ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES LAW ABOUT ALCOHOLIC DRINKS OF GRAPES
ARKA
June 10, 2008
YEREVAN, June 10. /ARKA/. Armenian Parliament passed the law about
alcoholic drinks made of grapes. The law sets locations for vineyards,
permissible hybrids, as well as the list of the regions where these
or those sorts of grapes are allowed to be cultivated.
Armenian Ministry of Agriculture is planning to bring the grapes
harvest up to 300,000 tons and the area of vineyards up to 26-28,000
hectares within five years. Consumption of grapes is also planned to
be increased.
The law forbids importing foreign cognac spirits in Armenia and demands
cultivating phylloxera-resistant sorts of grapes. Under the law, cognac
can be called "Armenian" only if it is made of local cognac spirits.
The grapes harvest was about 220,000 tons in Armenia in 2007.