Region: Armavir
50% Kangun, 50% Sauvignon Blanc
Minas is a refined fusion of Armenia's indigenous Kangun grape and Sauvignon Blanc, blending two winemaking traditions into a harmonious creation. It is a straw-colored crystal-clear wine with dazzling light golden highlights, and has a light, refreshing taste and layered aroma ranging from grass and white flowers to citrus notes2.
"Minas" is a signature wine named after iconic Armenian artist Minas Avetisyan whose work and vision inspired the brand
His artistic vision and deep understanding of the Armenian nature, fueled the concept
A continuous dialogue between two creative minds, Federico Giotto and Albert Nersisyan, brought this concept to life. Federico Giotto is a world famous wine consultant and the individual behind numerous award-winning wine creations. Albert Nersisyan, is the mind behind many beloved local wines that revive the centuries old Armenian wine traditions.
Their patience and commitment to the work gave birth to a delicate merge of local most popular grape variety Kangun, meaning "resistant" and Sauvignon Blanc.
Merging the best traditions from both cultures, Italian and Armenian, they created a taste that truly captures the essence of Minas`s art and the nature inspiring him.
Minas Avetisyan - Armenia's Dissident Painter
Born in 1928 in the small village of Jajur, in Shirak near the borders of Aragatsotn, Minas Avetisyan worked at his art until for several decades before his breakout exhibition at the "Exhibition of Five" in Yerevan in 1962, where his modernist style caught the eye of the public and the critics, who saw his works stood in stark contrast to those of the plein airlandscape painters of the day. The 1960s were a turbulent time for Minas, whose dissident ideas about Armenian national identity and resistance of the Soviet state made him a repeated target of the KGB.
By the end of the 1960s, Minas had been blacklisted by the Soviet censorship office, which placed him in the same persona non grata category as revolutionary filmmakers like Sergei Parajanov. Both dissident artists appeared in Mikhail Vartanov's debut film The Color of Armenian Land, which earned Vartanov an immediate spot on the censorship office's blacklist when he refused to remove the scenes showing the artistic process of Minas and Parajanov. A mysterious fire, said by many to have been set by the Soviet police, destroyed Minas's workshop in Yerevan in 1972, taking with it much of his best work.
Minas's death is still shrouded in uncertainty. He was killed under the wheels of a car that rode up onto the sidewalk in 1975, in what many have suggested was a KGB hit. No records have surfaced to either confirm or deny such allegations, but Minas Avetisyan's name is still pronounced with affection in Armenia, as one who dedicated his whole tragic, short life to the pursuit of art and the depiction of Armenian identity.
Minas Kangun/Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Armavir, Armenia
A continuous dialogue between two creative minds, Federico Giotto and Albert Nersisyan, brought the concept of a wine honoring Minas Avetisyan's contribution to Armenian art to life. Federico Giotto is a world famous wine consultant and the individual behind numerous award-winning wine creations. Albert Nersisyan, is the mind behind many beloved local wines that revive the centuries old Armenian wine traditions.
Their patience and commitment to the work gave birth to a delicate merge of local most popular grape variety Kangun, meaning "resistant" and Sauvignon Blanc. Merging the best traditions from both cultures, Italian and Armenian, they created a taste that truly captures the essence of Minas's art and the nature inspiring him.
