Armenia is a country with a fascinating history and one of conflict with its neighbours for centuries.
Whilst in Armenia we travelled along the “Armenian Wine Route” and visited the Vayots Dzor wine region, a 1–2-hour drive south of Yerevan, the capital.
Our day trip to the wine region took us very close to the Turkish border, the Azerbaijani exclave border and the Iranian border. This is a region with a history of turmoil.
Recent discoveries in a cave in Areni have uncovered the oldest ‘wine production’ facility in the world, dating back 6,000 years.
The grapes planted in this region are planted at an altitude (1,000m-1,800m) which prolongs the growing season during the hot summer months, with the rocky volcanic soil.
In the village of Areni we visited ‘the cube’ cellar door of Momik Wines and tasted some excellent wines. The small family run business makes excellent dry wines using the indigenous grapes of Voskehat and Areni Noir and aging the wines in Armenian oak barrels. With a production of only 5000 bottlers per annum all wines are sold through their restaurant/cellar door which provides a fantastic experience to taste some local food, enjoy the views and taste some of Armenia’s best wine.
Wines in Armenia are generally made in the European style, with many using indigenous grape varieties and blending is not common.
Armenians consider the ‘king’ of Armenian wine is Areni Noir, an indigenous black grape where the colour of the wine predominantly comes from the pulp of the grape, which is red. Many consider Areni Noir to be Armenia’s answer to Pinot Noir. The wine has high acidity and low tannin.
Armenians consider the local white grape of Voskehat (translates to “golden bunch”) to be the Queen of Armenian wine.
Some wine makers are experimenting with ancient Armenian wine making practices including their re-adoption of ‘Karas’ (clay vessels)
We also visited Old Bridge Winery (www.oldbridgewinery.com) in Yeghegnadzor which was one of the first boutique wineries in Armenia, being established in 1998. Their annual production of 20,0000 bottles includes Areni Noir, Rose and Vockehat.
For those interested in learning more about Armenian wines there is a book Wines of Armenia by S Margosian that delves into the history and deep traditions of winemaking in Armenia.
