Armenia

Arpine Manukyan

Arpine is a wine professional and winemaker, based in Yerevan, Armenia. Originally pursuing a career as a linguist, in 2014 Arpine decided to drastically change her path and instead began pursuing winemaking. While certainly a brave decision, in her own words: “I have no regrets, as it allowed me to pursue my true passion”. Since making this change, Arpine has made truly phenomenal progress: She became the first person in Armenia to achieve the WSET Diploma and Weinakademiker qualifications, and built upon these through studies at Geisenheim University in Germany, gaining a Master’s Degree in Oenology, before getting on-the-job experience during harvests in Italy, Germany, Argentina and the USA. Sadly, despite these impressive achievements, Arpine has had to face up against “gender-based barriers” which “marginalise women and hinder their professional growth and educational opportunities”. Due to the male-dominated nature of winemaking in Armenia, she has found her qualifications and opinions constantly questioned and belittled by men who, in many cases, are less experienced than she is. Such setbacks, while far too common, have not stopped Arpine from being “resilient and determined to overcome any obstacles and prove that women have the skills and passion to excel in any aspect of winemaking”. Her goals are now two-fold: to pursue the MW certification, which will further credentialise her and enable Arpine to stand as a role model and mentor to other women entering the wine industry, while also rebutting sexist attitudes towards them; and to begin production of her own wine in Armenia, in a more elegant and lighter style than is traditionally made there. We have no doubt that the Dom Pérignon Golden Vines® MW Scholarship will equip her well for these endeavours, and eagerly look forward to seeing her progress.