Traditional Albanian Wine

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Name and address of organization: ARTAN BALAS - Cerkovine, Vlore

Country and region: Albania, Vlora Region
Contact person: Nežla Adilagić, director
Tel. +387 33 715 225
Contact person: Artan Bala
Tel. +355 69 29 55 247

E-mail: Ova adresa el. pošte je zaštićena od spambotova. Omogućite JavaScript da biste je vidjeli. 

Description
ARTAN BALAS was created in 2006 as a wine producing company. Its activities are related with:

Production of grapes in the owned vineyards and in 3 rented hectares of land, and buying of grapes from local farmers.
Processing of grapes and wine production. Specifically, ARTAN BALAS produces:

Red wine:
Red wine - Vlosh 4%
Red wine - Merlot 35%
Red Wine - Syrah 6%
Red wine - Kabernet 35%
Others - 10%

White wine:
White wine - White Square 70%
Others - 30%

For its productions, ARTAN BALAS uses certified seedlings from the Albanian agency for native seeds conservation of Tirana, and cultivates 60.000 saplings per year (mostly planted trees, but also grafts). ARTAN BALAS is strongly working on its marketing techniques, in order to improve them and develop a label to be used on products and for products launch campaigns. An important, preliminary part of this process is the development of a market study on wine production in Albania and its key trends. Mr. Artan Bala has been trained in Italy (he spent 10 years in Friuli) in how to plant, cultivate and harvest grape, and in the distillation and fermentation processes of wine. Mr.Bala has a complete value chain of wine production, he starts from qualities certified Albanian seedlings, he has the vinery with this cultivars and produces in traditionally way the Albanian wine. He also does the stage of wine in barrels of oak wood starts from 2 until 5 years; he packages the wine in bottles with his label and finally he sells the wine in some of the best restaurants in Tirana and Vlora city. He is known in the market and by customers who are able to find this guaranty and good wine.

Objective of the best practice

  • Production of organic autochthon grape saplings for the local market.
  • Production of high-quality Albanian wine.
  • Promotion of the product at local, national and international level.

 

Who is going to use the best practice
Rural entrepreneurs interested in producing high quality wine.

Benefits

  • Grape producers in Vlora region can improve the quality of their productions and sell them to this demanding, but serious buyer.
  • Wineries, especially (but not exclusively) in Vlora region, can sell high-quality products.
  • Customers (at local, national, international level) can buy high-quality organic wine.

 

Expected results and indicators to measure success

  • Use of organic material in the grape production (manure).
  • Cultivation of native seedlings.
  • Limited and controlled use of pesticides.
  • High quality of the final product.
  • Very good fermentation and distillation technology.
  • Use of steel equipment and of wood barrels for storage.

 

Possibility of transferring the best practice
The small number of autochthon grape plantations impedes a large production of “native” wine in Vlora region. Moreover, in the area most of wine producers directly sell their products and don’t have the possibility of storing the wine for a long period of time: thus, their products don’t meet the high-quality standards they could otherwise reach. The best practice here presented could be used by other producers for enlarging and improving their production of autochthon organic grape, thus being able to produce more high-quality wine.

This website has been produced with the financial assistance of the IPA Adriatic Cross-Border Cooperation Programme. The contents of this website  are the sole responsibility of "Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura - Unità di Ricerca per l'Orticoltura, Monsampolo del Tronto (AP)" and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the IPA Adriatic Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Authorities.