On May 18, the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Greece and Quality Wines, a soft drinks import company, organized a presentation and tasting of Armenian drinks at the Athens Marriott Hotel. A wide range of Armenian wine, brandy, beer and soft drinks was presented.
The evening was attended by high-ranking officials of the Greek executive and legislative bodies, heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Greece, members of the Armenian clergymen, Greek winemakers, businessmen, journalists and individuals specializing in gastronomy.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Greece Tigran Mkrtchyan offered opening remarks, noting that “nowadays, winemaking is experiencing a revival in Armenia.”
“The peculiarity of Armenian wine is due to the centuries-old presence of this culture in Armenia, but also to the fact that the French call it terroir, i.e. the factor of natural environment. I am proud to say that the magazines on the best winemaking in the world are full of real appreciation of the high quality of Armenian wine nowadays,” the Ambassador said.
Referring to ancient Greek sources and archeological research, the Ambassador noted that winemaking and brewing existed in ancient Armenia thousands of years ago.
Afterwards, Ambassador Mkrtchyan made an overview of the history of the legendary Armenian brandy, emphasizing its great international reputation and achievements.
The Ambassador drew the guests’ attention to the fact that “Quality Wines” company, despite all the difficulties and modern challenges, makes great efforts to present the legendary Armenian brandy Ararat, 70 different types of Armenian wine, beer, fruit vodka, mineral water and Armenian sweets in the Greek and Cypriot markets, at the same time expanding the range of imported goods.
Daniel Apikyan, Founding Director of Quality Wines Company, also gave a brief overview of the company’s 15-year activity, prospects, as well as the quality and peculiarity of the mentioned Armenian products.
The evening was accompanied by jazz music performed by the talented Greek-Armenian singer Nevi Tsukala.
