The three-day symposium was organized by the Albanian Academy of Sciences and Kosovo Academy of Sciences.

During the meeting, there were addressed topics on the challenges of viticulture and indigenous cultivars in Albania and Kosovo with a focus from scientific research to the market.

Issues of implementation of legislation related to viticulture, vineyard system and wine quality control, conservation of indigenous vines, creation of genetic collections of autochthonous vine cultivars, use of methods of identical cultures and molecular biology autochthonous vines in Albania and Kosovo, as well as the identification of diseases to protect them aim at solving problems, reviving and further developing the tradition of Albanian lands that have been one of the most ancient centres of vine cultivation and wine production in Europe.

Also, in this symposium there was addressed the issue of branding of the Albanian wines.

Illyrian-Albanian winemaking has roots and history of several millennia and is part of the cradle of European winemaking, especially the Mediterranean, which is the basic hearth of viticulture and world winemaking.

This fact is proved by archaeological findings: carbonized grape seeds 9,000 years ago were found in the cave of Konispol; there are ruins of wineries in Bylis of Mallakastra, in Tirana Square, on the outskirts of the city of Elbasan. Well-known author Henry Enjalbert writes: “Albanians, together with the Greek islands in the Ionian Sea and Bosnia, may have been the last ‘origin’ for the vine after the glacial period.”

In Albania and Kosovo, winemaking is an added value for the national economy.

There are currently over 100 licensed wineries, in addition to those of home production. About 15 types of basic wines are produced with local cultivars, from Cerruja to Vrançi, in addition to international and regional wines./m.m/p.s./