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Yerevan Wine Academy has been preparing qualified specialists in winemaking for over 10 years and is creating new infrastructure to make their education more comprehensive.
Sona Khojoyan, Operations Manager at ICARE Foundation/EVN Wine Academy, told GastroVino about new educational programs, the establishment of vineyards and the Student Winery.
EVN Student Winery
Over the years, the goal of the EVN Wine Academy has been to provide students with more than just a classroom education. It’s crucial for us to not only pass on practical knowledge to them within the academy but also to engage students in the processes of viticulture and winemaking.
Sona Khojoyan | Image by: Mediamax
Students at EVN Wine Academy complete a mandatory 4-week internship during their 18-month curriculum, which we typically organize at leading wineries in Armenia.
In 2024, the Academy’s Student Winery was established at ICARE’s Zabel Yesayan Agribusiness Center in the village of Proshyan. It will serve as a state-of-the-art training facility, offering students the opportunity to engage fully in all aspects of winemaking. By the end of the final semester, they will also be able to make their own wine.
Image by: ICARE Foundation
The Student Winery is fully furnished, equipped with all necessary equipment, and next season we will also offer student internships.
EVN vineyard
To provide infrastructure for students, we are also planting a 2-hectare vineyard at the Zabel Yesayan Center, adjacent to the winery. Two or three main indigenous grape varieties will be cultivated in the vineyard, but our main focus will be on the revival of forgotten Armenian grape varieties.
Sona Khojoyan | Image by: Mediamax
Armenia has over 400 indigenous grape varieties, but unfortunately, they are used in production in very limited quantities. Over the past decade, we have done a great deal of work in this area, to enable the industry to develop and new varieties to be planted in our vineyards. We are also working to expand our geographic reach, beyond the five main winemaking regions. For example, in Syunik, our scientists have discovered one or two exceptional grapevines with great winemaking potential. We strive to plant such varieties in our vineyard.
Image by: ICARE Foundation
When the Academy was first founded, our students had the chance to intern at the Geisenheim University in Germany for two consecutive years in a row, but these international trips were subsequently interrupted for financial reasons. Over the past three years, we have resumed international trips, and now our students travel to Kakheti wine region of Georgia every year, learn about local vineyards, wineries, and their unique characteristics.
“The education received at EVN has served its purpose”
During these years, the admission criteria to the EVN Wine Academy have remained unchanged; it is important that applicants be of legal age and proficient in English, since the courses are conducted in English. We have an average of 15 students of different ages in each 18-month program. We have even had a 70-year-old student, who is very active in this sphere today.
We are always happy to say that there is virtually no winery in Armenia where one of our graduates does not work. This is an important fact, showing that the education provided by EVN has truly served its purpose.
Image by: ICARE Foundation
The Academy’s curriculum consists of 12 modules, each one covering a specific topic, for example, wine chemistry, winemaking, viticulture, wine business, marketing, wine tourism, etc.
Wine tour guide training program
In addition to its main program, EVN Wine Academy developed the GuideMASTER wine tour guide training program in 2020.
We have completed three wine guide training courses, and the results are already visible. We have approximately 60 trained wine guides who are well-versed in wine and tell tourists why our country is considered the cradle of winemaking.
Sona Khojoyan | Image by: Mediamax
The Academy launched another training program this year - Establishment and Management of Vineyards - held in three stages. We have already completed the first stage which was attended by 20 participants, including agronomists, viticulturists, and winemakers. There were also people who simply had a plot of land and wanted to establish a vineyard there.
The duration of the training course is 3 months, during which participants study actuarial and climatic characteristics of Armenia and master organic, biodynamic viticulture. They also learn some wine tasting rules
The second stage of the winemakers’ training program will start in February 2026.
Arpi Jilavyan
Photos: Emin Aristakesyan
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