Armenia is a land with remarkable depth and diversity of cultural and natural landscapes, within an area approximately the size of the U.S. states of Delaware and Vermont combined. This diversity is quite notable in areas such as music, art, architecture, cuisine and, in recent 20 years – increasingly – in Armenian wine industry.
Tom Muller, lifestyle, wine and food guru from France, published an article on Forbes about wine business, wine making history and traditions in Armenia. Despite the fact of Armenia being the oldest wine making country in the world, with earliest winemaking facility found in Areni-1 cave (dating from 4100 BCE), wine business has noticeably evolved only in recent years. 25 new wineries were founded in just 2018. Pioneers of the sphere are diverse and come from different backgrounds, including Berkeley chef, a Milanese fashion guru, an Argentinian infrastructure billionaire, a Moscow MBA graduate and the family of a Bostonian victim of past Bolshevik repression.
The country has more than 400 indigenous grape varieties, or about half as many as Italy. Unfortunately, only few are used to make wine. Popular white varieties are Voskehat and Kangun. Areni is the “queen” within reds. Areni has a history of 6100 years. Best Areni vines grow in Areni wine region.
Wine revolution is seen not only in business and investments but also in daily life of an average Armenian. Mentioning few, Saryan street with annual Wine Festival or In Vino wine club with wide range of wines from all over the world. Wine tourism in Armenia is relatively new, although promising both for wineries and tourists.
Tom kindly gives a list of his personal favorite wines. Don’t forget to check and try next time in Armenia or find on your local market.
Book one of our wine tours and discover magical notes of Armenian wine and brandy in Armenia with Armenia Hospitality.
