CNN puts Vayots Dzor province of Armenia on the list of 15 wine trails worth getting sidetracked on.
The list includes Hunter Valley (Australia), Napa and Sonoma, California, (US), Alentejo (Portugal), Cape Winelands (South Africa), Route des Vins, Alsace (France), Santorini (Greece), Maipo (Chile), Okanagan (Canada), Tuscany (Italy), Bento Goncalves (Brazil), Mendoza (Argentina), Rioja (Spain), Moselle Valley (Germany), Bordeaux (France).
"According to the Bible, Armenia was the first wine-producing region in the world, since it was on the slopes of Mount Ararat that Noah planted the first vine after the flood.
Archaeologists agree -- at least on the long tradition: a 6,100-year-old winery was discovered not long ago. The local Areni variety has been unchanged for centuries, being highly resistant against disease with a thick skin that helps shield it from cold extremes. The easiest wine-growing region to get to from the capital, Yerevan, is Vayots Dzor, where a microclimate ensures 300 sunny days a year," the source says.