📍 Tavush

Tavush is a forested province in north-east Armenia, next to the Georgian border. Its vineyards lie mostly in the north and north-east, at 400 to 1,000 metres. The wines here are fresh, aromatic whites made from Kangun, Lalvari, Banants and Garan Dmak. In Armenian terms Tavush is white-wine country, while the south leans on red Areni.

The climate is gentler than in the highlands of Vayots Dzor. January averages minus 0.5 degrees, July plus 21.1, and about 410 mm of rain falls in the growing season. Soils are carbonate, leached and meadow types. In 2017 there were 1,345 hectares of vines, about the same as Vayots Dzor with roughly 1,200, but in another style.

A quick way to tell the two apart: Vayots Dzor is higher (1,000 to 1,700 metres), reaches 25 degrees in July and gets only 219 mm of rain. Tavush is lower, cooler and wetter, so the wines come out lighter and white.

Several local grapes started here. A genetic study of Armenian vines traced Lalvari, Dzrali, Sev Lkeni and Sev Koghb to Tavush. Wild vines grow in the province's forests and along its rivers, and the researchers collected 15 samples.

For a first visit, head to Ijevan, home of a well-known wine and brandy factory founded in 1951. Small producers exist too: near Noyemberyan, in the border village of Koghb, Koghba Wines makes wine from local grapes. Their stories are on the Ijevan and Noyemberyan pages.