The wine distillery Anykščių Vynas is preparing for the apple harvest buying season which is due to start on Monday, August 24. Anykščių Vynas intends to buy about 20,000 tonnes of various types of apples to produce juice, juice concentrates, natural wines, cider and other products.
Liubovė Rebiatnikova, production manager of Anykščių Vynas, says that the owners of larger gardens as well as individual growers are invited to sell their apples. Before the arrival of carriers, for their convenience, apple sellers should register in the electronic queue management system. This system was launched last year and plays a very important role.
“Using this system, carriers from all over Lithuania arrive at the distillery’s harvest purchase points at the appointed time. They avoid queuing and can save time. The harvest is delivered faster and more conveniently,” says Rebiatnikova, pointing out that the system also helps to avoid unnecessary paperwork, because all the necessary documents indicating the purchase are kept in the electronic space.
In order to make it even more convenient to deliver apples, this year Anykščių Vynas also installed a parking lot for carriers. It is located in the vicinity of the distillery.
“Our factory is situated in the very centre of Anykščiai. So, if carriers arrive earlier or not at the appointed time, sometimes there are queues in the city. To avoid such congestion, this year we will invite the carriers to park their vehicles in a specially designed parking lot. This would be more convenient for both sellers and residents of the city,” points out Rebiatnikova.
Moreover, as the apple buying season has started, Anykščių Vynas intends to expand the team of employees – the distillery is looking for apple sorters and unloading operators for extra work during the season.
No waste from purchased apples
Anykščių Vynas produces more than 100 different products from apples, among which natural wines or ciders are well known to consumers in Lithuania. Juice, juice concentrate and natural aromatic substances are also produced in the distillery.
According to Rebiatnikova, the purchased apples are fully produced, without generating any waste. “Green production is a global trend that we also follow. We use the apples we buy right up to the seeds, speaking figuratively. Fruit juices are used for the production of different beverages and concentrates. The rest of the pulp is dried and sold to producers of pectin which is used in the food and pharmaceutical industries,” suggests Rebiatnikova. She adds that modern technologies in the distillery allow ensuring the production process without waste.
The factory exports 30% of the beverages produced. Anykščių Vynas products are available in almost 20 countries of the world. Perhaps the most popular product in the international market is juice concentrates, of which about 95% is exported abroad.
The biggest share of juice concentrates from Anykščių Vynas is bought in Germany – about 70% of juice concentrates is exported to this country. The rest of the juice concentrate export goes to Austria, Hungary, Poland and Estonia.
Anykščių Vynas plans to finish the apple purchase season in mid-November.
