The establishment of Voskevaz Winery is the perfect example of homecoming. The winery was opened back in 1932 in the village Voskevaz of Aragatsotn Marz. These were the Soviet times and the winery “belonged to the state” as they used to say. The winery was using grapes of the rich vineyards in Aragatsotn which is located under Mount Aragats.
This region is famous for wine-making. Clay potteries (karas in Armenian) of different sizes were found in the nearby church Saint Hovhannes. These potteries date back to the 7th century.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Voskevaz Winery was nearly abandoned. Its second birth was marked in 2004 when David Hovhannisyan, an Armenian entrepreneur from Russia decided to come back to Armenia along with his family and found the “Voskevaz Wine Cellar.”
And here the renovation began.
Now, as you walk through the whole territory of the winery, you will see incredible castle-like buildings engraved with silver and stone ornaments inspired both by Armenian and European cultures. You will see balconies with beautiful wood art and colorful stone towers pretty much like those you have probably seen during your last tour in some European castle of the middle ages.
There is only one small building that bears the mark of Soviet architecture. It’s the place where they actually make and keep most of the wine. You first go down the old staircase and appear in a large hall where they keep the huge cisterns full of wine. This is the place where the fermentation of the wine happens. Then you discover other halls where they preserve the wine in oak barrels (most of the barrels are from Artsakh and the rest of them are from Ijevan). It can take from three months to around a year (14, sometimes 18 months) to age the wines in the barrels depending on the type of grapes they are using.
Between 2012-2013, the Hovhannisyan family started transforming the winery into a tourist complex. It now has a tasting room, a souvenir shop and will end up having a large music/event hall, two large tasting rooms and much more. While a lot of tourists complain of the never-ending construction process, they cannot but admire the beauty of the buildings that are already finished.
The most heart-warming thing about this winery is that everyone in the family has a very unique role to play for the business. Mary, Mr. Hovhannisyan’s daughter usually shows the guests around and tells about how the idea of renovating Voskevaz Winery emerged, how their family decided to return to Armenia and start a new life there, how they make and preserve the wine, what to pair each wine with and much more. Mr. Hovhannisyan’s brothers have active participation in the building of the winery. They make decisions regarding what to build, how to build it and most importantly, they create all the ornaments themselves.
What wines does Voskevaz Winery offer?
Voskevaz Winery produces unique high-quality wines. They have a wide assortment of wines:
Pomegranate wine
This is a fruit semi-sweet wine with 12% alcohol. As the name suggests, this is pomegranate wine and it has a bright red color. You should serve it chilled at 10ºC – 12ºC.
Rosé
This is a dry wine from Areni Noir grape variety. It has 12% alcohol. The wine includes aromas of cherries, red berries, and roses. It got a gold medal at the “Black Sea Wines” contest in 2016. You should serve it chilled at 8ºC-10ºC.
Some other wines by Voskevaz Winery
- White Dry made from Voskehat and Kangun grape varieties.
- White Semi-sweet made from Voskehat and Kangun grape varieties.
- Red Dry made from Haghtanak and Kakhet grape varieties.
- Red Semi-sweet made from Haghtanak and Khakhet grape varieties.
- Urzana which is a white dry wine from Muscat Vardabuyt grape variety.
- Voskepar which is a white dry wine from Voskehat grape variety.
- Areni which is a red dry wine from Areni Noir grape variety.
- Nuraz which is a red dry wine from Haghtanak and Kakhet grape varieties.
- Muscat Rosali which is a liqueur wine from Muscat Vardabuyr grape variety.
- Katarine which is a liqueur wine from the Kakhet grape variety.
- Areni Noir which is a red dry wine from Areni Noir grape variety.
- Voskehat which is a white dry wine from Voskehat grape variety.
- Haghtanak which is a red dry wine from Haghtanak grape variety.
- Vanakan which is a red dry wine (non-vintage) from Haghtanak, Kakhet, and Areni Noir grape varieties.
