Armenia

Lilia Khachatryan

Lilia is an Armenian winemaker. Her journey into the wine industry began somewhat unexpectedly, as she left university with a degree in economics. Taking a job at a wine-consulting company in Armenia, her employment happily coincided with a renaissance in Armenian winemaking, spurred by investment and an influx of know-how. Newly imbued with passion, Lilia signed up for a 4-month sommelier course, which sparked within her a fascination for the wines of Burgundy. Following up on this, she went on to undertake a dual apprenticeship in viticulture at Weingut Dr. Heger and Weingut Fritz Wassmer, as well as building her hands-on experience at Weingut Karl Heinz Johner. Building her academic foundations in viticulture and enology, Lilia went on to complete a degree at Geisenheim University, during which time she worked at Domaine Anne Gros in 2019, and Maison Joseph Drouhin in 2021: in her own words, these two internships provided “utterly different vintages, different philosophies, but equally amazing experiences”. In between these, Lilia also managed to fit in a stage with Bodega Matervini in Mendoza, Argentina, which was sadly cut short by the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic. Having now finished her BSc at Geisenheim, Lilia is keen to realise her dream of working in Burgundy, after which she hopes to return to Armenia and produce wines from Areni Noir, and that will make reference to the structure and character of the Burgundian wines of which she is so fond.