Premium Wine Tour In Armenia (Private Tour/4* Hotels)

Welcome to Armenia! Private transfer (from Zvartnots Airport) to take you to your hotel in Yerevan. Today you reveal the secrets and hidden gems of Yerevan, the pink “pearl” of Armenia, a beautiful European city mostly built with different shades of local pink stone called “tuf” quarried in Armenia. Founded in 782 B.C. Yerevan is reputedly one of the oldest cities in the world to have been continuously inhabited. We start the exploration with the “Victory Park” and “Mother Armenia” monument offering a “bird’s-eye” view of the city with the fantastic view of the majestic snow-capped Mount Ararat (5165m) dominating the skyline. Continue to the colossal monument of Cascade and Cafesjian Center for the Arts which includes a world-class sculpture garden and indoor modern art museum with works from Botero, Chihuly, Barry Flanegan and many others.  For lunch, we drive to a charming Armenian village and have delicious traditional Armenian home-cooked lunch in an 18 th century heritage house of a grandma who cooks with her own grandma recipes. We tour the impressive Wine History Museum of Armenia. The development of viticulture and 8000 year-old winemaking traditions in the Armenian Highlands is presented in the museum not only by interpreting facts, but also by interactive and innovative solutions. Afterwards we tour Armenia Winery, perhaps the most beautiful winery in Trans-Caucasus. The winery building reminds of a medieval Armenian fortress the facade of which is coated with polished orange tufa stone and national Armenian ornamental art. It's considered among the most modern equipped winemaking facilities in the former USSR territory. French and Italian specialists work here to produce a super-premium wine. Premium wine tasting during which we will enjoy their best white and full-bodied red wine. Later we drive to another town and meet a passionate winemaker who is an absolute delight to chat with. He will be hosting us in his family-owned artisan winery with natural wine production. Their wines are produced from Armenian grape varieties with wild indigenous yeasts, spontaneous fermentation. Their highlight is the delicious full bodied red wine from the native grape variety coming from Nagorno Karabakh. Tour duration: 9 hours Overnight in Yerevan

This morning we visit an amazing wine cellar, a traditional Armenian winery, both family-owned and managed. The winery is located in the heart of the Ararat Valley, opposite the Biblical Mount Ararat. Its founder creates remarkable wines through winemaking traditions that his ancestors had passed down to him. Together with his son they combine these traditions with modern technologies to create the unforgettable essence of Armenian wines. *This winery produces true masterpieces and every single wine they make is so memorable and delicious in taste, they are simply unforgettable. There are big chances here you will find the wine of your heart. Later we visit Khor Virap Monastery, a 4 th  century castle-like fairy-tale monastery, the most iconic site in Armenia and one of the most important Christian sites in the world. Its location, near the closest point to biblical Mount Ararat within Armenian borders, offers a spectacular view of the snow-capped mountain, the national symbol of Armenia. We drive through the agricultural heartland of Armenia, Ararat Plain offering an amazing panorama of endlessly stretching apricot orchards and vineyards guarded by the remote majesty of the mysterious twin peaks of Mount Ararat. We continue driving to the south marveling at the untamed beauty of Southern Armenia – surreal red rocks providing an eerie echo, honey-colored villages sandwiched between them. Our next stop is Areni village, where world’s oldest wine making facility has been found (6100years old) in an incredibly well-preserved condition due to the wonderful microclimate of the Cave Areni-1,the site it was found! Family-hosted lunch in Areni village at a local winemaker’s place, a lovely artisan winery with warm atmosphere where you can enjoy the Armenian hospitability at its best and taste their delicious wine (white, rosé, red, red reserve). Later we visit Noravank, the jewel of the crown among all the medieval sites in South Caucasus. The monastery is nestled among giant red rocks and mountains, just above a deep gorge. Later we have winery tour and wine tasting in one of top best wineries in Armenia led by three wine enthusiasts since 2009, including one who has literally written the book on the history of Armenian wine. Their focus has been on producing as organic wine as possible, with minimal yield and without the use of modern mass production practices – quality over quantity. They also continue to experiment with both endemic and foreign grape varieties. Tour duration: 9-10 hours Overnight in Yerevan

We start later in the morning today and immediately we embark on our journey to the lands of ancient treasures of Christian history…Vatican City of Armenia, Holy Echmiadzin with its world’s earliest Christian churches included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Visit Echmiadzin Mother Cathedral originally built by Saint Gregory the Illuminator in 301-303A.D., when Armenia became the first officially Christian state in the world. We will visit Treasury Museum to see the most important relics of Holy Echmiadzin.  We stop at St. Hripsime Church, a real masterpiece of the Armenian early medieval architecture. Later we tour the ruins of Zvartnots Cathedral under the gaze of the biblical Mount Ararat. Cooking class and lunch in a small Armenian village with our absolutely charming host! Next we visit a small family-owned winery surrounded by vineyards under the gaze of the snow-capped twin peaks of the the majestic Mount Ararat (5165m). Meet the winemaker who moved to Armenia from California dreaming of his own vineyards in the motherland. All 6 kinds of wine produced here are characterized by a very high level of professional work and an unbelievable beauty of style. In each sample one feels the spirit and the smile of its author… Their Sirah Reserve has to be the most elegant Armenian wine ever made. Afterwards we drive to a truly stunning winery, a property with a long history founded in 1932. In the territory of the winery there is a real town with its city hall, tavern and even a bazaar. The whole place reminds of a movie decoration for a fairy-tale or a legend. The frescoes, the bas-relieves, the painting of the complex are the works of a famous American Armenian painter whose brother is the owner of the winery. The use of old amphorae is the most unique concept of the project. There are over 30 amphorae the oldest of them dating back to 1899. After touring the place we will taste 2 kinds of classic wines and 3 kinds of aged wines.  *The winery masterpiece is Areni Noir Karasi Collection (50% native grape sort Areni) Overnight in Yerevan Tour duration: 9 hours