With a name like Port Wine and Adventure, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that it was the world’s oldest winery that lured us to Armenia. The promise of walking through the space where grapes were morphed into wine nearly 6,100 years ago was enticing enough to book a flight. Wine is accessible throughout the city, but there’s nothing quite like drinking from the source, so we decided to book a wine tour from Yerevan.
How To Book a Wine Tour from Yerevan
Simple, right? With sites like Viator and GetYourGuide offering tours all around the world, booking exciting activities like a wine tour is easier than ever. After doing some quick research on these sites, we found a few options, but none that really suited our interests. Most of the wine tours from Yerevan were tailored towards big groups, lasted far too many hours for our attention spans, and included historical sites we just weren’t that excited about. Even more discouraging was that most of the tours included a stop at only one working winery where we could enjoy a tasting.
Maybe we were being greedy, but time was of the essence on our short stay in Yerevan, and we wanted the most bang for our buck. Refusing to accept defeat and sign up for a tour that didn’t really impress us, we sought other options. Researching online led to options for private tours that we could help design, but they came with a high price tag. These operators were targeting luxury travelers, and well, that ain’t us, as much as we’d sometimes love it to be!
So, what’s a budget backpacker to do?
As fate would have it, Armenians are some of the kindest, most helpful people we’ve encountered. Second only to maybe Georgia, our first true travel love. We reached out to our Airbnb host and asked if they might know anyone interested in taking us on a wine tour from Yerevan for the day. In less than 24 hours, our host responded that they had several friends willing to provide the service and at a much more reasonable fee than the private tours we saw advertised online. The first option spoke only Armenian, but for a slightly higher fee, we could have a guide in English.
“We’ll take the Armenian guide, thank you!” I immediately replied. The cash savings was nice, but more importantly, we’ve always had a more interesting time when we don’t share the language. Matt has reached expert level of communication without words.
SO, the takeaway here? Don’t be afraid to reach out to your local host and ask for help! You’ll likely be able to strike a deal that makes everybody happy.
What to Include on Your Wine Tour from Yerevan?
Areni-1 Cave
The oldest winery, obviously! We (and you) can’t fly all the way to Armenia and not include a stop at the world’s oldest winery. While there’s no wine served here, it’s really cool to take a look around and imagine it in its heyday. The venue is pretty small, so visiting on a private tour is probably preferable to touring as a group. It probably gets pretty crammed if a busload of tourists shows up and descends on the place all at once. As for us, we had it to ourselves. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed inside. We were escorted by an employee to make sure we didn’t try to bend the rules with a quick snap on our phones.
Areni Wine Factory
We misjudged this place. From the outside, it was everything we try to avoid. To us, it screamed TOURIST TRAP! Hell, maybe it is for the tourists, but it was far from what we expected. That private driver who didn’t speak any English? We tried arguing with him over Google Translate that this wasn’t the right place, that we wanted a nearby winery that was more boutique-y. He shrugged his shoulders, pointed to the map on his phone, and then pointed us inside. So, inside we went.
Inside, we were warmly greeted by a young woman, the daughter of this small, family-run operation. She walked us through the facility. She showed us the barrels where the wine is stored. And, she even answered Matt’s incessant questions with a smile. The wine pours were plentiful. There were so many to try that we could have walked out content for the rest of the day. Instead, we used our willpower to keep some space reserved for our next destinations.
Be sure to try their brandy. Armenia is known for its brandies, and this place has a wide selection of different flavors to sample.
Hin Areni Wine Factory
Located within walking distance from Areni Wine Factory, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sample the wine at this location. It’s a bit more sterile and corporate feeling than its neighbor, but the wine was good! I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit this location, but since you’re in the area and have a designated driver…. well?
Momik Wine Cube
This is why we booked a private tour! Momik Wine Cube was not listed as a stop on any wine tour from Yerevan that we could have booked. Perhaps it is because of the low volume of production, or the veeeery bumpy road to get there. Either way, our visit here was the highlight of our wine tour and our trip to Armenia as a whole. It was exactly the type of winery visit we were hoping for when we first booked our plane tickets to Yerevan.
First of all, the views from the winery were incredible! Sipping wine while overlooking the vines where the grapes to make it were harvested is something that never gets old. Second, the hosts embodied that generous demeanor I mentioned earlier.
Momik offers several tasting options, depending on how many types of wines you want to sample and whether you’ve arrived peckish or full-on hungry. We decided to go all in and opted for the largest option that included a variety of foods to accompany our wines. And yes, it was worth every penny….errr, dram!
We purchased a bottle to gift our driver. After we selected our bottle, the owner’s wife began doodling all over it to personalize it just for us. In that moment, I wished we had brought a bag to check in at the airport. This bottle would’ve been a nice memento to go home with. But alas, the photo would have to suffice, and hopefully our driver enjoyed it!
Fun Fact :
As we were leaving, we noticed this sign.
As it turns out, this particular winery is a beneficiary of USAID. The expense may seem frivolous to some. But, at least according to our tastebuds, the funds were put to good use and not a drop was wasted.
What Type of Scenery Can I Expect?
As if the wine wasn’t enough, winding through the remote landscape outside of Yerevan is equally enjoyable. Have your driver add some local music to the mix and you’re in for a treat.
Pulling out of Yerevan, it won’t be long until your eyes are locked on the city’s reigning queen, Mount Ararat. Not just the name of a brandy, but a towering majesty overlooking the city. Our wine tour was on a cloudy day, so we were caught off guard when the skies cleared enough to give us a peek.
Beyond the city, you’ll wind through bumpy roads sandwiched between snow-capped terrain (at least in January!) The route will take you very close to the border with Azerbaijan, where the dispute with their neighbor cannot be denied. Set back just a short way from the road, we spotted lookouts where soldiers would be stationed. Our driver assured us we were safe, and we felt nothing to the contrary.
As you inch into the village of Areni, you’ll start to see the roads lined with small stands, all selling mostly the same product – wine! It’s sold in unmarked bottles and looks very homemade. According to one of the locals we chatted with that day, nearly everyone who lives in Areni makes wine. Judging by the amount being sold roadside in this small village, it was hard to think otherwise.
Final Thoughts
If you’re considering a wine tour from Yerevan, we highly recommend booking a private tour. Group tours can be great. They take the guesswork out of the equation and are generally more affordable. However, the options leaving from Yerevan are a bit limited, and booking a private tour offers much more flexibility. While the Areni-1 Wine Cave and the first two wineries we visited were excellent, the most memorable experience was the one we had at Momik Wine Cube. An experience we would have missed out on by settling for only the well-trodden path! However, if all you’ve got the time and money for is the group option, go for it! Armenia was beautiful, hospitable, and the wine was just what you might expect from a place with over 6,000 years of experience.
Cheers friends,
Megan and Matt
