Abrau-Durso's Projects Became Winners of the Corporate Museum 2024 National Award

More than 150 projects from 90 corporate museums of operating enterprises in Russia were announced in 16 nominations of the competition. The Abrau-Durso Museum and Historical Complex won in the Territory Development nomination. The museum at the Sheki Sharab winery in Azerbaijan, opened with the participation of Abrau-Durso specialists, became the best in the Discovery of the Year nomination. The Heart of Abrau installation was awarded the III degree diploma in the Museum Internet Project nomination, where virtual tours, thematic games, websites and multimedia exhibits took part. Winning the competition is a confirmation by the expert community of the significant contribution to the history of the industry, since corporate museums serve as a living chronicle of the company's history, allowing a better understanding of its traditions, achievements and evolution. 

The closing ceremony of the VI All-Russian Corporate Museum Contest was held in Nizhny Novgorod. For the third year in a row, the Abrau-Durso Museum and Historical Complex has won the competition. This year, the highest award was received in the Territory Development nomination - the works submitted for participation in the nomination must be aimed at the development of settlements, places and regions where companies operate. The Abrau-Durso. Territory of Good Taste project combined 20 years of painstaking labour to restore historical sites and create socially significant tourist routes, such as reconstruction of the Abrau-Durso museum building constructed in 1907, creation of infrastructure for excursions in vineyards, museumisation of the Aspurgiani Tower archaeological monument with the assistance of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, etc. It is noteworthy that this important victory fell on a special anniversary - this year the Museum and Historical Complex of the Abrau-Durso Russian Wine House celebrates its 50th anniversary. 

The museum at the Sheki Sharab winery in Azerbaijan, created with the participation of Abrau-Durso experts and Artefakt, a Russian company for creating museum expositions, was also recognised for the first time - it won the Discovery of the Year nomination. This is the first embassy of the Abrau-Durso history abroad, the purpose of which is to acquaint guests with the origins of winemaking in the world, with the culture of creating a noble drink in the ancient lands of modern Azerbaijan, as well as with national creativity, which found inspiration in the local traditions of viticulture and winemaking. The modernized winery and the new museum opened their doors in 2023, becoming an outstanding landmark of the Sheki city.

Another significant award is the III degree diploma in the Museum Internet Project nomination, which recognises projects created with the use of modern and multimedia technologies. The bronze medal was won by the Abrau Heart multimedia installation, created together with the Kuflex interactive digital art studio. According to legend, the Heart was discovered during work in one of the underground tunnels of the winery. The very Heart of Abrau is made in the form of a grape berry, whose beating fills the space with life-giving power.

The Corporate Museum National Award is the only competition platform for corporate museums not only in our country, but also in the world. The VI All-Russian Competition was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Communications Development Centre, Gorky Automobile Plant, the Russian Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM Russia), the Russian Association for Public Relations (RAPR) and other organisations. The geography of the participants covers the whole country - from Kaliningrad to the Far East. This year's participants include Russia Today International Media Group, Gazprom, Rosatom, Roscosmos, Russian Railways, Lukoil, PhosAgro, VDNKh, Ingosstrakh, Goznak, Rosneft, SUEK and many others. The mission of the competition is to generate interest in the country's industrial potential, as well as to revive the traditions of corporate museums that play an important cultural and educational role. 

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Abrau-Durso is a leading producer of sparkling and still wines in Russia. The Abrau-Durso estate was founded in 1870 by a personal decree of Emperor Alexander II. Abrau-Durso presents collections of wineries: Abrau-Durso, Vedernikov Winery, Loza, etc. By the end of 2023, the Abrau-Durso Group of Companies sold more than 56.7 million bottles of alcoholic beverages. In 2021, the company won the Rising Star nomination at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, an international tasting competition in which experts annually recognise the world's most promising sparkling wines and champagne producers. The Abrau-Durso Tourism Centre is the largest enotourism centre in Russia, with 600,000 guests visiting in 2023.

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