Armenia by the glass podcast Elaine Kassabian

In episode 8 of Armenia by the glass podcast, I talk with Caroline Gilby MW. Caroline is a wine writer specialising in Central and Eastern Europe. She is the author of The Wines of Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova and contributes to Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book, The Oxford Companion to Wine and The World Atlas of Wine. She holds a doctorate in plant biology, and in 2021 she wrote an essay about Zorah winery's old vines in Armenia for the Janis Robinson Writing Competition (see link below...

In episode 7 of Armenia by the glass podcast, I talk with Artem Parseghyan, chief winemaker of Trinity Canyon Vineyards and Founder of Hazarvaz. Artem studied biology at Yerevan State University as an undergraduate but soon realised he was interested in winemaking. In 2011, he embarked on a two year Masters programme in Winemaking, Viticulture and Wine Business, which took him to France, Germany and Portugal. We talk about a whole range of topics, such as his current role as a winemaker,...

SEASON 2 of Armenia by the glass podcast kicks off with Karen Tsharakyan, owner and founder of Stork Wines. Karen was my guest in June 2021 for episode 2, when he spoke about his journey, from purchasing his first vineyard in the village of Taperakan in Ararat Province, managing a challenging harvest in 2020, to bottling his vintage that year. In this episode 6, you’ll hear how far he has come on his journey. Not only has he bottled his wine but it is now available in over 2...

In episode 5, I speak with Varuzhan Mouradian of Van Ardi Winery. Varuzhan Mouradian was born in Armenia and moved to California with his wife in the 1990s. He became a CPA and established an accounting firm. He developed a passion for wine and when he decided to enter the wine business, his vision looked towards his homeland, Armenia. After a number of years of planning, Varuzhan and his family moved to Armenia. Van Ardi is now an established winery, with award-winni...

My guest for episode 4 of Armenia by the glass podcast is Frunz Harutyunyan, the head winemaker of his family’s winery, Maran, in Armenia. Maran winery produces wines under the labels, Noravank, Malahi, Bagratuni and Zarm. Frunz comes from a winemaking family dating back to 1828. He obtained his PhD in winemaking from the National Agrarian University of Armenia and trained in France with some of the most prestigious wineries, such as Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux. Fru...

In episode 3, I speak with Hagop Kazanjian of Galar Vines. Hagop is a Syrian-Armenian who moved to Armenia in 2006. He graduated from Yerevan State University with a degree in oriental studies but pursued a career in IT and web programming. His wine journey began in 2019 when he started a three-month intensive winemaking course. Soon afterwards, he launched his first wine, Galar, made of Haghtanak grape, available to drink in Armenia today. His next step is to start developing his vineyard in...