2019 Zulal Areni Vayots Dzor

Aimee Keushgerian is a native of Damariscotta, Maine, who spent time in Tuscany before founding Zulal, based in Yerevan, Armenia, with her father Vahe. They are the subjects of Cup of Salvation, a film in the Somm series, that tracks their journey to help revive the ancient traditions of their ancestors and their detour to the forbidden vineyards of Iran. Zulal is Armenian for "pure", which is the most succinct way of describing their winemaking philosophy. Areni is one of the oldest grapes in Armenia, where evidence of winemaking goes back thousands of years before Rome or Greece. Areni thrives in the high altitude vineyards and volcanic soils of Vayots Dzor, a region in the south of Armenia that borders Azerbaijan. The wine is at once exotic and familiar, with a vaguely northern Italian structure and a truly distinct flavor profile. Try your hand at a delicately spiced Armenian bulgur pilaf with lamb or beef (we're pretty sure nobody would notice if you used our Turkish bulgur instead of one from Armenia).