Yerevan Wine Days (arm. Երևանի Գինու Օրեր) is an annual international street festival in Yerevan, Armenia dedicated to winemaking. The festival was launched in 2017 and is organized by the EventToura Company. It takes place every year on the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of June, on Yerevan’s central streets — Saryan, Tumanyan, and Moskovyan. In 2025, the event will be held from June 6 to 8[1].

Yerevan Wine Days is unique in its format across the region and has become not only a leading platform for event tourism, but also one of Armenia’s most important economic and cultural events. In 2024, the festival welcomed around 120,000 visitors, including approximately 25,000 tourists, and its total economic impact was estimated at around 25 million USD.

Purpose

Yerevan Wine Days visitor
Yerevan Wine Days visitor

The goal of the festival is to promote wine tourism in Armenia and increase the country’s recognition as one of the ancient cradles of winemaking. By developing event tourism, the festival aims to popularize Armenian winemaking traditions, support the advancement of local wine producers, and create a sustainable platform for collaboration between winemakers, consumers, and international tourists.

The festival has a multifaceted economic, cultural, and social impact. Year after year, it contributes to the growth of tourism, which in turn improves the business environment for local enterprises, enhances the country’s reputation, and ensures financial inflow. According to official data, the Yerevan Wine Days festival has had a positive influence on the development of Armenia’s wine industry, contributing to the expansion of vineyard areas, grape harvest volumes, and wine production[2].

For example, following 2017 — the year the festival started being held regularly — a significant increase in vineyard acreage was recorded. Growth was already evident in 2017 and 2018 compared to 2016, the year before the festival’s launch. In parallel, both grape procurement and wine production volumes grew, indicating an upward trend in the industry[3].

In addition to promoting wine consumption culture, the festival has played a key role in stimulating Armenia’s economic development. By establishing a platform for event tourism, the festival generates substantial economic inflow and encourages investment in both the tourism and winemaking sectors. By increasing demand for Armenian wine and related products, the festival has created opportunities for local producers to gain international exposure and enter export markets. Yerevan Wine Days has become a unique “window to the world,” strengthening the global competitiveness of Armenian wine.

Process

Wine enjoying package 2023.

The event is free to attend, but to taste the presented wines, visitors need to buy special tasting packages.[4] The packages include a lanyard case, a wine glass and a brochure with several coupons containing information about the winemakers.[4] Armenian bands and DJs also perform at the event.[5]

Participants

Roundelay on Saryan Street on Yerevan Wine Days

The event involves a great number of Armenian and Artsakh winemakers, as well as restaurants and cafes featuring dishes and sweets specific to Armenian, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, French cuisines.[6]

In three years (2017-2019) there have been 79 wine-presenting participants.[7] The following museums were presented in Yerevan Wine Days 2019:

  1. Hovhannes Toumanian museum
  2. Ara Sargsyan and Hakob Kojoyan Museum
  3. Martiros Sarian House-Museum

The event also hosts Armenian musicians, small bands and artists to join the musical part which is a set of various performances on large and several small stages situated in different parts of the streets.[5]

Visitors

The visitors gathered on YereWineDays to drink wine and spend good time together.

Yerevan Wine Days had over 25,000 visitors in 2017,[8] about 30,000 in 2018, and more than 30,000 in 2019.[9] These numbers caught the attention of Forbes’ journalist Tom Mullen, who mentioned Yerevan Wine Days in his article "Yerevan City In Armenia Is A Jewel For Travel, Food And Wine":[10]

"Yerevan Wine Days—a two-day, free festival focused on showcasing national food and some 200 Armenian wines. The event includes music and traditional dances."[10]

The Chronology of the Event

Rain Never Disturbs Yerevan Wine Days
  • 2023 - June 2-4, Saryan, Moskovyan and Tumanyan streets.
  • 2022 - June 3-5, Saryan, Moskovyan and Tumanyan streets, Yerevan[11]
  • 2021 - June 4–5, Saryan, Moskovyan and Tumanyan streets, Yerevan[12]
  • 2020 - May 3, Online Yerevan Wine Days 2020
  • 2019 - May 3–4, Saryan and Moskovyan streets, Yerevan[13] In 2019 it was dedicated to 150th anniversary of the national poet of Armenia[14] Hovhannes Tumanyan.
  • 2018 - May 11–12, Saryan street, Yerevan[15] In 2018 Yerevan Wine Days was dedicated to the 2800th anniversary of Erebuni-Yerevan[16]
  • 2017 - May 5–6, Saryan street, Yerevan[17]

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic Yerevan Wine Days 2020, which was to be held on May 1–2, has been postponed until 2021.[18]

Symbols

The "birth certificate" of Yerevan at the Erebuni Fortress—a cuneiform inscription left by King Argishti I of Urartu on a basalt stone slab about the foundation of the city in 782 BC

The emblem of the Yerevan Wine Days event is a traditional Armenian wine jar (karas,[19] Armenian: կարաս) that depicts a cuneiform inscription left by King Argishti I of Urartu. A cuneiform inscription is archaeological evidence which indicates that the Urartian military fortress of Erebuni (Էրեբունի) was founded in 782 BC by the orders of King Argishti I at the site of modern-day Yerevan.[20][21]

References

  1. ^ Event link, Երևանի Գինու Օրեր. "Yerevan wine days".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "Fruit orchards, berry fields and vineyards areas, gross harvest and average crop capacity, total in all households 2017" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  3. ^ "Fruit orchards, berry fields and vineyards areas, gross harvest and average crop capacity, total in all households 2018" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  4. ^ a b Vardanyan, Aram (2020-01-21). "Yerevan Wine Days: How to Experience Yerevan's Biggest Street Festival". Absolute Armenia. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  5. ^ a b "Yerevan Wine Days". Armenia Discovery. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Yerevan Wine Days 2018. Celebration of the rich history of winemaking in Armenia". Armenia Travel. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Yerevan Wine Days". armenia.travel.
  8. ^ "What Did I Miss on Yerevan Wine Days 2018?". Armenia Travel.
  9. ^ Vardanyan, Aram. "Yerevan Wine Days: How to Experience Yerevan's Biggest Street Festival". Absolute Armenia.
  10. ^ a b Mullen, Tom. "Yerevan City In Armenia Is A Jewel For Travel, Food And Wine". Forbes.
  11. ^ "Yerevan Wine Days 2022, Yerevan". www.advantour.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  12. ^ "Yerevan Wine Days 2021, Yerevan". www.advantour.com. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  13. ^ Global, AIST. "Yerevan Wine Days". armeniadiscovery.com. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  14. ^ LLC, Helix Consulting. "Today marks prominent writer Hovhannes Tumanyan's 150th birthday". www.panorama.am. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  15. ^ Kocharyan, Stepan. "2018 Yerevan Wine Days to offer exclusive experience for connoisseurs and tourists". Armenpress.
  16. ^ Elliott, Raffi. "Yerevan Celebrates 2800 Years". The Armenian Weekly.
  17. ^ "YEREVAN WINE DAYS". Repat Armenia. 10 April 2017.
  18. ^ "Armenian Festivals". Phoenix Tour Armenia. 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  19. ^ Vann, Karine. "Can Ancient Techniques Make Modern Wine Better?". Smithsonian Magazine.
  20. ^ "Оld Yerevan | www.yerevan.am". 2011-10-02. Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  21. ^ "Erebuni Fortress - the Founding of Yerevan". Darius Roby - Travel Writer. 2018-06-05. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerevan_Wine_Days
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