On the 20th and 21st of December, the massive red stone arches of the Yerevan Brandy Company opened their gates for the "Open Doors Days." For the Armenian community, specifically those of us visiting from the Diaspora, this wasn't just a factory tour but more of a place where the Armenian sun is captured, distilled, and aged into history.

We walked the halls, smelled the "Angels' Share," and listened to the stories of masters who turned a local experiment into a global legend. Here is the complete story of Ararat, from the soil to the glass.

The factory stands on the site of the former Yerevan Fortress. It was here that a merchant named Nerses Tairyan, advised by his winemaker brother Vasily, made a bold bet. He imported classic French "charente" stills

and installed them in Yerevan, believing that the unique high-altitude grapes of the Ararat Valley could produce a spirit to rival the French.

By 1899, the potential was so obvious that the Russian alcohol tycoon Nikolay Shustov acquired the factory. Shustov was a marketing genius. The guides tell the famous legend of the Paris Exhibition: Shustov submitted the Armenian brandy for a blind tasting. The French judges, astounded by the quality, awarded it the Grand Prix. The legend says they were so impressed that they granted Shustov the legal right to label his product "Cognac", a privilege usually reserved strictly for the French.

The guide took us through the entire chain of production. It became clear that Ararat isn't just "made"; it is engineered by nature and patience.

The process begins in the vineyards of the Ararat Valley and the Tavush region. The guide emphasized that Ararat uses only endemic Armenian varieties. You won't find the standard French grapes here.

Here is the technical secret we learned: Steam Distillation.

While French Cognac is typically distilled over an open fire, Ararat uses steam.

One of the most impressive details is that the factory makes its own barrels.

Brandy leaves the barrel at a very high strength and must be diluted with water before bottling.

The legendary master blender Markar Sedrakyan insisted that they never use distilled ("dead") water. Instead, Ararat uses natural spring water from the Katnakhbyur source. The water is filtered but retains its natural minerals, which help the bouquet of the brandy "open up" in the glass.

The tour is haunted by the spirit of Markar Sedrakyan, the "Knight of Tasting." He served as the chief technologist from 1948 and created the brand's masterpieces: Akhtamar, Nairi, and Dvin.
The guide told us the tragic but triumphant story of his life: he was exiled to Siberia in 1947, only to be recalled by Stalin because the quality of the brandy had dropped without him. He returned to create the "Dvin" blend, which became a diplomatic icon.

We heard the famous story of Winston Churchill. As the legend goes, Stalin served Churchill the Dvin brandy at the Yalta Conference. Churchill loved it so much that he allegedly ordered 400 bottles a year for the rest of his life. While historians debate the paperwork, the factory holds onto this story as a testament to the brandy's power to cross political divides.

Finally, we turned our attention to the logo that crowns every bottle. In 2010, ARARAT adopted the Phoenix as its symbol. The choice was intentional. Just like the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, the brand follows a cycle of renewal. Oak barrels are never discarded. Once they have served their purpose, they are transformed and used as firewood in the creation of new barrels. This continuous process reflects the Phoenix’s meaning of rebirth, continuity, and respect for craftsmanship, values that lie at the heart of ARARAT brandy.