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With the arrival of each new year, the world of wine in Armenia continues to blossom and surprise with its diversity and uniqueness. The year that leaves its traces behind fills glasses not only with great wines, but also with rich history, traditions and innovations. NEWS.am STYLE wine columnist Liana Aghajanian summarizes the best and most exciting wines of 2023, which have brought new bright shades and impressions to Armenia's wine scene.

Achievements of Armenian wine masters

This year Armenian wines have been noticed not only by major wine associations and experts. Three Armenian wines have been selected for Carnival's 2023-2024 wine program and are now available in selected bars and restaurants on Carniva liners - this was the first time that Armenian wine will be featured on the liners of a major cruise company. Further, in March this year the American company Waters Edge Wineries presented a rare collection of wines from Armenia, and already in April six Armenian wines received medals at the International Wine Competition in Los Angeles. In addition, throughout the year Forbes magazine devoted several articles to Armenian winemaking and repeatedly mentioned Armenia as a wine country that has every chance to be in the center of attention, as well as included Armenian sparkling wine in the top ten wines of 2023.

The stability of festivals, market development, exhibitions and other events that allow Armenian winemakers to make themselves known - this year was probably the most productive in this sense.

Who distinguished themselves this year?

"The wine market in Armenia in 2023 has been moving forward steadily, persistently and actively. There were a lot of new products, and in terms of new brands and technologies we had a breakthrough," said Lilia Hovsepyan, sommelier of one of the favorite wine places in Yerevan, "Dalan" restaurant. "This year, small family wineries, such as Marnoova, Krya, which have been operating for not the first year, but released a very interesting white wine, Dove Kanyon - the list will be very long!"

As for technologies, for example, carbonic maceration as a certain special technology was introduced to the market by Gevorkian Winery - they released a line of white and red wines Ariats Carbonic Karasi.

The technology refers to the process of fermentation of whole bunches of grapes in an anaerobic environment in tanks filled with carbon dioxide. No matter how you look at it, you want to try it!

Also this year petnat started to be actively tasted, and now the Armenian market can be proud not only of beautiful petnats from Gevorkian, but also of the gorgeous Tushpa Lalvari petnat, the presentation of which fell on the last month of this year. The wine was created by the ancient method of ensestral from hand-picked local Lalvari grapes in the Tavush region. This year Tushpa Winery released 3 types of petnat from Lalvari, Banants and Tozot varieties.

Alexandrea Winery was also noted by many wine experts, this blended wine made of noble Chardonnay and Voskeat varieties, which has won the hearts of many people, is firmly on the first place in the nomination "The Best Armenian White Wine of the Year".

Fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks and Armenian oak barrels, this wine perfectly balances the citrus and green apple notes from the grapes and the smoky chestnut from the Armenian oak. The wine also won a silver medal at the Decanter World Wine Award 2023.

"This summer's premier wine is complex, long, elegant, and summery in a good way!" - this is how wine expert Evgenia Khavtorina described Malahi Wines' Malahi Rose, a Malahi Rose from the Black Areni variety, bottled from just one barrel of 300 bottles, in her Instagram post.

The year that has passed in Armenia has brought something magical and exciting to the country's wine scene. In every vine bush, in every barrel, there was a story of passion and devotion, woven in the magic cloth of wine elegies. This year can undoubtedly be called a landmark year for the Armenian wine industry. Behind every sip lies labor, skill and readiness for bold experiments. The wines presented during this period are not just drinks - they are living narratives about the land, vineyards and winemakers who are able to speak in harmony with nature.

However, this year's discoveries are not only the completed chapters, but also the prospect of new volumes in Armenia's wine annals. It is a beginning that promises something more - a combination of tradition with modernity, the past with the future. It is an inspiration for those who are ready to explore, boldly create and nurture the vines of the future.

Armenia, raising a glass, is preparing for the next act of its winemaking saga. Those who follow the wine picture closely feel that the best is yet to come. This year is just a footprint on the way to the highest peaks of winemaking art.

Liana Aghajanian

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