ABOUT US
Vayots Dzor and Areni in particular has been the cradle of Armenian winemaking for millennia. It is time we open up the doors of this region to the world and showcase the historic and indigenous Armenian grape varietals. At Hin Areni we strive to ensure that Areni grape is given the chance to show its beauty and that Armenian winemaking can duly pride itself with quality.
THE ARENI CAVE
What began as a small project in 2007 turned out to be one of the most notable archeological discoveries in the field of historic winemaking and traditions of the Neolithic civilizations. Located near the historic Areni village and the Arpa River, the Areni-1 Cave contains not only artefacts, but also grape stems and seeds found on the bottoms of the amphorae (karas). They have been tested and the results showed that the grapes seeds date back to 6,200 years! Actually, archeologists have discovered the earliest known winery in the world!
HIN ARENI WINERY
At HIN ARENI, we strive to ensure that Areni grape is given the chance to show its beauty and that Armenian winemaking can duly pride itself with quality.
Founded by Karapetyan family in 2013, HIN ARENI Winery combines historic traditions of winemaking with state-of-the-art modern equipment. A renowned winery design expert from Argentina, Mario Japaz, has designed our winery. All our winery equipment is modern and originates either from Italy and France. Our consulting winemaker, Didier Cornillon, is also from France. We pick our grapes by hand, then hand select them, after which they undergo gentle pressing in a pneumatic press. The storage is done with T control in SSA tanks. We age our red wines in barrels made from oak grown on the lush slopes of Artsakh. HIN ARENI winery has the capacity to process over 250 tons of grapes. All our wines are single-varietal (monocepage) and made of 100 % Areni Noir and 100 % Voskehat grape.
OUR VINEYARDS
Our vineyards are situated at an elevation of 1215-1250 meters above the sea level, in and around Areni, namely in Tap, Getap and Ishkatap. We have a total of 32 hectares of vineyards, of which 25 are already being harvested and we have recently planted 7 more hectares. The sedimentary and rich volcanic soil, coupled with high elevation climate of Areni gives our wines a bold structure and expressive aromatic bouquet.
THE ARENI NOIR GRAPE
Areni Noir is a dark-skinned indigenous Armenian grape variety that reached us through 6100 years history of surviving the harsh climate of the rocky and rich volcanic soil of Vayots Dzor region. With its thick skin, Areni Noir is extremely disease-resistant and is particularly well adapted to strong diurnal temperature variation. This robust skin not only maintains the grape’s structural integrity, it also helps to retain a degree of elegance and make full-bodied red wines in Armenia, the birthplace of viticulture.
THE VOSKEHAT GRAPE
Voskehat, which literally means “Golden Seed” in Armenian language, is considered as the Queen of Armenian grape varieties. Harvested in the historic village of Areni, the Voskehat grape gives birth to subtle white wines with a rich aromatic bouquet, especially notes of white fruits, citrus and wild flowers.
