The Savalan Valley is located at 400 meters above sea level and is surrounded by rivers, where the climate is perfectly balanced for the production of wine.
In preparation for planting the first vines, soil samples were taken from plots of land in the Savalan Valley and thoroughly analysed, a project which was headed by Professor Eugenio Sartori. Based on the results of the analysis, the most suitable kinds of grapes were selected and delivered by Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo (VCR), a world leader in seedling production. Under the supervision of an internationally acclaimed oenologist, Ermanno Murari, the first vineyards of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were planted on 45ha of the vineyards.
He is an international specialist on seedling diseases, and currently a leading expert at VCR. He holds a PhD in agronomy and oenology.
The first grapes were harvested between August and October of 2009. SAVALAN-ASPI Winery chose Della Toffola’s state-of-the-art equipment when establishing the plant, to ensure the factory was up to international standards and, most importantly, to create a facility that would produce top quality wines. The factory is overseen by head oenologist, Daniele D’Andrea.
The development of a company logo, label, and packaging was another important milestone for the SAVALAN brand. The main inspiration for the label design was the silhouette of our “Sleeping Beauty”, a legendary mountain in Gabala which protects the valley from wind. The labels are printed by Juliagraf, an Italian printing house, the bottles are produced by European n manufacturers including Bruni Glass and Saint-Gobain, and the cork is supplied by the Sugherificio Veneto. In May 2011, the company presented its products at the 17th Azerbaijani International Fair of World Food Azerbaijan 2011 at the Baku Expo Center. This is also when oenologist Elisa Vagnoni joined the company, completing our international winemaking team at SAVALAN – ASPI Winery.
She is a technologist-oenologist, who holds a PhD in oenology and is a graduate of the University of Florence. Prior to her work at SAVALAN, she served asan expert-technologist in the creation of a large winemaking enterprise in Australia.
SAVALAN – ASPI Winery made its first video advertisement in the summer of 2011 highlighting the revival of wine-making traditions in Azerbaijan.
In September 2011, SAVALAN appeared in the press for the first time when an article about the vineyards and first wines was published in the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) onboard magazine.
SAVALAN – ASPI Winery appeared in two international events in November 2011: the wines were presented at a Specialized Tasting Exhibition at the Crocus Expo Centre in Moscow, and the company participated as a general wine partner at the IX All-Ukrainian Sommelier Contest. The first wines were released on the Azerbaijani market, which were semi-sweet Viognier, dry Chardonnay, and semi-sweet Cabernet Merlot. This is also when the company’s first website and winemaking portal were launched.
In June 2012, after visiting the winery, Alexander Sidorov, Editor-in-Chief of Russian website Drinktime.rbc.ru wrote an article titled, “Ex Oriente Lux: Azerbaijan Returns to the World Wine Map” where he extolled the virtues of SAVALAN wine and the Azeri wine tradition.
In August 2012 SAVALAN wines made their debut on the Russian market. The next month, the board of directors of Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo visited the factory to inspect the seedlings in Gabala and Ismayilli, and to taste both new and bottled wines.
SAVALAN wines won three bronze medals at one of the largest and most prestigious events in the winemaking world: The Fifth International Wine Exhibition in Hong Kong which attracted a record number of participants (over 950) in November 2012. The following SAVALAN wines were awarded in these categories: SAVALAN Limited Release 2010 – Best Mixed Red Wines, SAVALAN Syrah 2010 – Best Syrah Wines, and SAVALAN Merlot Sweet 2010 – Best Wine for Peking Duck.
After passing the obligatory entry assessments and meeting all the criteria, SAVALAN – ASPI Winery was invited to participate in the International Exhibition of Dessert Wines in Bologna, Italy where the red dessert wine SAVALAN Merlot Sweet 2010 won 4 gold crowns out of 5. The jury also awarded the company with a special prize for the best foreign wine at the exhibition.
To round off the successes of 2012, in December SAVALAN – ASPI Winery won the National Business Award in the “wine production” category. Subsequently, during a meeting between Azerbaijani and Italian business networks SAVALAN – ASPI Winery and Italian importer Usque ad Finem signed a Memorandum of Cooperation under which Azerbaijani wines, and SAVALAN line in particular, would appear on the European market in the near future for the first time in history. At the beginning of 2013 new wines such as Traminer, Moscato, Aleatico, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon Ripassato and Alicante Bouschet were also added to the SAVALAN line.
In March of 2013, SAVALAN – ASPI Winery sponsored the Caspian Cup (Intellectual Games Tournament), providing all the 360 participants from various countries with SAVALAN wines. The winning teams have received special prizes – a bucket of wines and Azerbaijani sweets. SAVALAN – ASPI Winery also organised a visit to its facilities in Gabala for the stars of the intellectual games.
In April of 2013, our wines were presented at the Vinitaly exhibition in Verona, Italy. During the exhibition the stand of the company was visited by more than 700 guests, including wine business professionals, sommeliers, and wine journalists.
In September SAVALAN – ASPI Winery received an ISO 22000: 2005 certificate for wine production.
In February 2014, representatives from SAVALAN – ASPI Winery were invited to be guests of honour for the official visit of the Minister of Agriculture of France, Guillaume Garrot. During the meeting with the Minister the issues of future cooperation and partnership with French companies were raised.
In April 2014, SAVALAN wines were presented during the Wine & Gourmet exhibition in Tokyo, Japan. During the exhibition attended by more than 30 Japanese companies – distributors left their enquiries and expressed their readiness to work with Azerbaijani wines.
To celebrate the visit of the President of France, François Hollande, to Azerbaijan in May 2014, SAVALAN wines were officially selected as the exclusive drink for the conference held by the President.
In June, SAVALAN – ASPI Winery participated in the London Wine Fair exhibition at the Olympia, in coordination with y two other Azerbaijani wine producers.
In September 2014, SAVALAN wines, with the support of AzerHART were exhibited during the WijnFeesten Groesbeek fair in the Netherlands. Following the exhibition, SAVALAN wines were named the “Pearl of Caucasus”.
SAVALAN wines received the prestigious Grand Prix during the 4th International Wine Festival held in Ganja, Azerbaijan.
In November, the famous wine expert and the member of the jury for the Decanter World Wine Award, Darrel Joseph visited our winery in Gabala.
SAVALAN wines were represented at various international events, including Vinitaly (Italy), Prowein (Germany), and PRODEXPO (Russia). Our wines also had the honour of representing our country at the “Azerbaijan in the heart of Paris” which was organised by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Paris, France.
On 28th May, a photo exhibition about the Gabala region was organised at the European Parliament in Brussels, accompanied by a tasting of SAVALAN wines.
MUNDUS VINI, held in Neustadt, Germany, is one of the most prestigious wine competitions in Europe where more than 8000 wines from all over the world are brought for tasting. At the 2015 MUNDUS VINI competition, SAVALAN Cabernet Sauvignon Ripassato, 2011 was awarded a gold medal, and SAVALAN Viognier, 2014 was awarded a silver medal.
The MUNDUS VINI award is officially recognized by the European Union as a mark of quality.
In 2019, the brand was renamed SAVALAN, and the name of the company was changed to SAVALAN – ASPI Winery.
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