Armenia Part 2: Renaissance Ready

D’Amato & Szabo: Wine Thieves

Way back in episode 41 entitled Armenia: Stepping Back Through Time, the Wine Thieves introduced listeners to this fascinating country with 6100 years (at least) of winemaking history. Armenia is the site of the oldest known winemaking facility, the Areni-1 cave discovered in 2007 in the Armenian highlands in the region called Vayots Dzor. Be sure to listen for the full backstory. But despite that near-bottomless history, the modern Armenian wine industry is barely a decade old. The country is moving at a rapid pace to re-establish its winemaking heritage, however, and has attracted the interest of celebrity flying winemakers like Michel Rolland and Paul Hobbs, as well as a collection of ambitious ex-pats and locals alike.
John and Sara welcome two of Armenia's leading protagonists of the rebirth to the show, Juliana del Aguilar Eurnekian, president of Karas Wines, and Vahe Keusgheurian, the man behind Wineworks in Yerevan, an important wine incubator, also a nurseryman dedicated to rediscovering Armenia’s rich heritage of indigenous vines, and a producer of three wine brands himself.
The Thieves continue exploring the seven unofficial wine-growing regions in this country with shocking diversity within such a small geographic area. You'll hear from their guests about a handful of the most promising local grape varieties, such as Areni, Voskehat, Tozot, Kakheti and Sireni (aka khondogni) out of the 200+ known to exists, which have the greatest potential to firmly establish the country on the world wine map. There will be more on the wealth of indigenous varieties in an upcoming episode so stay tuned. Grab a glass of history and join us on this continued adventure into the future.
This episode was produced in partnership with the Vine & Wine Foundation of Armenia.