I don't usually associate all the words in the above title together. As a matter of fact, until Edgar Vardanian, the founder and owner of Ararat Import Export LLC provided us with samples, to tell the truth, I wasn't all that familiar with the creation of wine and spirit products through the healthy pomegranate.

A Little Pomegranate History
As it turns out, the pomegranate is historic in origin and today is considered a super food. The pomegranate can be traced back to the Bronze Age and ancient Persia and has been cultivated in Georgia, Armenia and the Mediterranean region for several millennia. The word "pomegranate" derives from the Latin pomum ("apple") and granatus ("seeded"). Its super food status comes from the abundant polyphenols called punicalagins found in its juice. Laboratory studies have shown these to have potent free-radical scavenging properties that increase plasma antioxidant capacity. Preliminary laboratory research and human pilot studies indicate that pomegranate juice has been found effective in reducing heart disease risk factors, artherosclerosis, osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease, lowers systolic blood pressure and may even be effective against prostate cancer. The juice may also have antiviral and antibacterial effects against dental plaque.

About Ararat Import Export LLC
Edgar Vardanian is an Armenian living in Charlotte, North Carolina who grew up in Armenia enjoying the many forms of distilled pomegranate juice. The former ballet dancer met future partner Heather Eberhardt while working together in the Carolina Ballet Company when they decided to travel to Edgarís home country. It was there that Heather fell in love with the pomegranate based products and persuaded Edgar to import them into the United States.

According to Edgar, people in Armenia are renowned for their longevity and he attributes this to their love of the pomegranate. They also import numerous other products such as Armenian brandy, and wines from Spain, Chile and Argentina. Imports are currently available in 20 states and growing.

Armenian Viniculture Background
Armenia's viniculture history goes back past Biblical times, however Noah of Biblical Ark fame is credited with establishing the first vineyard in the Ararat Valley after the Flood. Excavations in this area have lent strong support to the theory that some of the very earliest systematic wine-growing did indeed arise here.

Industrial wine production in Armenia started in the 1870's. Armenian wine production was greatly developed during Soviet times and before 1995 the wine industry was represented only by state-owned wineries. Since then, however, fourteen out of thirty wineries have been privatized. There are currently 15,000 hectares of vineyards in Armenia.

The tasting panel at Food & Beverage International was privileged to sample some of these pomegranate centered Armenian products featured below: