Welcome to Armenia, where every sip tells a story! From ancient traditions to modern vineyards, the journey from grape to glass is a sensory feast waiting to be explored.
If you’re a wine enthusiast, make Armenia your destination this year. The UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism will take place in Armenia for the first time ever in autumn 2024!
Sip Through Time: History of Armenian Wine
From the early Bronze Age caves where winemaking first began to the local revival of the craft a decade ago, Armenia's wine story is as rich as the red cliffs of Vayots Dzor. (That, by the way, is one of Armenia’s most famous wine-making regions, and we recommend you take a journey through its charted wine route).
You may not realize it, but some of the first wines were made in this part of the world. Armenia’s history of wine-making dates back to 6,100 BC. Learn about its ancient story through a tour of the Areni-1 cave (or the Bird cave) nestled in Vayots Dzor. There, in 2007, a team of archeologists uncovered human bones as well as remains of grapes and clay vessels that pointed to the existence of ancient winemaking traditions.
As a republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia was cultivated into the chief producer of cognac. Distillers spent the majority of their effort cultivating the white grapes used to make brandy, and many old red grape vines went overlooked. Armenian winemaking fell by the wayside until the 1990s. It was only then that locals began to relearn the ancient art of viticulture and uncover the secrets of Armenian vines.
In the past decade, local wine-making has blossomed. When the first modern wine bar in Yerevan opened in 2013, there were only 10 local wine options available there. Now there are more than 100!
Grapes and Terroir: Nature's Canvas for Wine
Armenia boasts a terroir that is a perfect recipe for exceptional wines. Ancient Assyrian and Greek accounts even reference these beverages!
Among Armenia's ten regions, Vayots Dzor, Aragatsotn, Ararat, and Armavir emerge as the viticultural gems. These areas showcase a unique combination of sought-after grape-growing attributes: volcanic soil, elevated terrain, and venerable vines aged 35 years and older.
What sets Armenian wines apart is the absence of the phylloxera blight, a notorious North American pest that wreaked havoc on vines in Europe during the 1860s. Unlike many vineyards globally, Armenian vines stand proudly "own-rooted," untouched by the need for grafting onto phylloxera-resistant rootstock. This distinctive feature, often lauded by wine enthusiasts, adds an extra layer of pride to Armenia's winemaking heritage.
