The Cradle of Viticulture: 6,000 Years of Winemaking Tradition in Armenia

In 2007 archaeologists began excavating the oldest known winery in Armenia, the Areni-1 winery, which dates back to 4000 BCE. Winemaking has been an integral part of Armenian culture for thousands of years, and the country continues to produce some of the world’s finest yet underappreciated wines. Let’s take a journey through Armenia’s ancient winemaking tradition and see how it has evolved over the centuries.

Winemaking in Ancient Armenia

The first written records of winemaking in Armenia date back to around 400 BCE, when the Xenophon-led Greek military passed through Armenian territory and the Armenians gave them both wine and beer. The Armenians prepared and stored their wines in clay pots called “karases” during this era.

Some of the first archaeological discoveries related to winemaking in Armenia happened in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when academic Pyatrovski conducted excavations in the country. He discovered that winemaking had existed in Armenia since at least the ninth century BCE and that the current Armenian capital, Yerevan, was a major winemaking center during this era.

Various other archaeologists have found remnants of large wine storehouses across Armenia, including some with 480 clay pots in Yerevan’s Teishebaini Fortress. Excavation projects in the ancient sites of Karmir Blur and Erebuni also led to the discovery of 10 storehouses with a total of 200 karases.

Modern-day Armenia and the rest of the South Caucasus region are home to fertile valleys conducive to winemaking. Archaeologists believe that this region was the home of the first cultivated grapevines in the world and the beginnings of winemaking in the Neolithic era, more than 6,000 years ago. Some historians believe that the Eurasian grape was first domesticated in Armenia as well, before traveling south and spreading to other ancient civilizations.

The Discovery of Areni-1 Winery

In 2011, a team of Armenian and Irish archaeologists announced the discovery of the oldest known winery in the world. It was in a cave complex in Areni, a village in Armenia’s Vayots Dzor province. The Areni-1 winery is believed to be at least 1,000 years older than the second-oldest known winery, which was discovered in the West Bank in 1963.

The excavations that led to this discovery were a joint project between Boris Gasparyan of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and Ron Pinhasi of Ireland’s University College Cork.

The excavation project began in 2007 and ended in September 2010. The archaeologists discovered a wide range of winemaking equipment at the ancient site, including a wine press, fermentation vats, storage jars, and pottery shards. They also excavated a well-preserved wine vat measuring 2 feet deep.

In addition to the equipment, the team found grape seeds and remnants of pressed grapes, prunes, walnuts, and desiccated vines. These organic materials were preserved by sheep dung, which protected the remains from fungi. Several wine cups were found next to ancient graves, which archaeologists believe suggests that the site was used for rituals and funerals.

Armenian Wine Production during the Soviet Union

Wine production in Armenia increased exponentially under the Soviet Union, but overall, this era was not good for Armenia’s rich winemaking tradition.

Between the 1930s and the early 1990s, Armenian winemakers were instructed to mass-produce fortified wines and brandy instead of traditional Armenian table wines. Many Armenian vineyards also fell into disrepair during this era, as they were not given the proper attention and supervision.

Wine production increased nine-fold between 1940 and 1985 and brandy production increased 17 times. Sparkling wines also became more popular during this era, with a ten-fold increase between 1960 and 1986.

In the 1980s, Armenia processed an average of 20,000 tons of grapes each year, which produced between 14 million and 15 million decalitres of wine. Armenia produced about 25 percent of the Soviet Union’s brandy during this decade.

Modern Winemaking in Armenia

Armenia’s ancient winemaking traditions were stifled under Soviet rule, but Armenian winemaking experienced a resurgence in the late 1990s. The discovery of the Areni-1 winery also sparked further enthusiasm, inspiring many new winemakers to resurrect the country’s great winemaking history with modern takes on traditional wines.

Modern Armenian wines are of premium quality thanks to the country’s ideal terroir, or the various environmental factors that affect how grapes grow. Armenia has some of the highest wine-growing elevations in the world and a variety of microclimates and nutrient-rich volcanic soils, which give Armenian wines their unique flavors. The long history of grape cultivation in Armenia also adds to the quality of Armenian grapes.

Wine lovers who visit Armenia should consider adding some wine-focused destinations to their itineraries. They can enjoy an abundance of delicious modern Armenian wines at the country’s many wineries and learn about the history of the country’s winemaking traditions with a visit to the Areni-1 winery and caves.