Description
Put simply when we started Zorah over two decades ago there was nothing to draw from. Years of soviet rule had erased everything so we needed to dig deep, we needed to explore our forgotten ancient grapes and try things in a variety of ways in order to understand how to make the very best wines possible.
Fiercely loyal to our native varieties we are continuously investigating, exploring and experimenting.
It takes time to develop wines because research depends on private initiative.
There are no valid nurseries and many of our varieties are on the verge of extinction so we rely on old school methods of propagating new vines from surviving cuttings. It is a long, slow, process and it takes years to get to the point where we can present a wine.
Zorah’s wines are intended to be a celebration of the living history of Armenia’s viticultural diversity and an exploration into its long forgotten heirloom grapes.
We believe that each grape variety which puts down roots restores a natural diversity and unearths the most beautiful and unexpected aspects of Armenia’s diverse terroir whose beat is yet to be discovered.
Completely abandoned by locals and almost
on the road to extinction
Chilar is an ancient endemic grape variety to Armenia and present in the highlands of Vayotz Dzor. The clusters are elongated and cylindrical with medium sized berries which tend to be oval in shape with a greenish colour but more yellowish on the sunny side. The skin has a thin wax coating and is hardy, which protects the berry from disease and substantial day /night temperature variations.
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