As world leaders gather in the capital Baku for COP29, Paul White looks back on the history and reports on the modern-day realities of Azerbaijani wine, and picks out some of his favorite producers from a recent visit to the ex-Soviet country in the South Caucasus.
Azerbaijan seems as far out on the outskirts of wine culture as anywhere could possibly be. And yet it borders Georgia’s Khakheti and Kartli regions and shares a long, southern border with Armenia, where, 6,000–8,000 years ago, clay pots were used to ferment Caucasus Mountain wild grapes. Surely some of the ancient culture that gave birth to wine must have spilled over into Azerbaijan?
Instead, while Georgia and Armenia continue their ancient clay pot winemaking traditions, have thriving modern wine industries, and brim with the world’s greatest diversity of grape varieties, few of us have ever seen a bottle of Azeri wine, let alone tasted one.
Azerbaijani wine: A secular industry in a Muslim country
So what’s up?
The most obvious answer, given Azerbaijan is 96% Muslim, is how any wine would exist there at all. And yet quite unexpectedly, Azerbaijanis are remarkably tolerant of alcohol. Indeed, it’s common to see men and women of all ages enjoying a glass of beer or rose on a sunny day in Baku’s cosmopolitan streetside cafés. And wine, beer, and spirits are widely available in supermarkets and restaurants.
Azerbaijan’s secular approach to wine owes much to Russian and then Soviet influence dating back two centuries, with
This Article was originally published on World of Fine Wine
