...
cannot be found anywhere else. The region developed as wine producing center from 1820-1830's attracting many foreign investors. The famous culture of wine-making was enriched with arrival of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
immigrants to the region in early 19th century. German immigrants from Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
were settled in Azerbaijan by the Russian tsar Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
circa 1817-1818 and enhanced the wine and cognac producing potential of the country by heavy investments into the industry. Famous German family businesses such as Vohrer Brothers and the Hummel family based in Helenendorf industrialized the wine production making it competitive with European wines.
Medical use
In the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, some wines were also used against tiredness and relaxation. For instance, in the court of Shah Suleyman Safavi
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
, royal physicians recommended wine to alleviate tiredness. Other sorts were utilized as medicine. In his writings in 1311, historian and scholar Yusuf ibn Ismail al-Kutubi
Yusuf ibn Ismail al-Kutubi
Yusuf ibn Ismail al-Kutubi known as Ibn al-Kabir an Azerbaijani-Iranian scholar and Physician worked as a doctor in the palaces of the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad...
notes that small doses of wine can strengthen the sense of organs and the whole body, and melancholy, depression and bad mood while water dilluted wines are a good medicine against fever and cold. Wines produced from rose petals were used against headaches, heart disease and stomach ache.
Modern times
The contemporary wine-making in Azerbaijan is seen in GanjaGanja, Azerbaijan
Ganja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
-Qazakh
Qazakh
Qazakh is a rayon of Azerbaijan. It has two exclaves inside Armenia, Yukhari Askipara and Barkhudarli, both of which came under Armenian control during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.- History :In antiquity, this rayon was part of the province of Utik...
and Shirvan
Shirvan
Shirvan , also spelled as Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both Islamic and modern times...
economic zones. Vineyards in these regions account to about 7% of the country's cultivated land. The regions are famous for 17 vine and 16 table grape varieties, most common of the grape sorts being Pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
.
Azerbaijan is one of the main wine producers in the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
region. Contemporary wine-making was ambitiously developed during 1970's by the Soviet authorities who preferred to increase the wine production versus development of the grain industry. As per special decrees of the Cabinet of Ministers
Cabinet of Azerbaijan
The Cabinet of Azerbaijan is the chief executive body of the Republic of Azerbaijan.-The Executive Power:The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state....
, more funds were allocated for the industry setting between 70 to 80 thousand hectares of land for vineyards. The initial plans were to produce as much as 3 million tons of grapes annually by 1990. Due to increased productivity, Azerbaijan was producing nearly 2.1 million tons of grapes by 1982. The industry brought about 100 million ruble
Ruble
The ruble or rouble is a unit of currency. Currently, the currency units of Belarus, Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, and, in the past, the currency units of several other countries, notably countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union, are named rubles, though they all are...
s annually. Most of wines produced in Azerbaijan during Soviet rule were exported to Russia, Belarus and the Baltic, but they were ceased due to Gorbachev alcoholim prohibition campaign in the 1980s.
Currently, there are nearly 10 wineries and vineyards producing wine in the country. The largest one is Vinagro
Vinagro
Vinagro Limited Liability Company in an alcoholic beverage producer established in March 2006. The company owns 537 ha of vineyards of various of sorts of local and European grapes...
, created in in 2006. It uses the Goygol
Goygol
Goygol, Göygöl or Goygöl may refer to:* Goygol , a lake in Azerbaijan* Goygol , a rayon in Azerbaijan* Goygol , administrative center of Goygol * Göygöl National Park, a national park around Goygol...
Wine Plant near Ganja
Ganja, Azerbaijan
Ganja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
founded in 1860 by German immigrants. Exports to other countries are steadily growing due to good quality of Azerbaijani wine products. Most of produce is currently being targeted for Russian and European markets as well as new growing markets for Azerbaijani wine such as China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Due to growing demand, new grape plantations have been set up over 100 hectares in Shamkir region of Azerbaijan. Since restoration of independence of Azerbaijan in 1991, the Azerbaijani wines won 27 prizes at international competitions.
Azerbaijan has been increasing its wine production for the last several years. In 2003, it produced 3,790, in 2005 - 4,005 and in 2007 - 7,200 tons of wine.
Climate and geography
The mountainous geography of Azerbaijan and its close location to the large Caspian Sea creates a vast diversity of macro and microclimates that depend on exact location as well as altitudeAltitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
, latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
and orientation and degree of slopes. While generally considered a continental climate, wine regions in Azerbaijani can see anything from moderately warm growing seasons with dry winters to very cool growing seasons with rainy, wet harvests and winter seasons with nearly 10% of Azerbaijani vineyards needing to utilizing some form of winter protection. Nearly half of all Azerbaijani vineyards need to utilize some form of irrigation to help deal with periodic droughts during the warm summer months.
The average annual temperatures for many Azerbaijani wine regions fall between 10.5-15.5°C (51-60°F). Azerbaijan includes Regions III, IV and V on the heat summation scale with areas seeing anywhere from 3,000 to 4,6000 degree days. Annual rainfall in the lowlands, where most of the grapes are grown, up to the foothills varies from 250-600mm.
Wine styles
In Azerbaijan, wines made from grapeGrape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s are called sharab while wines from other fruits including apples, pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
s and mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
are called nabiz . Other sorts are called chakhyr . According to historians, there are more than 450 different categories of wild grape found in Azerbaijan which had been used for wine-making throughout the history of Azerbaijan.
Among the historical names of wine brands are Reyhani, Jumhuri, Mishmish, Valani, Arastun, Handigun and Salmavey. Contemporary brand names include Shahdagh, Chinar, Sadili, Aghdam, Kurdamir, Aghstafa and Madrasali. Others, such as "Giz Galasi" (Maiden Tower
Maiden Tower (Baku)
The Maiden Tower or also known locally as Giz Galasi located in the Old City, Baku in Azerbaijan is an ancient tower with cultural affinity corroborating the presence Zoroastrians, Sassanians, Arabs, Persians, Shirvanis, Ottomans, and Russians...
), "Yeddi Gozal" (Seven Beauties
Seven Beauties (ballet)
Seven Beauties is a ballet, composed by Gara Garayev in 1947/48 to mark the 800th anniversary of classical poet Nizami Ganjavi. The ballet lasted in the repertoire of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater for many years, but was taken off the stage later on. A new version was...
), "Gara Gila" and "Naznazi" made from the Madrasa
Madrasa (grape)
Madrasa is a pink-skinned red grape variety cultivated in the southern Caucasus at least since the nineteenth century , in particular in Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as several Central Asia countries...
pink grape are exclusive to Azerbaijan since they are indigenous to Madrasa village of Shamakhi Rayon only. Rkatsiteli
Rkatsiteli
Rkatsiteli is a kind of grape used to produce white wine.-History:This ancient vinifera originates in Georgia and is one of the oldest grape varieties...
is another kind of grape grown and used for wine-making in northwestern Azerbaijan.
External links
- History of Vine growing and wine making
- Wine and Wagons. Helenendorf: Azerbaijan's First German Settlement, on German wine-growing community of Azerbaijan, by Azerbaijan InternationalAzerbaijan InternationalAzerbaijan International is an independent magazine committed to the discussion of issues related to Azerbaijanis around the world. It was established in 1993 shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union when Azerbaijan gained its independence. Since then, it has been published quarterly in...