📍 Nakhchivan

Nakhchivan is an autonomous republic of Azerbaijan and one of the oldest grape-growing lands in the country. Azerbaijani reviews also list it among the modern centres of winemaking. Traces of ancient vines turn up here, and local varieties still go into raisins, syrup, jam and wine.

The vine is very old here. A fossil grapevine about half a million years old was found near Nakhchivan, and on the Arpachay river in the Sharur district, fragments of presses and fermentation vats point to winemaking some 6,000 years ago. People in Nakhchivan still dry raisins at home, usually from the seedless varieties Askery, Ag Oval Kishmish and Nakhchivan Chehrayi Kishmishi.

Newer work followed. In 2004 the Bioresources Institute set up a collection called Rare Grape Varieties of Nakhchivan. In a 2025 study, 17 of the local varieties tested did as well as the standards Bəndi and Ağ Aldərə, and they were turned into raisins, syrup, compote, jam and table wine. In the village of Nehram new vines have gone in since 2015: a 2017 report counted over 326,000 saplings on 150 hectares. Beside the local grapes grow ten imported from Italy, France, Turkey and Uzbekistan, and vines need four to five years to bear fruit.

In a 2026 study, less-grown varieties yielded 24.3 to 31.2 tonnes per hectare. Unlike Karabakh, with its red Khindogni, Nakhchivan is known for seedless table grapes and home-dried raisins. Nearby lie Sheki-Zagatala and Karabakh, and for the national picture see Azerbaijani wine.