Dizzy with cognac: even rain will not sober up (video)
In the morning of the first Sunday of May, the smell of cognac was mixed with the smell of soil, still bearing humidity of night rain. Police whistle is trying to regulate traffic jam unusual for Tsaghkadzor. Police car didn’t sober passengers of cars reaching the closed street, but served them as a guide. Each turn of the roulette is followed by a scream of happiness, when a sip of cognac burns the throat. The screams are getting so loud, that people from neighboring stalls, having forgotten about their customers, are trying to guess the reason, which isn’t hard to guess anyway; another visitor of Armenian Cognac Festival is lucky, as he got not tea or an empty cup, but cognac as a result of roulette’s turn. Many tourists want to take a picture with the representatives of Stepanakert brandy factory. They differ with their clothes. Alexander Alojants, representative of the factory, says that Cognac Festival is a good chance to present their production to consumers and consumers have a good chance to buy drinks at lower price. The companies participating in the festival knew beforehand that visitors will be experts and will be familiar with the main assortment. But white cognac surprised even the experts. Arthur Nersisyan, Director of “VS and Ani Yard SA” company, says that preparation of white cognac took three years. By the way, cognac producers don’t want to speak of the problems; they don’t complain of volumes of exportation, though, it isn’t a secret that production under the name “Cognac” is hard to consume in European market, as French people try to introduce cognac as a national brand to the whole world. Very often Armenian cognac is sold in the European market under brand of brandy. Similarity of friend and cognac 90-year-old Yerevan resident Tsolak Hayrapetyan is well aware of the value of cognac. He states that it is not only pleasant for palate, but also, “Armenia can defeat the whole world with its cognac.” In this case he advises to trust in his life experience. Arsen Hakheyan enjoys Sunday with his friends with a bottle of “Aghtamar”. “Cognac is like an old friend, that’s why its old is good,” he says, though, he doesn’t share the viewpoint that old productions were better, as now technologies are more developed. He has a collection of cognacs, which first bottle was obtained in 1973. This collection also includes “Artsakh” cognac produced in 1993. In reply to the question how he resists the temptation to open those bottles, he smiles, “I have several examples from the same type. When I cannot resist, I open them.” Oksana Areyants clearly knows which stalls to approach. She prefers “Noy” cognac. She came from Yekaterinburg together with her husband especially for this festival. She says that she saw the advertisement on the Internet and decided to spend May holidays in Armenia. Though her surname is Armenian, Oksana doesn’t speak Armenian. Besides, the woman living in Russia only last autumn found out Armenian wines, though, they have already become inseparable part of their festive tables. Oksana Areyants is surprised why until now Armenia hasn’t used the potential of wine and cognac production for developing tourism. Armine Khachatryan, Director of Armenian Charitable Foundation for Tourism Development, organizer of the festival, was touring around the stalls. She says that they intentionally organized the festival especially in May and in Tsaghkadzor. Tsaghkadzor should attract tourists not only during winter. May holidays are a good chance so that Russian tourists visit Armenia. Though the main target of the festival was Russians, there were also many tourists from other countries. The organizers were pleased with the flow of tourists, but Tsaghkadzor residents are ready to host more visitors. “The more tourists come, the more Tsaghkadzor residents will develop and become Europeans, even better than Europeans,” says Tsaghkadzor resident Ladik Tovmasyan. Rescuer and rain During second half of the day thunderstorm bursts in Tsaghkadzor; the square is empting for half an hour and the visitors find shelter in nearby restaurants. About 30 volunteers of the festival, who got wet from the rain, are hosted and served tea in the small room of the hotel belonging to Hovhannes Poghosyan, who is entrusted with the preparation of stalls. “So I have a profession of a rescuer,” he explains his hospitality. It is again raining in the evening, but no one is trying to hide. Under the rain Tsakhkadzor residents and guests enjoy the song of Iveta Mukuchyan.
