Russia suspends sales of Armenian wine and brandy over quality concerns

Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare of the Russian Federation) has suspended the sale and circulation of certain alcoholic beverages from Armenia after identifying products that do not meet mandatory quality standards.

According to the agency, cited by Russian media, the affected products include wine and brandy manufactured by Vedi-Alco, Abovyan Brandy Factory, and Wine and Brandy House Shakhnazaryan. The development was reported by Interfax.

“Rospotrebnadzor monitors products in circulation, including alcoholic beverages. As a result of inspections, products not complying with mandatory requirements were identified, produced by Vedi-Alco CJSC, Abovyan Brandy Factory LLC, and Wine and Brandy House Shakhnazaryan LLC (Republic of Armenia),” the agency said.

“In order to prevent the sale of products that do not meet mandatory requirements, information has been sent to retail enterprises and importers about suspending the sale of these products and withdrawing substandard alcoholic products from circulation,” it added.

Among the products deemed non-compliant are two wines produced by Vedi-Alco: “Ordinary varietal semi-sweet red wine ‘Getap Vernashen’” (11% alcohol, 0.75 litres, bottled February 3, 2025) and “Ordinary varietal dry white wine ‘Vedi Alco’ Kharji T3 ‘Legends of Arni’” (12% alcohol, 0.75 litres, bottled December 17, 2024).

The list also includes “Ordinary five-year-old brandy ‘Armenian Brandy 5 Stars’” (40% alcohol, 0.5 litres, bottled January 20, 2025), produced by Abovyan Brandy Factory in the city of Abovyan.

Additionally, authorities identified non-compliance in “Vintage aged Armenian brandy ‘KV’ seven-year-old ‘Shakhnazaryan XO’” (40% alcohol, 0.5 litres, bottled May 16, 2025), produced by Wine and Brandy House Shakhnazaryan in the city of Yegvard.

The agency has instructed retailers and importers to halt sales and remove the affected products from circulation.

This is not the first such measure targeting Armenian goods. Previously, Rospotrebnadzor suspended the import and sale of the mineral water “Jermuk” after detecting excessive levels of bicarbonate ions, chlorides, and sulfates.

By Tamilla Hasanova