{"id":39850,"date":"2019-09-11T19:06:55","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T15:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.armgeo.am\/?p=39850"},"modified":"2020-04-02T15:56:15","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T11:56:15","slug":"wine-culture-in-armenia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.armgeo.am\/en\/wine-culture-in-armenia\/","title":{"rendered":"Wine Culture in Armenia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roots and history of wine in Armenia\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Since ancient times Armenia has been famous for its wine making traditions. Foreign travelers and historians have always been surprised by wine culture in Armenia.\u00a0 We kn\u0585w about this from the works of famous philosophers as Xenophon or Strabo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wine has always been a national drink of Armenia and people cultivated grapes since ancient times. The evidence of that are the ancient wineries that were found during the excavations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of them was discovered in Vayots Dzor region. It is said to be one of the oldest wineries in the world from the middle ages. Archeologists and scientists believe that the ancient people who inhabited the Areni cave might have used wine in some sort of rituals. Excavations have shown that more than 20 human burials are located beside the winemaking zone within the cave and archeologists have additionally found various drinking caps around the graves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>

Areni 1 Cave<\/p><\/div>\n

The excavations were held in 2011, where besides wine making instruments a 5500 year old leather shoe was found.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The large number of rock-cut wine presses and storage vats discovered in Agarak’s excavations show the predominant role of viticulture and winemaking in the economic life of its inhabitants. As one of the most important points along the trade route leading from Ararat to Shirak and Ani, Agarak developed a flourishing economy and commercial sector, especially in the 4th-3rd centuries BCE and the 2nd-4th centuries.<\/span><\/p>\n\n