Areni Wine Country

In 2007 archaeologists working in the Areni-1 cave found a wine press, fermentation vats, jars and residue dated to around six thousand years ago, the oldest known winery yet excavated anywhere. The village outside the cave still makes wine, and the surrounding Vayots Dzor valley has become the centre of Armenia's revival, working mainly with the indigenous Areni Noir grape, a thin-skinned red that survives the continental extremes and produces something quite unlike international varieties. Small producers run tastings, several in restored village houses, and the annual Areni wine festival in early October fills the village. The same cave, incidentally, produced a 5,500-year-old leather shoe, preserved by sheep dung and cool air.

What you actually see

• Areni-1 cave - the excavated ancient winery and the site of the oldest known leather shoe.
• Small wineries - tastings of Areni Noir at village producers along the valley.
• The Areni wine festival - the harvest celebration in the village in early October.
• Noravank gorge - the red-cliff monastery a short drive up the side valley.

When to go

May to October for the valley at its best, and early October for the harvest and the wine festival. Winter is cold and many small producers are closed to visitors.

Honest expectations

The cave itself is a modest archaeological site with limited interpretation, and visitors expecting a museum-quality presentation of the world's oldest winery are usually underwhelmed; the significance is in the dating, not the display. Tasting quality varies enormously between producers, from serious winemaking to roadside sweet fruit wine, so it is worth researching rather than stopping at the first sign.

Nearby

Noravank is minutes up the gorge; Jermuk's spa town lies southeast.