On December 17, 2020, the Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia, in cooperation with the “Private Sector Development and Technical Vocational Training and Education in the South Caucasus” regional program implemented by the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), organized a blind tasting-competition of Armenian wines with the participation of 34 Armenian wineries, which presented 134 types of wine.

The competition is held by the representatives of the participating companies, whose work was coordinated by five independent experts. The selection of experts was made taking into account their long experience and qualifications in the field of wine sensitization.

The aim of the competition is to develop mechanisms for quality control of Armenian wines, whereby the application of these mechanisms will allow setting new quality standards for high-quality Armenian wines, while the wines compliant with the approved quality standards will be presented in the international market under the new umbrella trademark of “Wines of Armenia”, thus positioning these wines as the business card of the rich winemaking heritage and culture of Armenia.

“This tasting is not another competition for awarding medals. It is, in fact, organized by the producers for the producers, as one representative of each company participating in the competition is involved in the evaluation committee. This way we ensure the transparent and impartial results of the competition. At the end of the tasting, as a result of a very objective sensitization and evaluation of the wine samples, the wines compliant with the quality standards will be granted the right to add “Wines of Armenia” marking to their labels”, said Zaruhi Muradyan, the Executive Director of the Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia.

Within the framework of organizing the blind wine tasting competition, the process of establishing the “Wines of Armenia” Association is being carried out, which as a structure will be responsible for organization and implementation of wine tasting-competitions in future.

The Association can be membered by all wine-producing companies that will take part in all the events organized by the Association, but only the wines that meet the necessary quality threshold as a result of a blind wine tasting-competition will be granted the right to be labeled “Wines of Armenia”.

The Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia (VWFA) was established in 2016 by the Government of the Republic of Armenia and intends to introduce a new strategy for the state policy and development programs in the field of viticulture and winemaking, aimed at increasing the competitiveness of Armenian wines in the international market, improving the legislative framework and quality control system of the sector, improving the business environment, and increasing volumes of exportation.