The Çobo Family
The Çobo family has a long tradition of wine production that dates back to the early 1900's. When a communist government was established in Albania in 1945, this family tradition ceased to exist as private enterprises were not allowed under the new regime. Fortunately, these treasured traditions were kept alive in the stories and memories of elderly members of the Çobo family.
"My great-great grandfather started the winemaking tradition, in a village near Shpiragu Mountain. He told his son, who told his son and so on until the stories reached my brother and me. During communism, every family was allowed one bottle of state-produced wine in celebration of the New Year. This was always the time when my family and I remembered the wine that we once made. I was greatly affected by the stories that my father and grandfather told and the memories they shared."
The Birth of Çobo Winery
When the communist government fell in the early 1990's, the family resumed their private wine production. While one of the Çobo brothers, Muahrem, was studying law in Italy, he met an Italian winemaker who sparked his interest in producing wine for a larger audience. Armed with the knowledge that the production of wine is often a matter of trial and error, Muahrem took detailed notes on the process, and endeavored to learn as much as he could from his Italian mentor. While in Albania for the summer term, he decided to put his newly aquired knowledge into action. He harvested the grapes, let them ferment, and then bottled the wine. It was a great success.
"I brought the wine back to Italy that fall and asked my friend to try it. He told me it can take a person forty years to get the process right, yet I perfected it my first try."
This was the beginning of Çobo as a winery. Early production was modest, with a total of 8,000 bottles produced in the first harvest.
"And so the Çobo winery vision was born within that first try. When I finished my studies, I moved back to Albania with my wife and that is when the Çobo winery began."
Initial success in the Albanian market enabled the company to grow gradually, reaching their current production of 85, 000 bottles annually. From the beginning, the philosophy and goal of the Çobo family has been to create an identity for their vineyard based on the unique and superior quality of its wine.
"The Albanian mentality has definitely been the greatest challenge. People's perception of wine was affected by the communist-era wine. For us to start a winery in mid/late '90s, after nearly 45 years of communist rule, was very difficult. Everyone around us said it was impossible to produce good wine in Albania, from Albanian grapes, and so on. But we fought hard against this mentality to convince people that wine production was an important Albanian tradition (even though it had been stopped/forbidden for nearly forty-five years) with the help of new technology and of course, passion."
The Future of Çobo Winery
Today, the maximum production capacity of Çobo winery is 200,000 bottles per year. It currently produces 85,000 bottles annually, and the family plans to increase production to match demand without compromising the wine's quality. Çobo wine is quickly attracting world-wide attention and has been represented at several wine expositions. The family's desire is to show the world the quality of Albanian wine and ensure that their patrons enjoy drinking each bottle as much as the family enjoys its creation.
