'Take the grapes, we have to leave!'
Wines aren't only a delicious communal drink but also carry much historical weight. And winemakers worldwide have replanted ancient varieties in a conscious effort to restore histories. Back in 2020, as the Second Karabakh War started, under bombs and shells, the Kataro winemakers, a winery once based in Nagorno-Karabakh, gathered the final harvest of grape wines before their forced exodus.
Following the exodus of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians in 2023, the Kataro founder bribed Russian peacekeepers to gain access to the winemaking nursery to gather 1,000 khndoghni grapevines, a variety indigenous to the Nagorno-Karabakh region and smuggle them to Yerevan.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a region previously populated by Armenians, has been in active conflict for a long time. In 2020, Azerbaijan took control of several areas, including the Hadrut region, where Kataro was based. By 2023, as a result of the full Azerbaijani control, 100,000 Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians were forcibly displaced. For the Kataro winemakers, it was important to bring the seeds of their winery to give Kataro a new life in exile as a symbol of the resilience of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. ”It's not about the wine,” says a Kataro winemaker. ”It's about the emotions that will be in the bottle.” From their new home, the land left behind by 100,000 displaced Armenians, Kataro symbolises more than fine winemaking – it's a testament to Armenian Karabakh culture and history.