Champagne and sparkling wines will be produced in the Irkutsk region

In the second half of 2009, the Bratsk plant of JSC ANGARA plans to start producing wines, including champagne and sparkling wines, so residents of the Irkutsk region can celebrate New Year with a local drink. The plant, created on the basis of the former Bratsk wine and vodka factory, is preparing to expand production and install modern equipment. Of special interest is the champagne making technology, at the plant it will be made by the tank method, allowing a product close in quality to classic champagne.

In the second half of 2009, JSC ANGARA (the city of Bratsk) will begin producing wines, including champagne and sparkling wines.
This was reported to the news service “PM” by Elena Komarova, Marketing Director of the Bratsk Wine and Vodka Plant, JSC ANGARA. “We want the residents of the Irkutsk Region to be able to celebrate the New Year with a bottle of champagne from a local producer,” she noted.
JSC ANGARA is a young, modern, dynamically developing enterprise and a producer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The enterprise was established on the basis of the former Bratsk Wine and Vodka Plant, has undergone partial reconstruction, and in the near future plans to install the latest modern high-tech equipment for the production of premium-class products.
In addition to producing non-alcoholic beverages and vodka, the plant will also be engaged in the production of wines, including Champagne.
Champagne is a sparkling wine whose saturation with natural carbon dioxide occurs during secondary fermentation and subsequent aging. The classic French bottle method of champagnization guarantees high wine quality, but is complex, labor-intensive, and time-consuming (about 3 years).
Champagne began to be made in Russia using this technology as well, in the early 20th century in Crimea, but later the founder of Soviet champagne production, A. M. Frolov-Bagreyev, developed his own champagnization technology in special units — akratophors, which made it possible to shorten the technological process by 30 times. This method also makes it possible to produce high-quality champagne.
However, Soviet champagne and the new brands of Russian champagne are still produced by different methods. And in France itself, it is believed that only wine made in the Champagne province by the method of secondary fermentation in bottles and only from special local grape varieties can be called champagne.
At the Bratsk Wine and Vodka Plant, champagne will be produced using the tank method. This technology makes it possible to obtain a product whose quality is close to champagne produced by the bottle method using French technology. At present, after the shutdown more than a year ago of the Irkutsk wine and vodka plant “Kedr,” JSC ANGARA is the largest regional producer of vodka.