Our winery lies in the village of Aghavnadzor in Vayots Dzor. Little in this untouched and sparsely settled region reminds of modern life. Our estate owns roughly 3 ha of ungrafted vineyards with old, native varieties growing at 1,300 to 1,600 meters of elevation, all in virtually virgin nature.
Yields from our gnarled vines, up to 150 years in age, are simply too low to meet the needs of modern mass-production viniculture. Yet they are deeply rooted in the region and the remote sites which are just one portion of the natural ecosystem in our vineyards. We approach these old vines with corresponding respect and trust in the self-regulating power of this ecosystem. Before we can reinforce these natural strengths, however, we must first understand them. Nature is for us both a superior and a shaping element: It is the factor that gives form to the sense and identity of our lives together, and to us as winegrowers at the heart of this small, protected cultural space.
We understand our work in the vineyard as both observers and students of these natural processes. We believe that we bear more responsibility to support than to control, concentrating our efforts on pruning, canopy maintenance, organic treatment, and harvest. We conduct these interventions as little as possible, and always with an uncompromising respect for nature’s voice. Through our work in the vineyards, we hope to not only live in a healthy environment but also to learn from it and contribute to its continued preservation. We are of the firm conviction that healthy vineyards are the foundation of authentic terroir character.
The grapes on our old vines offer us a unique opportunity to bring terroir to expression. As in the vineyard, our work in the cellar is kept to a supporting minimum, as we accompany the grape from must to wine. With neither frills nor dogma, we produce expressive wines from healthy grapes shaped by the distinctive terroir. The key factors are fermentation and maturation in fiberglass tanks without fining, filtration, or other cellar manipulations. We use no cultured yeast and/or sulfur at any time when making our wines. Our work in the cellar is limited to intentional restraint, seeking only to channel the unadulterated essence of the terroir, from site into bottle.