Yerevan Wine Days

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Yerevan Wine Days is a street festival that takes place in the first week of June - 7-9 June, 2024.
30% of 120.000 visitors were tourists.
Yerevan Wine Days at night 2023

Yerevan Wine Days (7-9 June, 2024) (also called YereWineDays, abbr. YWD, Armenian: Երևանի Գինու Օրեր) is a street wine festival in Yerevan, Armenia. The festival has been held annually since 2017 and takes place on several central streets of Yerevan. Since 2021 the festival is held on the first week of June. In 2023 Yerevan Wine Days has more than 120.000 visitors.

Purpose[edit]

The main goal of the event is to promote wine tourism in Armenia and to ensure the recognition of the wine industry in the country.[1] The event has positively influenced the Armenian wine industry and raised the awareness of wine tourism. Since the event's conception, the number of vineyards and wine production in Armenia have increased.[2][3]

Process[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ "Yerevan wine days". itinari. Lusine. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  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.