📍 Karabakh (Aran)

Karabakh (Garabagh) is a region of Azerbaijan with a winegrowing name, home of the red grape Khindogni. Azerbaijani reviews list Karabakh among the modern centres of the country's winemaking, and scientists still study the vines grown here.

Khindogni is a wine grape with a growing season of 146 to 154 days, and the berries ripen from late August into early September. Depending on the biotype, the juice holds 18.6 to 23.6 g of sugar per 100 cm³. Acidity runs from 4.36 to 5.66 g per litre. It goes into red and pink table wines, and into port-style ones. In a 2024 study its overall score, 7.22, beat Madrasa at 6.70 and Cabernet Sauvignon at 5.78.

There is also the folk tradition of Gora Sharab, made from cultivated and wild grapes gathered in forests and along rivers. It is known in Karabakh, Sheki-Zagatala and Guba-Khachmaz. In 2026 researchers tried several fertilizer schemes in Karabakh on Khindogni, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, and for Khindogni the best was N120P120K120 at the roots plus a leaf feed.

Azerbaijani scientists tie local grapes to places: Madrasa to Shamakhi, Shirvanshahi to Kurdamir, Bayanshira to Dashkesan and Khindogni to Karabakh. Neighbours on the map are Sheki-Zagatala, Nakhchivan and Mil-Mughan, and for the national picture see Azerbaijani wine.