Areni might be the world's oldest Vitis vinifera grape.

Pips of it have been found in an Armenian cave more than 6000 years old, with evidence that it was used not only in winemaking but also in ritual sacrifice and cannibalism. (So it was also used in food pairing.)

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Today, you can enjoy this millenia-old wine without sacrificing much more than $35. It lay waiting in Armenia – which along with Georgia and Turkey are thought to be where all of Vitis vinifera originates from – through centuries of occasional Muslim rule, the Armenian genocide, and the Soviet era, all times when Armenians were discouraged from making wine.

Armenia is close to Europe, but Areni tastes closer to the US. Specifically, to me, it tastes like Russian River Valley Pinot Noir in a cool year. It has the same generous fruit-forward character with silky smooth tannins. You don't see Europeans make this comparison because Areni is not usually like Burgundy: it doesn't often seem to have the same savory tendencies. But if you like New World Pinot, you'll like Areni.

In the book "Wine Grapes," geneticist José Vouillamoz calls Areni "Armenia's best grape variety", and can't identify any genetic forebears. Recent archeological finds show it was likely a wild grape when farmers first made wine from it.

"Now when we are collecting wild grapes, it makes very nice wine," archeologist Boris Gasparayan told Wine-Searcher. "It has the same sugar and alcohol. But the yield is very small. The cluster is very small. What led humans to domesticate grapes is, they wanted more harvest. How it happens, nobody can tell you. It took two or three thousand years."

Now changes in viticulture take a single generation.

Zorik Gharibian bought completely unplanted land 25 years ago and for a decade he said there was no market for the Areni that he planted. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, born in Georgia, decreed that Georgia would make wine and Armenia would make brandy. During seven decades as part of the Soviet Union, most farmers had gradually replanted to Soviet-created grape crosses designed to produce bigger yields for the brandy industry. Some of them make pretty good wine; I'm a fan of big-bodied Haghtanak, created in 1977 by crossing Saperavi with another Soviet grape. But none that I tried are as elegant as Areni.

By the way, as an aside, people in Armenia don't seem to resent Russia, which is still their number one trade partner. But like most Russians themselves, they don't seem anxious to go back to communism.

"I don't work with Soviet crosses," Gharibian said. "We still don't know about our native varieties. Still we don't know what heritage we have. To leave all this and go to work with Soviet crosses ... Soviets did some things good, like education. Even taxi drivers had three degrees. But Soviets were disaster for viticulture. Soviets were interested in quantity. If you look at Soviet books, Vayots Dzor is not even mentioned."

So let's talk about Vayots Dzor, which is emerging as possibly the best wine region in Armenia. It's mountainous with plenty of high-elevation sites. It's dry, which is why the cave bearing evidence of winemaking and cannibalism is so well-preserved. And it's a lot cooler, with more diurnal variation, than the lowlands.

Temperatures over 32C (90F) in Vayots Dzor have rarely ever been recorded, and even in mid-summer the mercury usually drops below 7C (45F) at night. On the border of unfriendly Azerbaijan, Vayots Dzor is sparsely populated because the soils aren't as rich as elsewhere. In other words, Vayots Dzor is not great for mass-production wines, but terrific for high-quality wines.

A number of Armenian-Americans are making wines in Armenia; land was really cheap 15 years ago. But the most famous American making wine there isn't from the large Armenian diaspora. California winemaker Paul Hobbs, who played a pioneering role in creating high-end wines in Argentina, is making an Areni in Vayots Dzor. It won't surprise Hobbs' fans to learn that it's a ripe, velvety smooth, high-alcohol crowd pleaser. You can do that with Areni.

But you can also do with it what Gharibian does. He ferments his estate grapes in concrete tanks, removes the skins, and then ages the wine in amphorae. The results taste of ripe cherry with a stony, salty finish. Zorah makes a small amount of Areni called Yeraz from a single vineyard of 150-200-year-old bush vines. It's the most complex, spicy Areni I tried in the country – Burgundian where most Arenis are California Pinotian. Because it comes from grapes closer to wild grapes than those trellised in neat rows, it makes me wonder if this is close to how Areni tasted back in the sacrificial cave 6000 years ago: good enough to make you lose your head.

The wines

Here are some of the best Arenis I found in Armenia.

2019 Yacoubian-Hobbs Sarpina Vayots Dzor Areni Quite rich and velvety smooth, with ripe black fruit. It's a crowd pleaser with a minerally finish. The story goes that Viken Yacoubian was having dinner in California and ordered a very ripe Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir. He loved it and sent Hobbs an email out of the blue. Hobbs, who also makes wine in Argentina, New York, France and Spain, was intrigued, and here we are.

2019 Voskeni 130 Reserve Vayots Dzor Areni The current release of this wine has a dense Pinot Noir-like character of raspberries with a touch of spice, and a hint of caraway on the finish, probably from the Artsakh oak barrels. I tried three vintages of it and liked all three. I noted about my favorite, the 2016" "I don't know how anyone could dislike this." But I'm not giving people enough credit. We can dislike anything.

2018 Old Bridge Vayots Dzor Areni Noir Reserve Dark cherry aroma with hints of candle wax and flowers. A very smooth, food-friendly wine with good length.

2021 Van Ardi Tor-Tori An unusual blend of 90 percent 2021 Areni with 10 percent 2020 Syrah for more complexity. A dense red fruit aroma with underlying black pepper and meatiness leads to a surprisingly light entry with bright cherry fruit. It finishes with a hint of chili and spice.

2021 Van Ardi Estate Blend I wouldn't have included this, because it's only 40 percent Areni blended with Milagh and Haghtanak, but I'm told that it's reasonably easy to find in Los Angeles and it's under $25. Chewy black cherry with notes of black and red licorice and a minerally, rocky finish. "We believe this is going to be a kind of Bordeaux blend for the region," says owner/winemaker Varuzhan Mouradian, who spent 20 years in California as a CPA. "Areni will do much fruitiness and spiciness. Haghtanak gives more color. Milagh is a lot of tannins."

2021 Zorah Vayots Dzor Areni Noir Most Arenis are like Russian River Valley Pinot Noir but Zorah's wines are more Willamette Valley: a little more restrained; a little more complex. This has that Pinot aroma of cherry with soy sauce; the finish tastes of stones and salt, and inspires another sip.

2019 Zorah Yeraz Areni Noir This wine shows the full potential of the grape, and could compete with top Burgundies. It's made from a 150-200-year-old bush vine vineyard at 1600 meters. Low yields lead to concentrated fruit which starts in concrete tanks. The skins are removed and it spends two years in amphora and wood casks. It's quite spicy: red cherry with black pepper and a range of Christmas spices like cinnamon and allspice. If this is what wines from wild Areni tasted like, antiquity was better than we think.

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