The Controversy Over ‘Karas’—A Term for Commerce or Cultural Heritage?

 Karine Vann

For many villagers across Armenia, karases—the egg-shaped terracotta jugs used for winemaking in the region—aren’t worth the basement space they occupy. Despite the fact that in recent years, they have become a symbol of ancient civilization in the region and a testament to Armenia’s viticultural significance (giving it an edge over its friendly rival, Georgia), karases as an instrument have fallen farther and farther into a well of obscurity.

Today, the word is more likely to reference a brand than an ancient vessel. And where culture and commerce meet, there are sure to be complications—even, paradoxically, in the very industry karases exist to serve.

Can Ancient Techniques Make Modern Wine Better?

Karine Vann

After a bit of searching, my driver and I arrive at our destination: Rind, a remote village on Armenia’s western border. Modest residences are strung together along its bumpy, dirt roads. The little community seemingly in the middle of nowhere belies very little to the uninformed traveler, except for an oddly shaped monument placed at the entrance.
It’s almost hard to believe Rind is home to a world-renowned winemaking facility.

“We’re in the remotest village in Yeghegnadzor,” Zorik Gharibian says proudly.
In 1998, Zorik and his wife Yeraz, Iranian Armenians living in Italy, ditched their lifelong dream of opening a winery in Tuscany. Instead, they took their chances in the countrysides of Vayots Dzor, Armenia—a region historically tied to ancient winemaking—and opened Zorah Wines in Rind, located less than a twenty minute-drive from the famous Areni-1 cave complex.

Unearthing Armenia’s Giant, Ancient Earthenware

Karine Vann

The enormous 240-gallon clay vessel, or karas, was nestled snugly in the corner of Asli Saghatelyan’s maran (storage cellar) in Chiva, a modest village in the Vayots Dzor region of Armenia. Asli and her son Mushegh watched with curious faces as I beheld their egg-shaped earthenware with awe.

The Saghatelyans no longer use this forlorn family heirloom, the girth of which exceeds the width of the door’s frame. It belonged to the family’s now-deceased patriarch, who used it to make homemade wine through a traditional process of fermentation and storage that people in this region have used for millennia. At one point, the family possessed at least five of them. Today only two are still intact.

One of the World's Top 10 Wines: Made in Armenia

Marine Martirosyan

Zorik Gharibian, an Armenian living in Italy, made a life-changing decision in 1998: instead of growing grapes and producing wine in Tuscany, he decided to buy land in the village of Rind in Armenia's Vayots Dzor Province to produce wine and launch his winery, Zorah, here. For 10 years he researched grape varieties native to Armenia, and these are the varieties he wants to bring to the world stage. One of Zorah's wines, the Karasi Areni Noir, even caught the attention of a Bloomberg author, who included it in her list of top 10 wines of 2012.