Balys Karazija established “B. ir J. Karazijų vaisių vynų dirbtuvė” in 1926 that quickly grew into a factory which produced 900,000 litres of wine in 1939. The founder’s work was awarded several awards, and the most significant is the prize for strawberry wine in the international exhibition in Paris in 1938. Unfortunately, the successful company was nationalised by the Soviet authorities in 1940.
The first steps in modernizing the production process were made in 1957 with the installation of a mechanical automated wine bottling line and a labelling machine. To expand the product range, an experimental laboratory was established in 1964 and research of wine-making technology began. Everything paid off: the company produced 32 types of local wine in 1982.
The production lines were adapted to the production of non-alcoholic beverages in 1985 with the entry of the dry law. The company experiences other changes as well – it becomes a food factory in Anykščiai. When Lithuania regained its independence, “Anykščių vynas” was also restored. The production equipment was modernised from 1991 to 1997, and beverage range was expanded.
AB Alita bought “Anykščių vynas” in 2004. Work on developing new products continues, thus a new trademark is born in 2005 – “Voruta”. The natural Lithuanian wine collection is named after the legendary castle of King Mindaugas that, according to the researchers, was located near Anykščiai. “Voruta” black currant wine received national heritage mark in 2010.
“Anykščių vynas” joined MV GROUP in 2014, and celebrated its 90th anniversary two years later. “Voruta” wine collection is constantly growing; 3 more wines received national heritage mark. A new company logo and visual identity were introduced in 2017. In 2019, the factory installed the most modern production line in the region.
