Archeologists are studying the history of grape-growing and wine-making in Areni, Vayots Dzor.
As a result of further excavations in the well-known Areni-1 cave (where they earlier found the world's oldest shoe, 5,500 year-old), they have found fragments of grape grown from 4,000 BC to XIV-XV AD.
The head of the expedition Boris Gasparyan has told ArmInfo that the next step is study of the grape's DNA.
"We are also going to analyze the remains of wine in the ceramics found in the cave. In the South Caucasus people began making wine in 5,000- 4,000 BC and Armenia played a big role in this. In the times of the Kingdom of Van wine was used as a currency. There are lots of ancient sources saying that in the old times Armenian wine was as good as wine from Phoenicia," Gasparyan said.
He said that they are considering excavations in Noravank with a view to find traces of Medieval wine-making in the local monastery.
"This will help us to see how grape-growing and wine-making developed in Areni and what sorts were used in the old times. We also hope that our studies will attract tourists to Vayots Dzor," Gasparyan said.
In Armenia archeological excavations are carried out by the Archeology and Ethnography Institute, which has active contacts with big research centers such as the University of Tubingen and the University of Adelaide.