January 2023 Wine of the Month Club

January 2023

     People like to make resolutions, but the best way to begin any New Year is by taking out a map. Grab a glass of red wine and you can plot an oenophile itinerary like the travel cutaways from Indiana Jones movies: pour a crimson line across distant oceans, dot your eventual destination with an emphatic splash, and toast to forthcoming adventure with whatever’s left. (Please note: this is an IRL ritual only; do not attempt on your devices.) Much like a deft piece of cinematic exposition, wine from new and unfamiliar destinations is quicker, cheaper and more immediate than actually going there, plus it may help you figure out where you might actually want to go. 

     Our inaugural 2023 bottles are thus from two wine regions outside most familiar coordinates. While you’ve probably had white wine from Hungary before, it is still a relatively unsung area that continues to astonish with its goulash of distinctive grapes and terroirs. Armenia, on other hand, doesn’t even have a leftover culinary metaphor we can defrost to illustrate its recipe. This is the first red we’ve ever had from the country, and judging from its quality, we are excited to taste more.  

     The earliest records of viticulture in what is today Hungary date back to Roman times. Recent archaeological finds suggest that the Celts were already involved with grapes however, whose cultivation had spread from ancient Greece. Once settled, Hungarian tribes increasingly turned to agriculture. In the early days, they planted vines even in flat land and flood plains, sometimes allowing them to climb up the trees at will. After the foundation of the Hungarian Kingdom, viticulture was concentrated on the estates run by the church around the major settlements. By the end of the 14th century, the major wine regions had mostly taken shape as we know them today. Hungary currently has 22 officially designated wine regions. The most famous is Tokaj, which lies 137 miles northeast of Budapest, along at the geographical center of Europe. It is the oldest classified wine region in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the birthplace of Tokaji Aszú, the first ‘noble rot’ wine, so called due to botrytis cinerea, a mold that dehydrates and shrivels grapes, leaving behind a bevy of sugars and acids, ideal source material for rich, complex dessert wines. Not long ago, Tokaji Aszú was among the world’s most coveted and expensive wines, but two world wars devastated its traditional European markets, and the decline continued under Communist rule. The years since have have witnessed an amazing regeneration however, and today dry Tokaji whites (usually, but not necessarily made from the native Furmint grape) are joining their storied neighbors  amongst can’t miss experiences of viticultural globetrotting.  

     Armenia, the landlocked nation sandwiched between Georgia, Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey, has a decent (though not unchallenged) claim to being the oldest winemaking region in the world -  even if you’re skeptical, it starts with Noah planting cuttings from the Ark on top of Mt. Ararat. In 2007, archaeologists discovered a winery in a cave dating back to 4100 B.C in the Vayots Dzor region. Called Areni-1, after the area’s  eponymous red grape, it housed fermentation vats, jars, and cups, a wine press, vitus vinifera seeds and vines, as well as the world’s oldest leather shoe ( known as the Areni-1 shoe.) After the Soviet invasion in 1920, Armenian winemaking became a large scale industrial enterprise, focused on bulk, rather than quality. Since 1991 however, young Armenians have been working hard to revitalize the  formerly moribund industry, respecting the traditions discarded  during the Soviet period without being beholden to them. Researchers have identified some 400 indigenous varietals so far; our selection this month is aforementioned Areni Noir, a varietal than can range from medium bodied to full, lush and velvety, especially if aged in oak from Caucasus mountain range. 

Cheers,

The PlumpJack Wine Buying Team