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Chairman of the Union of Winemakers of Armenia Avag Harutyunyan insists people in Armenia has increasingly preferred wine over vodka over the last seven years.

At a press conference held on Thursday, Harutyunyan pointed out that the new year’s tables this year have been rich of more wine to compare with the previous years.

“We recorded a 15 percent growth this year, while in 2011 Armenia reached a new high through taking the 2-5 places for vodka consumption per capita for people. That is to say we were from the 2nd to 5th biggest vodka drinkers in the world. Today, however, we have left even the Russians behind in wine consumption volumes with them having three times higher consumption levels per person. Wine drinking is becoming quite popular. People spend AMD 1,700 - 1,900 for a bottle today, while the amount previously spent on wine varied from 1,200 - 1,300,” Harutyunyan said.

The chairman of the Union next informed that the imports of wine have noticeably decreased in Armenia since 2013

“No more than 200 thousand bottles (imported) to compare with the previous 500 thousand, mostly from Georgia,” Harutyunyan informed.

Expanding on the reasons of the consumption decline, Harutyunyan pointed out the decline in economic activity as well as the rise of the Armenian producers with the formation of winemaking culture.  

“People now belief that the Armenian wine is good,” he concluded.