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National funeral customs ethics of honoring the memory of the deceased has been preserved I Armenia. The ceremonies are arranged on the day of funeral, the next day, on the 7th day, the 40th day and the anniversary of death.
The households engaged in winemaking had a “khandzan”, grape wine press, near a house or in a garden. From inside they made a long tank from stones or bricks covered with strong whitewash; it had a slightly tilted bottom and a hole connected with a stone tub in the earth. Having taken off their clothes and washed their feet, men got inside and squashed the grapes. The resulting must was poured from the first tub into the second to be scooped and poured into “karases” (clay vessels) which were stored dug in the earth as it was accepted in Urartu. The wine was used for making vinegar and cake was used for making vodka in special wine-making devices.
Armenian grapes are special - with high sugar content and consequently more spirit. There such varieties as akhtanak, arena, cabernet, saperavi, kishmish, muscat, and rkatsiteli are cultivated. They are used for making fine sweet, semisweet and dry wines.
But nevertheless, the majority of us associate Armenia with cognac. The technology of cognac making is much more complicated, though. The industrial production of cognac was established only in the 19th century. Armenian cognac is made from high-quality selected grapes growing in Ararat Valley. Mekhali, kakhet, garan-dmak, voskeat, chilar – these grapes give the beverage that extraordinary velvet flavor, the taste of native land. In the course of the first fermentation the wine is made. Then this wine is exposed three-four distillations to obtain 60-70 percent alcohol. The alcohol is then poured into oak casks. The casks are very important in cognac manufacturing. Specially selected oak wood is delivered for their manufacturing from France, Russia or countries of Eastern Europe.
Alcohol is aged from 3 to 20 years in such casks. Only then skilled professionals blend cognac using 3, 5 or 6 cognac alcohols and spring water from Armenian mountains. Clear and transparent, it is the irreplaceable additive; without it the bouquet of aromas will be incomplete. And then, depending on quality of cognac, it is aged at least 12 months (for collection blends - at least 3 years) in old wooden casks before bottling. Cognac of Armenia is so good with its unique velvety chocolate taste that even Winston Churchill ordered up to 400 bottles on annual basis.
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