Due to 3 victories and 2 draws in the first tournament of the FIDE Grand Prix series held in Berlin, Germany, Levon Aronian’s personal rating has reached 2,782 according to 2700chess live.
The former leader of the Armenian team has become the American grandmaster with the highest rating, leaving behind Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So.
In Berlin, Levon Aronian scored 4 points out of 5 and secured the first place in Group C, reaching the semifinals.
VAYOTZ DZOR VINEYARDS, ARMENIA / PHOTO COURTESY ZORAH
For many Armenian winemakers, making orange wine is personal. The process revives ancient traditions when almost every household made its own wine in a huge karas, or amphora made of terra cotta, and then sealed it with beeswax and buried it in the ground to age.
This is the method that Trinity Canyon Vineyards, located in Armenia’s Vayots Dzor region, adopted in 2014 to make its Ancestors’ Orange Wine. After conducting thorough research in nearby villages, Artem Parseghyan, Trinity Canyon’s winemaker, learned that orange wine was historically referred to as yellow or amber because the orange fruit wasn’t local. He also learned it was believed to have health benefits, according to the writings of 15th-century physician Amirdovlat of Amasia.
Ancestors’ Orange Wine uses Voskehat, an indigenous variety that’s at least 3,500 years old. Also called Golden Berry, Voskehat has a yellow-white or amber hue with small brown spots, and has aromas of fresh white fruits with hints of citrus and freshly cut grass.
WINEMAKERS BURY KARAS HALFWAY TO MAINTAIN OPTIMAL TEMPERATURES / PHOTO BY TIGRAN HAYRAPETYAN
To make his wine, Parseghyan ferments Voskehat in 100-year-old karas above ground, which he believes makes it easier to control the process, for anywhere from two or three days to two or three weeks. He then transfers the must, grape skins, seeds and juice to another, beeswax-coated karas that he buries underground.
“Clay gives special flavors such as minerality, earthiness,” says Parseghyan. “The shape of the vessel is important. It creates certain turbulence during the production process.” He believes the karas’ shape allows for subtler extraction of tannins from the grape skins and seeds.
Despite Armenians’ long history of using karas for food and wine storage, older vessels can be hard to find. Manufacturing karas halted from 1928 through the 1980s, during the years of industrialization enforced by the Soviet Union. Modern Armenian winemakers who want to use original karas to ferment their wines must seek them out, and clean and restore them.
ANCIENT CHILAR VINES IN VAYOTZ DZOR / PHOTO COURTESY ZORAH
Also located in Vayots Dzor is Zorah Wines, which bottled its first vintage in 2010. Founder Zorik Gharibian remembers how, a few years ago, he knocked down a wall in an elderly woman’s home in Yeghegitz village to find three enormous karases. (He later rebuilt her wall.)
He uses those reclaimed vessels to age wines like Heritage Chilar, an orange wine made with Chilar, another indigenous Armenian variety also known as Fox’s Tail because of its cylindrical-conical bunches. Heritage Chilar is fermented and aged in karas that Gharibian buries three-quarters of the way in the ground, as per 3,000-year-old traditions, with 60–90 days of skin contact and then nine further months in the bottle.
“After many years of working with the karases, I find this to be the best way,” says Gharibian. The portions buried in the earth keep temperatures stable, while the above-ground exposure “creates a disparity of temperature within the karas which creates natural movement in the wine while aging.”
Since all are handmade, each karas has a different size and thickness. Gharibian only uses natural yeast, and there’s very mild filtration before bottling.
WINEMAKER ZORIK GHARIBIAN WITH SON OSHIN GHARIBIAN / PHOTO COURTESY ZORAH
Another winemaker in the region, Avag Harutyunyan of Maran Wines, dug through ancient manuscripts like the 14th-century text Girk vastakoc (Book of Farm Labors) to collaborate with others on techniques for karas use and maintenance.
Maran’s Malahi Amber wine is the result of genetic studies from the Institute of Molecular Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, which identified a long-lost Armenian grape variety, White Areni. Maran Wines harvests these white wine grapes when they are very ripe, destems and crushes them, and then transfers them to ferment and macerate in karases for two to six months.
TRINITY CANYON USES KARAS TO MAKE ITS ANCESTORS’ ORANGE WINE / PHOTO COURTESY TRINITY CANYON
Khme Wines, a label that only produces orange wine, launched in Stepanakert, Artsakh in 2019. Khme, which translates into “drink up,” harvests its grapes from Amaras Valley in Artsakh and the Vayots Dzor region in Armenia. Its wine is made in 140-year-old karases and features indigenous varieties Voskehat and Khatoun Kharji as well as Rkatsiteli, a variety that was planted across the Caucasus during the Soviet era and mainly used to make brandy.
Reclaiming these varieties and production methods is significant, says Anush Gharibyan O’Connor, a wine consultant and executive director of GiniFest, an annual Armenian wine festival in Los Angeles. The new phase of orange wine in Armenia offers “something different, such as terroir, grape aging and winemaking techniques,” she says. It’s a novel approach with ancient roots.
https://www.winemag.com/2022/02/09/orange-wine-armenia/
17:18, 9 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. In the past one year the Armenian side has returned bodies of 108 people missing since the first Artsakh war to Azerbaijan, 2 more bodies will be handed over in coming days, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during a Q&A session in the Parliament.
When asked to inform whether agreements about solving the issue of captives and missing persons were reached during the recent remote meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders at the mediation of the French President Emmanuel Macron and President of the European Council Charles Michel, the Armenian PM said that one of the issues that was discussed at that meeting related to the solution of the humanitarian problems. He reminded that after that meeting 8 Armenian captives returned to Armenia. Pashinyan praised the efforts of Emmanuel Macron and Charles Michel in this process.
“We also talked about the fates of persons missing after the first war and the 44-day war. Azerbaijan constantly says that they have nearly 4000 missing persons after the first Karabakh war. I want to state that the Armenian side also has missing persons, 777 according to official data. An attempt is made to present that the Armenian side has not taken concrete actions also in this matter. I want to inform that over the past year bodies of 108 persons missing after the first war have been handed to the Azerbaijani side. We are going to transfer 2 more bodies in coming days”, the Armenian PM said, adding that Armenia hasn’t published that it has returned so many bodies because it believes that it’s a humanitarian issue.
The Armenian side has returned these 108 bodies without preconditions. “Because we do not consider it right for it to become a subject of any bargaining, because the humanitarian issues should not be a subject of bargaining. We did the same with the minefield maps, by returning them without conditions so that it would not become a subject of bargaining. Because we don’t think that we should bargain by people’s fate”, he said.
Pashinyan assured that Armenia started the work on this topic back in early 2020 when they discussed it during the Security Council session at the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and he tasked to solve these humanitarian problems. “And we expect that we will manage to establish cooperation in clarifying the fates of not only the persons missing after the first Karabakh war, but also those missing in the 44-day war. We have 217 missing persons after the 44-day war. And yes, an agreement has been reached to cooperate to find out the fates of the missing persons”, he said, expressing hope that the Azerbaijani side will also take concrete steps on this direction.
Pashinyan also reminded the clear position of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that captured persons must be returned.
YEREVAN, Armenia
As reciprocal charter flights between Turkiye and Armenia resume, shopkeepers in Yerevan’s touristic open-air market are hopeful about the return of tourists.
Nazar Aroyan is a middle-aged Syrian-Armenian, who had to flee his hometown Aleppo in Syria due to civil war, and has been living in Armenia for six years.
Speaking fluent Turkish, Aroyan said he had a flourishing business in Syria before the war.
Now selling silver jewelry in the Vernissage Market, a flea market in the Armenian capital, he said direct flights between Turkiye and Armenia is a “good decision.”
“When the tourists come, business increases, and we win,” he added.
“I hope we will be friends again and reconcile. Flights strengthen the friendship between people,” he said.
Zorik Galitsyan, 40, who sells duduk, a type of flute, in the market is also hopeful about the resumption of flights.
Although mobility will increase in terms of tourism, he said, there were already people coming and going between Turkiye and Armenia before the flights resumed.
“My view as a citizen is like this: if our government says it is good for our state to open the borders, let it be,” he said.
“But since I am not an expert in economics, I cannot say for sure what the opening of the borders will bring.
“We are not hostile. We are a nation who loves peace,” he added.
Vernissage is one of the largest open-air markets in Yerevan, mainly attracting tourists where they can purchase a variety of gifts from clothing to paintings, and from silver jewelry to musical instruments and souvenirs.
Reciprocal charter flights were relaunched Wednesday between Istanbul and Yerevan amid talks between Turkiye and Armenia to normalize relations.
The two neighboring countries have seen many difficulties in their diplomatic relations since Yerevan’s declaring independence in 1991, and the border between the two countries remained closed since 1993.
Turkiye and Armenia are at odds over various issues, including the incidents of 1915.
The two countries signed the “Zurich protocols” in 2009 in an attempt to normalize relations, which failed to be ratified at the national parliaments.
The bilateral relations, however, have gained a new dimension toward normalization recently, with Turkish and Armenian special envoys, Serdar Kilic and Ruben Rubinyan, holding their first meeting in Moscow on Jan. 14, where both sides agreed to continue negotiations without preconditions aiming at “full normalization.”
11:30,
STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. President of the Republic of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan received a group of members of the Union of War Volunteers of Artsakh to bestow them with state awards on the occasion of the Homeland Defender’s Day, his Office said.
President Harutyunyan thanked the meeting participants for their service to the Homeland and stated that the consequences of the last war cannot distract them from the path of state-building, the Armenian people are fighting for more than thirty years.
Turkey’s first floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Ertuğrul Gazi is seen at the port in Dörtyol in the southern province of Hatay, Turkey, April 22, 2021. (AA Photo)
Turkey’s energy watchdog has raised its 2022 natural gas consumption forecast by 20% compared to a year ago, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette on Friday.
The Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) estimates around 60.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas will be consumed in the country throughout 2022.
It had a forecast of 50.8 bcm for 2021 but gas consumption is estimated to have risen to an all-time high of 61 bcm.
It stemmed from a record demand that forced the country to step up purchases on the spot market and accelerate efforts to renew long-term contracts expiring this winter and to top its supply with liquefied natural gas (LNG).
A drought last year curtailed hydroelectric power, putting idled gas power plants back online and driving Turkey’s consumption, just as prices rocketed in Europe.
One of the largest gas importers in Europe, Turkey depends on pipeline gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran as well as LNG imports from Nigeria, Algeria and spot markets.
Plans to cover up to a quarter of its consumption from its Black Sea discovery from 2027 are also expected to strengthen its hand in future negotiations.
The daily peak consumption hit a record of 288 million cubic meters on Jan. 20, just a day before Iran announced it cut gas supplies for 10 days, citing technical failures.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan late Wednesday said full gas flow from Iran would return in 10 to 15 days.
The sudden stoppage forced Turkey to impose restrictions to limit gas use and cut electricity supplies for industrial sites, prompting some manufacturers to halt production.
YEREVAN. – Hraparak daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: The resignation of President Armen Sarkissian continues to be discussed in various circles, and people state that he has not become passive even after his announcement on resignation. His staff has issued two or three statements, and yesterday the RA President delivered a message dedicated to the Army Day.
Analysts believe that a person leaving Armenia does not behave like that, and this proves that Armen Sarkissian has some plans for the future.
And as for the resignation, it, apparently, was a surprise not only for [PM] Nikol Pashinyan and the [Armenian] society in general, but also for his own staff. Moreover, our presidential sources say that in the days before the resignation, Armen Sarkissian contacted the staff, gave instructions to prepare documents related to a new project, as well as to book tickets to participate in a European conference, whereas the next day called and canceled the instructions given yesterday.
The [presidential] staff is also surprised and does not find an explanation for what happened.
It is true that in the past there were rumors about [Sarkissian] resigning [from office], but at this moment there was no fact attesting to that.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 28
Trend:
Chairman of the All-Russian public movement – “Veterans of Russia” Ildar Rezyapov sent an appeal to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin and the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov with a request to schedule an inspection of the Union of Armenians in Russia (UAR) for an attempt to rehabilitate Nazism and its accomplices regarding a film screening about Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh, Trend reports referring to the statement of the public movement.
On January 28, the 30th anniversary of the Armenian army, the Union of Armenians in Russia intended to hold a screening of the “Garegin Nzhdeh” film in Moscow.
The film is dedicated to the glorification of the Armenian nationalist Garegin Nzhdeh, who fought under the Nazi command against the USSR during the World War II.
“Any attempts to justify Nazi criminals and their accomplices are not just a falsification of history – they are immoral in nature, blasphemous in relation to the memory of the liberators of the world from obvious and legally established evil. That is why we must prevent any distortion of historical truth, including criminal legal measures,” the public association said.
19:52,
YEREVAN, 27 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The US administration is committed to continuing to work closely with the Republic of Armenia in the areas of justice, the rule of law, and the strengthening of democratic institutions, ARMENPRESS reports Ambassador of the USA to Armenia Lynne Tracy said during the meeting with President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia Arman Dilanyan.
Dilanyan received Lynne Tracy on January 27. The Ambassador was accompanied by Kelly Strickland, USAID Deputy Director, Office of Democratic and Decentralized Governance, Alexis Haftvani, Head of the U.S. Embassy’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Welcoming the American colleagues, Arman Dilanyan highly valued the US-American cooperation, the continuous work on the implementation of the bilateral agenda in the judicial sphere. Arman Dilanyan noted that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia has an ambitious agenda of internal reforms, is determined to implement it, and the assistance of international partners, including the United States, will further promote their successful implementation.
Ambassador Tracey thanked for the opportunity of the meeting, noting that the US administration is committed to continuing close cooperation with the Republic of Armenia in the areas of justice, the rule of law, and the strengthening of democratic institutions. In this context, Ambassador Tracey highlighted the internal reform process launched in the Constitutional Court.
During the meeting, the interlocutors exchanged views on the prospects of implementing joint programs.
The Armenian side has prepared and submitted a package of proposals on de-escalation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border area, which also contains measures aimed at enhancing stability, Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan stated during the Q/A session in parliament.
In Mirzoyan’s words, the proposals were passed to the Russian side and at their mediation to the Azerbaijani side and other partners. He added that the Armenian side is now waiting for the feedback.
“Apparently, I cannot publish details, and there is no need to do that now. I can only state that the proposals stem from the approach earlier voiced by the government and the prime minister about the simultaneous withdrawal of the troops from the contact line and establishing additional security mechanisms,” Mirzoyan said, adding the package had been discussed at the Security Council.