“Yerevan Wine Days” Festival

Description

As it is said - "Where there is no wine, there is no love", so at "Yerevan Wine Days" everyone will have the opportunity to live in a wine and full of wine.

The aim of the event is to promote wine tourism in Armenia, to ensure the recognition of the country as one of the ancient cradles of wine. The festival is a wonderful opportunity for winemakers as well as restaurants and other companies who can present their products to a new audience. The event had a positive impact on raising the awareness of Armenian winemaking and wine tourism. This is evidenced by the growing indicators of wine production from vineyards in Armenia year by year. Thus, the event provides wide opportunities for the development of experiential tourism through wine in Armenia. In general, festivals, including the Happy Wine Days, solve a number of important issues of state policy in Armenia.

• Diversification of tourism products;
• Development of tourism in the communities, through which the economic activity of the community increases;
• Citizens are given the opportunity to present their production potential to both the domestic and international markets;
• The festival promotes balanced economic development, provides an opportunity to present our country with new tourism products, opportunities and features.

In this case, the Yerevan Wine Days are another additional opportunity to introduce Armenian wine and wine-making traditions and culture to the world market. During Yerevan Wine Days, wine lovers, locals and tourists, have a wide choice to try the best wines made from endemic grape varieties, to taste the full range of white, red and rosé wines, combining them with their favorite delicious Armenian dishes, a wide range of cheeses or the most delicious world cuisine. and thanks to that we can promote the development of experimental tourism in Armenia and ensure the recognition and popularization of our country as an ancient cradle of winemaking. Yerevan Wine Days attract thousands of visitors from around the world, including international food specialists and gastronomic tourists. This is a particularly good opportunity for vegetarian tourists, as not all festivals provide a special diet for them.

Key message

The tradition of winemaking in Armenia dates back thousands of years. Because it is supposed that Noah planted a vine when he set foot on Armenian soil. The technique adopted during the reign of Urartu has hardly changed, preserving the true Armenian colors. The symbol (logo) of the Yerevan Wine Days event is a traditional Armenian wine jar with a cuneiform inscription left by King Argishti I of Urartu. The inscription is an archeological evidence that the Urartian military fortress of Erebuni was founded in BC. In 782 by the order of King Argishti I, in the place of modern Yerevan. Yerevan Wine Days is an annual festival that unites true wine lovers. It takes place on Saryan Street, full of wine and freshness.

In 2017, it was decided to hold the "Yerevan Wine Days" event in the capital for the first time, dedicated to the development and presentation of the best traditions of Armenian wine. The event was initiated by the Areni Festival Foundation with the support of the Yerevan Municipality․

Key activities

The two-day event includes a tasting of Armenian wine, as well as a large display of cheese and dishes from wineries and local restaurants. Visitors can enjoy a large selection of wines and dishes, enjoying Armenian jazz and performances by various DJs. Not only sound education but his alertness and dedication too are most required. You can enjoy Armenian barbecue, delicious Armenian cheeses and Artsakh “jingyalov” bread, which is a favorite dish of vegetarians. Thus, the event allows tourists to organize their active rest by participating in tastings and events of wine, cheese, barbecue and other dishes. In general, the key activities are the following: master class-competition, national dances and songs, taste of Armenian wine, taste of barbecue, taste of assorted cheese. Through these activities, the tourist gets the opportunity to get involved in tourism, to become a part of the given nation and culture, as well as to combine leisure with learning something new and getting new feelings.

Innovative elements

There are a number of innovations in the festival. 5% discount is offered from the sponsors of the event with the support of Idram, if the participant buys the ticket for the event in advance, through the relevant application. This allows preventing queues and dealing with a lot of cash, thanks to more than 5,000 outlets and more than 650 online stores, where it is possible to pay with Idram. The latter is especially important given the pandemy.

 2021 The following innovations were used during the festival:

• If the tourist did not know what wine could be combined with, then the best Armenian wine specialists with their master classes passed the secrets of drinking wine to tourists. In other words, master classes for tourists were organized by the organizers of the event.
• A master class-competition entitled "Wine and Art" took place in front of Saryan House-Museum. Swallowing the wine, the tourists tried to paint in Saryan colors. This is another innovative approach that combines art, culture and entertainment;
• In 2021, song and dance also differed, combining national and modern. This is also a step to bring the tourist closer to the Armenian culture.

Key partners and supporters

The partners of the festival are: Yerevan Municipality, RA Ministry of Economy, State Committee for Tourism, "GIZ Armenia", YerevanReso Projects company, Idram Payment System.

Participants, local community and customer segment

Armenian and Artsakh winemakers take part in the festival, as well as a number of restaurants and cafes, which present Armenian, French, German, Japanese, Mexican, Italian dishes special to the cuisine. More than 80 winemakers have participated in the festival since the first year. The Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum, the House-Museum of Ara Sargsyan and Hakob Kojoyan and the House-Museum of Martiros Saryan in 2019 participated in the Yerevan Wine Days. The event also hosts Armenian musicians, artists and small groups. The visitors were mainly from Russia, USA, Germany, France and Australia.

Communication and dissemination channels

The organizers used social platforms, particularly their Facebook page, as well as the RA Public Television and the YouTube platform. You can get detailed information about the festival, both the organizing process and the event that has already taken place, from the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/events/491833142036954/
https://www.facebook.com/events/244534719624883/?ref=newsfeed
https://www.facebook.com/Eventtoura/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soLMvC4QEkE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOPH9yqFKvo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIUifgItBPQ

Specific elements and features

Accessibility

The accessibility of the festival is provided both in terms of transport and the disabled people. Saryan Street is located in the central part of Yerevan, which makes the event accessible from the point of view of public transport. There are various forms of public transportation that can be used to get here. You can get information about the routes by using the following websites: http://marshrut.info/, https://www.yerevan.am/am/. People with different problems can also take part in the event. For example, this year there were participants who were in wheelchairs and did not have any problems.

Image Sources:
https://infoport.am/
https://showbiz.am/
https://absolutearmenia.com/