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Small European country on the Adriatic Sea with Kosovo and Montenegro to the north and Greece to the south. It was under hard-line communist control for much of the 20th century but has been since 1996 in a state of some anarchy. Albania claims one of Europe's longest histories of viticulture. French historian Henri Enjalbert considers Albania, the Ionian islands of Greece, and southern Dalmatia in what is now Bosnia Hercegovina may well have been the last European refuge of the vine after the Ice Age. Certainly there are written accounts of viticulture in Illyria, as it was known in classical times, as early as the 8th century bc. Early Latin writers also cited Illyria as source of a high-yielding vine that was introduced to Italy. By the 17th century wine production diminished considerably under the influence of Islam.
Between the establishment of the first Albanian government in 1912 and 1944 viticulture increased rapidly, although phylloxera caused such devastation after its discovery in 1933 that by the end of the Second World War there were only 2,737 ha/6,760 acres of vines in Albania. During the 50 years of communist rule that followed, total vineyard area increased to 20,000 ha/49,400 acres, of which 14,000 ha/34,500 acres were devoted exclusively to wine, including imported vine varieties such as Mavrud, Dimiat, Pamid, Prokupac, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Aligote, Riesling, Tocai Friulano, Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains, and Trebbiano. In 1957 24 wineries were established in all regions producing dry wines and a grape distillate called raki rrushi for local consumption and sweet wines, grape juice, and brandy for export. Since 1992 there has been a programme of land privatization and attempts to establish a free market economy. Albania is divided into four wine regions. The coastal plain rises to 300 m/990 ft and encompasses the towns of Tirana, Durresi, Shkodra, Lezha, Lushnja, Fier, Vlora, and Delvina. The hilly region varies between 300 and 600 m/1,980 ft altitude and includes Elbasan, Kruje, Gramsh, Berat, Prmet, Librazhd, and Mirdita. The submountainous region lies between 600 and 800 m and surrounds the towns of Pogradec, Korca, Leskovic, and Peshkopi. Some vines are also grown in the mountains as high as 1,000 m/3,300 ft. Soils are generally clay silica of varied depths and exposures. The main indigenous vine varieties for winemaking are Shesh i bardhe, Debin, e bardhe, and Pules for white wines and Shesh i zi, Kallmet, Vlosh, Serine, and Debin, e zeze for red wines. Shesh i bardhe and Shesh i zi are the two most important vines, accounting for about 35 per cent of the crop, and take their name from the hill village of Shesh 15 km from the capital Tirana. At low yields the former has an attractive floral aroma while the latter is capable of producing wines worthy of ageing. Kallmet is the country's noblest red grape, cultivated in ancient times around the lake of Shkodra and disseminated by the Romans as the variety known in Hungary as Kadarka. Vlosh is a speciality of the village of Narta, makes full bodied, quite astringent wines that may have some rancio character. An experimental station designed to research local grape varieties and upgrade Albanian wine production was founded in 1990. Bibliography - Enjalbert, H., Histoire de la vigne et du vin (Paris, 1975).
- Frashri, K., The History of Albania (Tirane, 1964).
- Sotiri, P., Gjermani, T., and Nini, T., Vitikultura (Tirane, 1973).
- Zigori, V., Buletini Shkencave Natyrore, 1966-70
References Aligote Bosnia Hercegovina Cabernet Sauvignon Dimiat Greece Islam Kadarka Kosovo Mavrud Merlot Montenegro Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains Pamid phylloxera Pinot Gris Pinot Noir Prokupac rancio Riesling Trebbiano
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