On November 29, Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan visited the Armenia Wine factory in Sasunik village (Aragatsotn
marz, Armenia).
The first bottling of the Armenia champagne was done
in the presence of the President. The champagne is made by the Charmat method. The
Charmat process is known as Metodo Charmat-Martinotti (or Metodo Martinotti) in
Italy, where it was invented and is most used. In France, the process is referred
to as Methode Charmat. It was for the first time applied in Montpellier,
France, in 1907.
The authors of Armenia champagne, which is made of
Armenian "Kangun" grapes, are well-known French and Italian
winemakers.
The representatives of the factory told journalists
that the Armenia champagne has balanced acidity and pleasant flavor. Armenia
Wine will produce sparkling wine of two kinds - semidry and brut.
The Armenia champagne will hit the shops in Armenia
and Russia by the New Year holidays. This year the factory is planning to
produce about 100 thousand bottles, however, the productive capacity will allow
increasing the output to 1 million bottles per annum.
In Sargsyan's presence, the second filling line was
launched. Its capacity is 6,000 bottles of wine, champagne and brandy per hour.
The given filling line made by the world-known Bertolaso company (Italy) is an
advanced technology. Only three such lines have been manufactured so far. One
of the lines is installed in Italy, the other one in France and the third one
in Armenia.
In 2013 Armenia Wine was the 65th on the list of the
largest taxpayers of Armenia. It paid 1.615 bln AMD in taxes. The production
capacity of the factory is 4 million bottles of wine, 1 million bottles of
champagne, 3 million bottles of brandy and 6 million bottles of vodka per
annum.
In 2012
the company produced 371,595 bottles of wine, in 2013 - 1,073,544 bottles. The
factory is equipped with the best up-to-date facilities. The products are
exported to Russia, France, the United States, Canada, Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus.