AzerNews.

The first Azerbaijani Wine Tasting event was held in Washington, D.C. on November 21.

The event was jointly organized by the United States – Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) and Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO).

The event introduced a variety of wines and brandies imported exclusively by wine producers of Azerbaijan, namely Absheron Sharab, ASPI Wineries, Az-Qranata, Caspian Coast, VinAgro Goy-Gol and Sherq Ulduzu.

The guests were served with white and red wines made of indigenous sorts of Azerbaijani grapes such as Bayan Shira, Matrasa in addition to locally grown sorts of famous wine grapes as Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz, Muscat and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Opening the event, Executive Director of the United States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) Susan Sadigova welcomed the guests and informed them briefly about the mission of the Chamber and purpose of the event.

She then introduced AZPROMO U.S. Representative Elshan Baloghlanov and regional wine expert Mamuka Tsereteli.

Addressing the event, Tsereteli spoke about the distinct flavors and wide variety of Azerbaijani wines and brandies, as well as the opportunities for Azerbaijani winemakers to enter the highly competitive U.S. marketplace.

Baloghlanov, in turn, spoke about AZPROMO’s activity in the United States, and the wine Initiative “Wines and Spirits of Azerbaijan” supported directly by the Economy and Industry Ministry of Azerbaijan.

He also mentioned export, marketing and distribution plans for 2014.

Among invited guests were wine experts and distributors, international trade specialists and journalists, including officials from the U.S. Department of State, Department of Commerce, World Bank, Foreign Policy Magazine, Washington Times, The Washington Post, Jamestown Foundation and many others.

Azerbaijan has all the natural conditions — mountainous terrain and close location to the Caspian Sea — for the emergence and development of winemaking.

Wine is produced in several regions of Azerbaijan. Vineyards are found at the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains and in the Kur-Araz lowlands. In the 21st century, Ganja, Nagorno-Karabakh, Shirvan and Nakhchivan have emerged as centers of wine production in Azerbaijan.

Vineyards in these regions account for about 7 percent of the country’s cultivated land. The regions are famous for 17 vine and 16 table grape varieties.

Currently, there are nearly 10 wineries and vineyards producing wine in the country.