Vayots Dzor Province
Vayots Dzor contains the world's oldest winery (6,100 years) at Areni-1 cave, where the Areni grape variety may represent continuous viticulture across six millennia.
Vayots Dzor Province hosts humanity's oldest known winery. The Areni-1 cave complex, excavated from 2007, yielded a 6,100-year-old winemaking facility complete with fermentation vats, grape presses, and drinking cups—predating the oldest known winemaking evidence by a millennium. The Areni grape variety, still cultivated in the surrounding valleys, may represent continuous viticulture tradition across six millennia.
The province occupies a strategic mountain passage connecting the Ararat Plain to Syunik and Iran. Its narrow valleys and high peaks (reaching 3,500 meters) have historically filtered human movement, making it a natural choke point in regional trade and military geography. Armenia's least populated province by density, Vayots Dzor relies on sheep herding, fruit orchards, and increasingly wine tourism built around Areni's archaeological fame. The Noravank Monastery, perched in a red-rock canyon, attracts visitors to landscapes that feel more Mediterranean than Caucasian.