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Azerbaijan's Wine Revival for National Geographic Traveller
On Assignment for National Geographic
Like other countries in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan has a rich history of winemaking that dates back centuries. Modern commercial winemaking, however, only appeared in the 19th century when German settlers, fleeing the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, were invited to immigrate to western Azerbaijan. In the towns of Göygöl and Shamkir, these settlers perfected their techniques and traditions, helping Azerbaijan's wine industry grow and thrive through changing empires and two World Wars.
In the 1980s, during the final years of the Soviet Union, many historic vineyards and indigenous wine varieties were lost when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign led to their destruction and the downturn of the Azerbaijani wine industry. Today, locals have been actively working to revive these traditions and bring indigenous grapes back, again turning to the expertise of experienced winemakers from Western Europe.
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Explore Azerbaijan's wine history—and its unexpected German pastAzerbaijan’s relationship with wine is a resilient love affair marked with cruel and often surprising twists and turns. We visit the city of Göygöl, in the country’s northwestern foothills, where, in the 19th century, German settlers forever...
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