World's Greatest Places

Wild Food Adventures

Wild Food Adventures
Hrant Khachatryan—Courtesy Wild Food Adventures

Designed to celebrate Armenia’s culinary traditions and empower rural communities by building tourism know-how, Wild Food Adventures are immersive, on-demand meals hosted in some of the Caucasus’ most spectacular locations. Created by 2492, a sustainable travel platform from the nonprofit ONEArmenia, there are seven bookable experiences that range from a khorovats (Armenian barbecue) smorgasbord in the Yeranos Mountains to a foraged feast in the woodlands of Dilijan. On the outskirts of Areni village, 68 miles southeast of the capital Yerevan, vintner Norayr Grigoryan and his brother Anushavan escort diners to a table set among the twisted vines of their family winery. Just five minutes up the road in a karstic cave known as Areni-1, archaeologists unearthed the world’s oldest known winepress, and Norayr is a proud torchbearer of Armenia’s 6,100-year-old vino tradition. His whites and reds made from local grapes, including the indigenous Areni, complement a three-course menu prepared by Anushavan’s wife, chef Mariam Simonyan. Guests of the Winemaker’s Table are welcome to leave their seats and join her in the alfresco kitchen while she makes tarragon salad with horats panir (goat’s cheese aged in a clay pot), trout sheathed in paper-thin lavash, and tolma rolled in grape leaves from the vineyard.

Tap to read full story

Your browser is out of date. Please update your browser at http://update.microsoft.com