Winery · Various
Zorah Wines
Zorik Gharibian (2006) plants ungrafted Areni vines at 1,370m in Yeghegnadzor Valley—just 2km from the world's 6,100-year-old winery, using traditional Armenian clay karasses with Alberto Antonini as consultant.
What to do there
- AdventureVayots Dzor high-altitude wineriesWhen phylloxera destroyed 90% of Europe's vines between 1863 and 1880, Vayots Dzor was too high for the louse to reach. So the Armenian government made grafting ILLEGAL here — to keep the genetic purity intact. Every vine is ungrafted, own-root, and the Areni Noir growing roadside in Areni village carries DNA identical to grape seeds from the cave where wine was first made 6,100 years ago. Zorik and Yeraz Gharibian searched village-to-village for years to find 30 functional 19th-century karasi clay jars — because no one has been able to make new ones since the last master potters died in the Soviet era. Touch one at Zorah's cellar. The wine convecting inside is Armenia's most internationally celebrated.
- TastingZorah WinesPremium winery reviving Armenian winemaking traditions. Italian-trained winemaker uses clay amphora and produces world-class Areni Noir.
Wineries nearby
- Winery · Vayots Dzor Areni Cave - Oldest Winery Archaeological site with 6,100-year-old winery (4100-4000 BC) with intact fermentation vats, clay wine press, and storage jars proving Areni as humanity's first wine region.
- Winery · Areni Areni-1 Cave (World's Oldest Winery) UNESCO-grade archaeological complex with 6,100-year-old fermentation equipment, plus Areni-1 shoe (world's oldest leather shoe, 3600-3500 BC) in same cave chambers.
- Winery · Areni Areni-1 cave - world's oldest winery (6,100 years old) 6,100-year-old winery complex with intact fermentation vats and clay wine press—oldest known winemaking site on Earth, predating West Bank vineyard by 1000+ years.