SVL Group said Thursday that it bought French champagne maker Chateau d’Avize, formerly owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, for an undisclosed sum.
SVL, owned by oil trader Boris Titov, plans to start selling Chateau d’Avize champagne in Europe and Russia by the end of 2011, the company said. The sale of Chateau d’Avize has nothing to do with LVMH, said a spokesman for the luxury-goods maker, who declined to be named, citing company policy.
The company, which makes Russian sparkling wine under the Abrau-Durso brand, also acquired the rights to market champagne under the Louis XIV brand and rented 2 hectares of Grand Cru vineyards for 25 years to grow grapes, SVL said.
LVMH sold the Chateau d’Avize estate over the last year to a local winemaker and kept a vineyard that it acquired along with the real estate in 2008, the LVMH spokesman said.
SVL is seeking to diversify away from Russia, where production of sparkling wine dropped 6.9 percent last year, after falling 3.7 percent in 2008, according to data from the country’s State Statistics Service.
SVL said it aims to reach annual production of 1.5 million bottles of Chateau d’Avize in the next five years.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.