Tushpa is named after Van — the ancient capital of the Urartu Kingdom, ancestral home of the family behind the winery. The name carries weight deliberately.
During the Soviet era, Armenia was designated as the brandy producer for the entire USSR. The grapes of the Ararat Valley, one of the oldest wine regions on earth, went into brandy for decades. The tradition of making actual wine had to be kept alive quietly, in family cellars, passed from one generation to the next. That's exactly what this family did. When independence came in 1991, Tushpa was ready.
The winery sits below Mt. Ararat at 800 metres above sea level, on clay and volcanic soils. Indigenous varieties — Haghtanak and Kangun — that have grown in this valley for millennia. Spontaneous fermentation, traditional clay vessels called karases, Caucasian oak. No shortcuts. The result is wine that is honest, rooted, and alive.
The Pet Nat series is where the experimentation lives — exploring rare Armenian grapes with the same instinct and the same soils. Lighter, wilder, and just as rooted in place.
