- Title: ALBANIA: Albanians revive centuries-old wine industry
- Date: 14th October 2010
- Summary: REGION AROUND CITY OF BERAT, ALBANIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VINEYARDS AT DAWN VINES GRAPES ON VINE VARIOUS OF FARMERS WITH DONKEYS GOING TO HARVEST GRAPES FARMER BARDHYL QEHALLIU HARVESTING GRAPES QEHALLIU SHAKING HANDS WITH WINE MAKER MUHARREM COBO LOCAL GRAPES IN BOX VARIOUS OF QEHALLIU AND COBO INSPECTING LOCAL TREE GRAPE VARIETY GRAPES HANGING ON TREE (SOUNDBITE) (Albanian) VINEYARD OWNER, BARDHYL QEHALLIU, SAYING: "This grape was planted by my grandfather. We call it the Pules grape, it's indigenous to our region, all this area was planted with tree grapes of this Pules variety. Some four years ago I moved this type of grape into the vineyard and I had a very good harvest." PULES GRAPES ON VINE VARIOUS OF QEHALLIU AND HIS WIFE WORKING IN VINEYARD REGION AROUND CITY OF FIER, ALBANIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MUHARREM COBO INSPECTING LEFTER XHELILAJ'S VINEYARD (SOUNDBITE) (Albanian) VINEYARD OWNER, LEFTER XHELILAJ, SAYING: "This is Vlosh but a different variety due to the experiments that Skender Ferkua did with it in the area of Fraklles. During a ten year period he managed make a new Vlosh variety that has a darker red colour and if I squeeze it, it gives this juice." CITY OF BERAT, ALBANIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) BERAT SEEN FROM HILLSIDE TIRANA, ALBANIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Albanian) OWNER OF COBO WINERY, MUHARREM COBO, SAYING: "Since the very beginning in our minds we had a clear philosophy, and that is identity and quality. In order to have a wine with identity you must have unique grapes with origin, so I can say that in a way we were on a quest of our origins. At present we have three indigenous varieties of wine, one is Sheshi i Zi, then Sheshi i Bardhe and E Bardha e Beratit, this grape was cultivated by my grandfather and it was passed on to me by my father, this wine is very popular." BERAT, ALBANIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) COBO WINERY ENTRANCE WORKERS UNLOADING GRAPES FROM TRUCK VARIOUS OF MACHINE CRUSHING GRAPES
- Embargoed: 29th October 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Albania
- Country: Albania
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Industry
- Reuters ID: LVAC02QBCV997J83Q4L8TVHWPVM7
- Story Text: Winemakers in Albania are reviving old wine-making methods as well as their indigenous grape varieties to further recent commercial successes in the wine industry.
This small country in the Adriatic and Ionian Sea lays claim to one of Europe's longest histories of viticulture, together with Greece and southern Dalmatia.
But winemaking diminished considerably under the influence of Islam in the 17th century, and private winemakers were non-existent under the country's 20th century communist regime.
One of today's most promising wineries is the Cobo family owned winery.
With the fall of communism in the early 1990s the Cobo family regained their property. But as they lacked experience in winemaking one of the brothers, Muharrem Cobo, travelled to Italy were he worked for Italian winemakers for 10 years.
After learning the craft he returned home to continue a family tradition that dates back to early the 1900s and now does business with local grape growers who produce indigenous grape varieties.
Bardhyl Qehalliu from the Berat region is a grower who is producing a local grape.
"This grape was planted by my grandfather," he said as she showed Reuters the fruit, which grows on trees.
"We call it the Pules grape, it's indigenous to our region, all this area was planted with tree grapes of this Pules variety. Some four years ago I moved this type of grape into the vineyard and I had a very good harvest," he added.
The main indigenous varieties for producing white wines are Shesh i bardhe, Debin e bardhe and Pules, and for reds Shesh i zi, Kallmet, Vlosh, Serine and Debin e zeze.
Wine experts have been experimenting with local varieties to produce new ones.
Grape grower Lefter Xhelilaj from the Fier region cuts some fruit from the vine to demonstrate its dark juice.
"This is Vlosh but a different variety due to the experiments that Skender Ferkua did with it in the area of Fraklles. During a ten year period he managed make a new Vlosh variety that has a darker red colour and if I squeeze it, it gives this juice," he said, as the juice spills over his hands.
Cobo initially started production with 8,000 litres of Sheshi i Zi and Sheshi i Bardhe wines. Last year he made over 85,000 litres of wine in five varieties. Currently Cobo sells his product at 5-9 euros per litre, but he hopes that in the future the price will be much higher at around 20-25 euros.
"Since the very beginning in our minds we had a clear philosophy, and that is identity and quality. In order to have a wine with identity you must have unique grapes with origin, so I can say that in a way we were on a quest of our origins. At present we have three indigenous varieties of wine, one is Sheshi i Zi, then Sheshi i Bardhe and E Bardha e Beratit, this grape was cultivated by my grandfather and it was passed on to me by my father, this wine is very popular," he said..
Production is aimed at the domestic market, but one of the main problems that Albanian winemakers face is competition from Italian and French imports. However the imported wines are generally low in quality and relatively cheap, enabling local producers to sell their top wines at a higher price.
The Cobo Winery is near the UNESCO world heritage town of Berat and is built in traditional style. This year it has seen over 1,500 international visitors.
New Zealand tourist Erin Wesley and her two friends from England were given a first-hand look at the winery and a taste of the wines themselves.
"It is beautiful," Wesley said.
"This Cobo winery is a great place and I feel very lucky to have seen how they make the wine and I am extra lucky because I have been able to taste it. And hopefully one day you will take it all over the world because I think this wine is good enough to take all over the world," she added.
Cobo wine is fast attracting attention and has been represented at several wine exhibitions. The family says it aims to increase production to match demand without compromising the wine's quality. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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