Armenian Vine and Wine Foundation together with GIZ is working on creation of a single sale platform and warehousing and logistics system for Armenian wines in Europe.

GastroVino has talked with Aram Babayan, Team Leader Armenia of Private Sector Development and Technical Vocational Education and Training South Caucasus (PSD TVET) Programme, to learn more about the project.

Direct sales in Europe

The project we are working on consists of 3 main components. The first is the creation of an online platform to present Armenian wines for direct sales in Europe.

The second component is a single warehouse, where all the wines presented on the platform should be stored. This will enable the producers to make transportation and storage costs more efficient.

The third component is the creation of a service center. Customers will be able to visit center to ask questions, receive clarifications, place orders.

We plan to make this a pilot project for the first year of its existence. Funding will be provided by the Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia, participating wine manufacturers, and GIZ.

Quality control

The foundation is also working on a mechanism for assessing the quality of Armenian wines. It will also help with the selection of wines from the single platform.

The platform will present the wines that pass the stage of quality control. For example, if a company produces 10 different varieties of wine but only 3 of them pass the minimum quality threshold, those 3 wines will be presented on the platform. The aim is to promote the sale of quality wines so that

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Aram Babayan | Image by: GIZ

The warehouse will not have a capacity limit, and as for the minimum threshold, we intend establish it over several discussions.

We are currently considering several European countries for the location of the warehouse. We plan to conduct certain comparisons and make a decision based on where we can have the broadest scope of opportunities.

Solutions for winemakers’ problems

The main problem small enterprises have with sale is that because of small quantities of wine they make, it is difficult for them to find partners willing to import their wines into the given market.

Our platform will make it possible for small producers to sell their product whether or not they have a representative in the country.

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Image by: REUTERS

Through this project, we will also be able to encourage tourists visiting Armenia to buy Armenian wines in their countries in the future.

Many tourists try our wines while in Armenia and like them, but they have no access to them after leaving the country, because the connection with the given producer is lost. By filling this gap, we will also use the potential of tourists to make Armenian wines more recognizable in the European market.

Of course, the project is very cost-efficient as well. Many companies participate in various events several times a year: tastings, exhibitions. There will be no extra cost to send a few bottles of wine to Europe because of the availability of their products in stock.

The terms

We have introduced the winemakers to the project and many of them have given their approval. We will have a decision on which way to go in about a month. The goal is to have Armenian wines presented on the single platform by the beginning of 2021.

Gayane Yenokyan