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For the first time in its history, Armenia has become the host nation of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, one of the world’s most prestigious international wine tasting competitions. Ahead of the official start of the contest on May 20, a large-scale opening ceremony was held at the ancient Garni Temple, welcoming guests from around the world through a celebration that blended Armenia’s ancient winemaking heritage with music, dance and wine culture.

As evening light washed over the cliffs of Garni in gold, Armenian chants echoed through the temple. The stage glowed in deep wine hues, while dancers in traditional costumes performed scenes inspired by Armenia’s winemaking traditions – traditions as ancient as the land itself.

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The ceremony marked the official opening and welcome event for participants of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, one of the largest and most influential wine competitions in the world. The tasting competition itself officially begins on May 21 at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex, where experts will begin blind tastings of thousands of wines.

This year marks the first time Armenia has hosted an event of this scale. Around 400 international experts, sommeliers, journalists, bloggers, importers and wine buyers from more than 60 countries have arrived in the country. They will evaluate over 7,700 wines from more than 50 nations.

The location of the ceremony added a special symbolism to the evening.

Garni felt less like a historical monument and more like a living stage of an ancient civilization where wine was part of everyday culture long before the existence of the modern wine industry. Live music, Armenian songs, folk dances and reenactments of traditional winemaking rituals transformed the night into a tribute to Armenia’s wine heritage.

Gevorg Papoyan, Armenia’s Minister of Economy, stressed that the competition carries not only cultural importance for the country, but also major economic and tourism potential.

“More than 400 wine sommeliers, experts, specialists, bloggers and journalists have come to Armenia. On the one hand, they will be telling the world about Armenian winemaking. Many of them have already visited Areni. We’ve already seen countless videos on social media gaining tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of views. Everyone has been amazed to learn that Armenia’s winemaking tradition dates back more than six thousand years. They will be speaking about Armenia and the traditions of Armenian wine culture,” Papoyan said.

The minister also noted that the competition creates real opportunities for Armenian producers to enter new international markets.

“Many wine buyers and representatives of international organizations and companies involved in wine purchasing have come here. They won’t only follow the competition, but will also participate in meetings with Armenian producers. I hope we will be able to sign international agreements that will allow Armenian wine to be exported to new countries and supplied to international retail chains. If contracts are signed with even a few networks, it’s possible that the entire volume of Armenian wine production won’t be enough for export,” he added.

Zaruhi Muradyan, Executive Director of the Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia, revealed that negotiations to bring the competition to Armenia lasted several years.

“When we first started discussing the possibility of hosting the competition in Armenia, everything was quite uncertain because at that time almost nobody knew much about the country. But over the last few years Armenia has been increasingly featured in international media, and that helped tremendously. Many countries wanted to host the competition, but in the end Armenia was chosen because the organizers said this is truly a fascinating country with its own winemaking culture, unique history and heritage. They believe Armenia cannot be compared to any other country,” Muradyan said.

According to her, the organizers worked to create a rich and immersive program so guests could experience not only the competition itself, but the country as a whole.

“We deliberately organized everything so participants could see as much as possible. They’ve already visited Vayots Dzor and toured wineries, and there are still many meetings and trips ahead. It’s very important for us that people leave Armenia deeply impressed, because afterward they become ambassadors for the country and begin telling the world about it,” she said.

Competition president Baudouin Havaux described Armenia as one of the great historical lands of wine and emphasized the symbolism of bringing together 350 tasters from more than 60 nationalities during a time of global tension.

“Wine has a rare ability to create dialogue without conflict and unite people without confrontation,” he said.

And perhaps that was exactly what could be felt in Garni that evening. Beneath ancient columns, accompanied by the sound of the duduk and Armenian songs, Armenia was presenting to the world not only its wine, but also its history, culture and centuries-old tradition – one that dozens of countries are now discovering anew.

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