Vayots Dzor Areni Wine Route

Vayots Dzor Areni Wine Route

Just two hours south of Yerevan, Vayots Dzor is home to wineries and vineyards. Here, the thirsty traveler can tour a winery to learn about Armenia’s unbroken tradition of winemaking while sampling vintages from across the ages.
At the heart of the Vayots Dzor Wine Route is the Areni-1 Cave, site of the oldest known winery in the world. Armenian wines have been gracing Armenian tables for at least 6000 years. Today, this wine culture is kept alive by a handful of enthusiastic winemakers who continue to cultivate ancient varietals. Spend a day exploring one of Vayots Dzor’s winemaking facilities, taking a tour of the production process, and tasting local wines.
Along the Vayots Dzor Wine Route, there are few wineries that offer regular tours and tastings: Hin Areni Winery, Old Bridge Winery.
These are all easily accessed via the Yerevan Highway.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: T'rchuneri (Bird) Cave, Highway, At the Entrance To Noravank Canyon, Areni Armenia

For centuries, the caves in this region were thought to be just simple caves. Children would play in them, but nobody knew much about these caves. But that all changed in 2007, when excavations began in Areni Cave.Excavations unearthed large complexes, which showed that this cave was once used for religious and economic purposes. A wine press was found in one room of the cave, where there is a hard place that drains into a jug. Traces of seeds, stems, and the compound that gives red wine its signature color were found, which led a wide array of scientists to conclude that the area was used as a winery about 6,000 years ago. Areni Cave is now recognized as the oldest winery in the world. Only in two km from the cave there is one of the most popular wineries of Armenia, Areni Wine Factory.

The oldest leather shoe was also found in Areni Cave, stuffed with grass and stowed away for storage. It’s owner must have made it around 3,500 BCE, in a style that is still common to this day across the Caucasus and the Balkans. The oldest straw skirt in the world (3,900 BCE) and the oldest brain (4,000 BCE) have also been found in the cave, alongside ceramics, straw baskets, and ritual items. There were even skeletons found in jars, which may be from ritual sacrifices (though it’s the only case of ritual sacrifice ever found in Armenia).

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Hin Areni Winery, Areni Armenia

Here you will have tour and Wine Tasting

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Noravank Monastery, Areni Armenia

Noravank means “New Monastery” in Armenian. However, today this name does not fit, as the monastery is already more than seven centuries old. The beautiful Noravank Monastery was built in the 13th century on the ledge of narrow winding gorge above the Amaghu River, near the city of Yeghegnadzor. The spare lines of the church contrast beautifully with the sharp red rock cliffs, and the dramatic scenery is one of the best reasons to visit Noravank. The monastery is sometimes called Amagu Noravank, to distinguish it from Noravank Monastery in the city of Goris. Amagu is the name of a small settlement which used to stand over the gorge.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Old Bridge Winery, 1 Yerevanyan Ave, Yeghegnadzor Armenia

Here you will have tour and Wine tasting.

Duration: 45 minutes