Armenia, The Birthplace of Wine – The Guardian

On February 7, 2016, the prestigious British newspaper “The Guardian” published an article in which Armenia was mentioned as a likely birthplace of wine since it was in this country that the oldest wine cellars in the world were found in Areni-1 cave.

“It was here, in modern-day Armenia in 2011, that archaeologists discovered the world’s earliest winery, dating back to circa 3,000 to 3,500 BC,” writes the newspaper, referencing the book “A Natural History of Wine” by American academics Jan Tattersall and Rob Desalle. In its opening chapter, the authors write that the oldest winemaking facility was discovered in Areni-1 cave.

The authors of the book also mention Italian-Armenian Zorik Gharibian, a successful businessman and founder of the winemaking company Zorah. One of the products of Zorah is the Karasì wine which is aged in Armenian amphorae (“karas”, hence the name of the wine) in accordance with ancient traditions and techniques.