STORICA WINES Bringing their Story of Armenian Wines to the U.S. One Tasty Sip At a Time

STORICA WINES

Bringing their Story of Armenian Wines to the U.S. One Tasty Sip At a Time

With ancient grapes first cultivated for winemaking over 6,000 years ago, Armenian wines might be historic, but they are now becoming hip as well, thanks to New York native and co-founder of Storica Wines, Zack Armen. Despite being born and raised in the US, Armen was brought up to feel closely connected to his family’s Armenian culture. That familial feeling was forged even more while attending Armenian camps as a kid, and through his father's founding of the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) in 2001 to help children and communities in the rural regions of the country,

By Hillary Latos

Upon visiting his ancestral homeland over the years, Armen realized he didn’t just enjoy experiencing Armenian culture, but also tasting it. “During a trip to Armenia in 2017, I noticed that all of a sudden there was wine all over [Yerevan, Armenia's capital city], and it was really good,” explains Armen. “There was a burgeoning scene of wine bars serving Armenian wines and the government was really supporting growth in the winemaking industry. I noticed that winemakers of Armenian descent were coming into the country from around the world and that really got me intrigued.” During his trips, Armen forged a friendship with Vahe Keushguerian and his daughter Aimee, two of the leaders of this Armenian wine resurgence. Keushguerian had gained decades of experience creating wines in both Italy and France, including the famed Champagne region. According to this winemaking connoisseur, Armenia is the perfect mix of climate, precipitation, and elevation of vineyards, making it the newest wine wonder of the world. Armen was greatly impressed with how things were progressing and spent a lot of time with Vahe and Aimee learning the history of wine from Armenia, why there was hardly any history of Armenian winemaking in modern times, and what was now driving the growth in fine wine production in country.

“Armenia was a soviet satellite county for most of 1900s, during which time there was no high quality winemaking in the country,” says Armen. “The region, which is truly experiencing a wine renaissance, has mostly been known throughout its history for high-quality brandy. Vahe, as well as other winemakers, have spent time reinvigorating old vineyards, planting new vines, and re-discovering ancient indigenous grape varieties. They've also uncovered evidence that suggests these grapes have been growing for over 6,000 years in the region. They have since brought back vines that had survived the Soviet period and now have modern tanks and barrels and processing equipment to allow for scaled, high quality winemaking to occur. We started Storica Wines to bring these beautiful wines of Armenia to the US in a smart, comprehensive, and joyous way, accounting for the unique intricacy that is the US wine & spirits industry. We've hired a team of experienced professionals from the wine industry to generate awareness of the region and to support sales, distribution, and marketing activities for our portfolio of six Armenian wine brands.” Now that they are on the scene, Storica Wines is certainly leading the movement of educating others about the unique winemaking abilities of Armenia. Storica’s owns US national rights to six brands that they currently sell to distributors (or wholesalers), who are then licensed to sell in certain states. Most of their distributors sell the products into independent wine & spirits shops and restaurants, as well as retail chains. “Our wine team is made up of a regional manager who

maintains a relationship with distributors. We currently have 12 distributors, soon to be 14, who sell into 20 different states around the country. Our team is spread across New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Florida. We also have an online shop on our website where people in most states can order our wines to be shipped directly to their homes.”

While this past year was one of expansion, Storica is already looking towards the next steps of their successful journey. The current goal of this passionate import company is to expand their presence to more than 30 states by the end of this year. Top priority on the agenda is gearing up with Consortium, Storica's new distributor in Florida with a broad range of stores and restaurants in their network. Florida has a booming wine market and is the second highest consumption state in the country.

“We’re hoping to have more restaurants attracted to this portfolio by the end of this year and are focused on covering all of the major metro markets around the country. The wines are doing really well in all of our current markets, so we see huge upside in being more widely available around the US. Southern California has the largest population Armenian Americans, so we definitely are focused on growing our presence out west. I just hope that people continue to embrace the wines and the story. The reaction from consumers as well as sommeliers, Masters of Wine, and other wine trademembers around country has already been incredible.” Storica Wines is also dedicated to driving future economic development for Armenia and its wines, which is why they will be taking contingencies of key stakeholders including large hospitality groups, chains, and other large buyers to his homeland this year. “We want to bring them around to the wine regions and have them meet with the winemakers and get a firsthand look and feel of everything. This is important to our new category building efforts in the US.”

In addition to the passion he has for sharing the winemaking story of his cultural background, Zack also has a background in finance. Having worked on Wall Street, he is able to merge both of these interests and has remained diligent about financial projections and managing the company’s

cash flow. This has helped what started as a passion project to become a real company with a growing business. The company’s main investors include he and his father, and investments from angel investors within Armen's network who believe strongly in the Armenian wine story and, of course, the return potential of their investment. This energetic entrepreneur and his team are also gearing up to launch a new round of financing to continue to fuel its rapid growth.

The brand’s current palatable portfolio is made up of a diverse array of high-quality and affordable wines, though they also offer the rarer, more premium varieties for connoisseurs. The grapes – and potential for growth – are both ripe for Storica’s unlimited growth potential itself. They currently have six brands and 15 products with the goal of capping out at ten brands and up to 30 products over the next few years. Their strategy of the moment is to focus on building their presence and followers, and with the majority of the wines priced in the $15 to $20 price range, they are indeed able to offer varieties which are attractive to the American palette, while also differentiating themselves.

Right now the red grapes of Armenia – similar to those of a pinot noir - are all the rage – just try their fruity notes and cherry flavors and find out why. Enjoy the structure and dryness of this blend, which has much to do with the elevation of the vineyards in Armenia (between 1200 and 1800 meters above sea level). This makes for a more complex profile and big structure similar to a Cabernet Sauvignon, almost like a marriage between a Cab and Pinot Noir, both varieties which Americans know well. With a dry and complex flavor, Armenia's white wines have an aroma similar to a Chardonnay. There is even more good news for lovers of these A-list Armenian wines – additional grapes are in the process of being discovered and are ramping up their scale.

Aside from historic grapes and great variety, according to Armen, perhaps the most important secret sauce of Storica’s success is their stellar team. “It’s because of them that we can do what we do,” explains Armen. “They’re really passionate about what it takes to make it in the most competitive wine market in the world, and I just love to see how they have embraced this project and our mission to bring this into the US in a scaled manner. We recently hired Lisa Granik, one of only a few dozen Masters of Wine in the US -- an MW is basically the third degree black belt of wine experts. She’s spent so much time with our team and been digging into what we are doing, especially with our new distribution expansion in Florida. We went through all the wines and she is just so knowledgeable about this industry and is known as such a credible person in the wine industry. It’s a joy to see people like her recognize our wines for their quality. It’s a true pleasure to see our company make an impact and realize the vision we set out for every day. We have much to do but it's already been an incredible journey.”

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