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Decanter World Wine 2019 had 17 Armenian wines in contention, and the gold medal one of them received was the first one in the history of Armenia’s participation in the contest. The wine in question was NOA Classic red, produced from Areni grapes by Schuler St. JakobsKellerei.
The company submitted another wine made from Areni to Decanter World Wine, the NOA Reserve, which was aged for 12 months. NOA Reserve was awarded the bronze medal. Mediamax Media Company’s Banks.am has talked to Arsen Mkrtchyan, Director of Noah of Areni, the Armenian representative of Schuler St. JakobsKellerei. GastroVino.am presents several noteworthy facts Mr. Mkrtchyan shared in the interview.
1. Schuler St. JakobsKellerei is one of the oldest wine companies in Switzerland.
2. It has 12 stores in its native country, as well as two huge vineyards in Valais region. The company owns another vineyard in Tuscany, Italy, and one more in Armenia.
3. “Where else but in Italy can we make wine?” head of the company Jakob Schuler asked himself before travelling to Georgia and studying local grapes in 2014 and 2015. He had long searched for a variety that would satisfy his palate and make the base of the company’s new “strategic” wine. The search in Georgia did not bear fruit, and Schuler shifted his focus onto Armenia,” told Arsen Mkrtchyan.
4. Jakob Schuler found more than one suitable variety in Armenia, and the final picks were Areni and Voskehat. The company produces wine from these grapes and exports it successfully to Switzerland and Germany for over two years now.
Image by: Noah of Areni
5. Noah of Areni had purchased 50ha of vineyards in total over 2017 and 2018. The company produces its wine at another enterprise’s factory at the moment, but the plan is to open an own factory in Areni.
6. The company keeps the amount of grapes harvested from 1 hectare at 5 tons.
Image by: Noah of Areni
7. Soon the company will start planting a new vineyard on a 30ha piece of land. It will take into consideration the position of the Sun, have a drip irrigation system, and feature other local varieties next to Areni and Voskehat: Kachet, Garandmak, Chilar.
Image by: Noah of Areni
8. In August of 2019, NOA will introduce a limited edition of white and rose whines to the Armenian market as well. The launch of NOA Areni Classic in Armenia is scheduled for September, and NOA Areni Reserve will start selling in November.
The full interview with Arsen Mkrtchyan is available here (in Armenian).
Photos by Noah of Areni
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