Kataro White Dry Wine 2022

Voskehat is an ancient Armenian autochthonous grape varietal and “the queen” of Armenian grapes. Some of its vines around the country have endured over 150 years and are still fruitful. The cultivation of Voskehat began about 3,500 years ago, as shown by numerous archeological excavations of Teishebaini. During those excavations, the analysis of fossilized seeds showed that some of them belonged to Voskehat. Translating into “golden berry”, Voskehat is a late-ripening varietal that is widespread in Ashtarak, Ejmiatsin, Armavir and Vayots Dzor provinces of Armenia. It is also cultivated in other regions in varietal or mixed vineyards.

Voskehat is characterized by medium, sometimes large, very dense, short conical or winged bunches and medium, white-yellowish, or amber coloured, round berries. The skin is of medium thickness, translucent, covered by a slight layer of bloom and brown spots, the pulp is juicy with pleasant taste. The first harvest yields in the fourth to fifth years after planting and reaches complete fertility on the seventh to eighth years. Time of ripening is beginning of October. Yield per plat is 6 to 7 kilograms (13 to 15 pounds). Voskehat is strongly damaged by powdery and downy mildews, botrytis bunch rot, and frost resistance is poor.

Prior to the ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation of the Artsakh region of Armenia by Azerbaijan and its military forces, Kataro Winery owned 27 acres of Khndoghni and five acres of Syrah grape varietals, with the average ago of the vine at 20 years. In addition, the winery purchased grapes from local vineyards in the region.

Domaine Avetissyan’s vineyards were located at an elevation of 600 to 700 meters (2,000 to 2,300 feet) above sea level. Mild winters and sunny summers contributed to harmonious ripening of the grapes, and pure ecosphere gave the intensive and clearly distinctive taste. Hand-harvesting and sorting allowed them to follow ancient winemaking traditions, while smartly combining tasks with the latest winemaking technologies.

Mr. Avetissyan has planted new vineyards to produce Khndoghni grapes for his future vinification. In the meantime, he has brough enough wine from Artsakh to last demand until 2029.

Kataro wines are the result of many years of collaboration and hard work. Khndoghni, the flagship grape varietal of Domaine Avetissyan, is indigenous to Artsakh region of Armenia, and is very difficult varietal to work with. Grigory Avetissyan, founder, and owner of the winery, made a goal to recreate the once famous Khndoghni wines following the traditional winemaking approach, implemented once by his great grandfather.

The first wines under the Kataro brand saw the light in 2010. Made only from Khndoghni, Kataro Red was an instant success; the wine delighted the world with an inimitable and magnificent succulent taste. Kataro Red Reserve, also only from Khndoghni varietal, but aged in barrels made from local Caucasian oak, followed within the new few years. Khndoghni, with its ideal potential for aging, was perfectly revealed in the reserve vintage. Two more Kataro wines, Rose and White, are crafted from Armenian indigenous varietals and have a very delicate and bright taste, highly evaluated by professional sommeliers.

The winery was founded by Grigory Avetissyan, born in Togh village, in the Hadrout province, located in the Artsakh region (formerly Nagorno-Karabagh) of Armenia. Togh village has a very ancient winemaking history, but after the collapse of USSR and the political turmoil, viticulture was forgotten in the region. Starting in 1996, Grigory, his brothers, and their father, began trying to revive the winemaking culture. At the time, they were the first to plant vineyards near Togh village. They were also the first to professionally produce wine and export it. Kataro wines were the first among Artsakh wines that won prestigious international medals and awards. Now the winery is still mostly family-operated, with meticulous production control by Mr. Avetissyan. Grigory Avetissyan is the founder and president of the Winegrowers and Winemakers Association of Artsakh, following the mission to not only revive the Khndoghni viticulture and promote Artsakh wines, but to bring prosperity to the whole region.

As of end of 2020 the Artsakh region of the Republic of Armenia has been under the occupation of the Azerbaijani forces. The region has gone through an ethnic cleansing by the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2023. For the first time in over three millenniums, the Artsakh region of Armenia is without a single Armenian inhabitant. As a result of the genocidal actions of Azerbaijan and the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Armenian population from the region by the Azerbaijani military forces, numerous Artsakh wineries have been destroyed (such as, Qirs, Arba, Nouart Aznuni and many more); however Kataro managed to move its factory, and operation, along with the wine to a new factory located in the outskirts of Yerevan in 2020 prior to the ethnic cleansing. The Kataro winery, with the management Mr. Avetissyan is still able to bottle Khndoghni Red Dry wine, which was produced in Artsakh prior to the war. Their original Artsakh Khnodghni wine is to last until 2029. Mr. Avetissyan hopes by then, their newly planted Khndoghni vineyard will produce enough harvest, to enable them to continue producing great wine from the Khndoghni grape.