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20 YEARS LATER: YEREVAN NATIVE RETURNS TO PUT DOWN ROOTS AND MAKE WINE
Sona Avagyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/20264/20-years-later-yerevan-native-returns-to-put-down-roots-and-make-wine.html
13:51, November 6, 2012
After twenty years of living in the U.S., Varuzhan Mouradian has
returned to Armenia for good.
A Yerevan native who races his roots to Van, Varuzhan has brought
his wife and four children with him. He says it would be a mistake
to remain in the States even though that country has given him much.
~SSlowly, I have to put down roots here for good. After all, a person
can only feel happier on his own soil. I constantly surprised by
people who are amazed that I have returned. Hopefully, what I have
done will be regarded as natural and will be duplicated on a massive
scale,~T says Varuzhan, who was a CPA back in Glendale.
He opened his own company and has left it in the hands of his partner.
Varuzhan started making plans to return ten years ago. In his recent
years, the family would spend their summer vacations in Armenia so
that the children could see Armenia for themselves and integrate into
the local lifestyle.
Back in the States, Varuzhan immersed himself in viticulture. He
travelled to the wine centers of the U.S., France and Italy and took
courses in wine making at U.C. Davis. Varuzhan was thinking of buying
land in Santa Barbara but changed his mind and decided to invest his
money in Armenia. He~Rs purchased land in the Sasounik village in
Aragatzotn Marz.
~SMy aim is to change my profession and to start growing grapes. Many
can~Rt understand how I could leave my warm and secure office in
America, come here, and get involved in work that is quite demanding
and labor intensive. My friends who knew about the project really
pitied me when they saw the poor state of the land on which I would
have to make my dream come true. However surprising it may sound, their
troubled faces strengthened my backbone to confidently persevere,~T
Varuzhan recounts.
This is the land on which Varuzhan Mouradian will build his dream
wine taverna/factory
6.5 hectares of the sixty hectares he purchased has been planted
with wine grape varieties. His ultimate vision is to build a small
wine wine taverna/ production plant. The preliminary work is near
completion. It will be a multi-functional site with a wine tasting
hall, a wine cellar, so that visitors can see how the entire process
from grape to wine unfolds. There~Rll be a parking lot, fountains
and even horses. It will also serve as a club where jazz concerts
and harvest festivals will be organized.
~SIt~Rs not just a business but a way of life. At first, I approached
it as a hobby but later I was confident enough to invest a good deal of
love and work into it, knowing that in the end it would be successful.
It~Rs become the most important project in my life, something that
my children can carry on.~T
When I ask Varuzhan if he~Rs taken into account the risks of starting
a business in Armenia, the vintner says there~Rs risks in any new
business and you can~Rt foresee them all.
~SThe first question they ask me in the diaspora is ~Qwon~Rt they
create trouble for you in Armenia?~R I tell them so far I~Rve
only been helped, not hindered. So what if one day I meet up with
a trouble-maker?
Should I get disillusioned and leave Armenia? Of course not. Each
country has its own particular business climate. Just take the
government bureaucracy in France for example. Should that make someone
starting a business in France to declare that the country isn~Rt a
good business location?~T
Varuzhan says that wines produced in Armenia are looked down upon in
Los Angeles. Most of the wine exported from Armenia is purchased by
the Armenian market there. It~Rs really not up to American standards.
Armenia, he says, isn~Rt even marked on the maps showing international
wine making nations.
He says that things are slowly changing for the better in terms of
crafting quality Armenian wines.
Tracing his family tree back to Van, Varuzhan wants to study the grape
varieties and wine making techniques the Vasbourakan region was once
famous for under the Armenian rulers of the day.
Four years ago, when Varuzhan served as president of the Vasbourakan
Compatriotic Union in Los Angeles, he and several members travelled
to Western Armenia, including Van. Next year, he wants to visit the
villages of Van to see if any old grape varieties are still grown.
The vineyards in Sasounik
~SSadly, there isn~Rt much available literature about wine making in
Van, but being a grandson of Van I have set out to do more research.
Let~Rs see what happens,~T Varuzhan says.
Varuzhan says that there are many positive aspects of American life
he~Rd like to see here in Armenia. He mentions the comfortable roads
first of all. He~Rd also like to see more smiles on the faces of
people in Armenia rather than scowls, and for people to be a bit more
tolerant and good-natured towards others.
~SI~Rm not a newcomer and am fully aware of everything here. If
need be, I could count off more complaints and negative things than
the complainers I met. Can you name a country where corruption and
monopolies don~Rt exist? They will not disappear on their own. We
have to work together to remove them,~T Varuzhan says.
While he accepts the important role the Armenian Apostolic Church plays
in the diaspora, at the same time he can~Rt understand why millions of
dollars are being spent to build churches in foreign lands. Varuzhan
believes that the spiritual needs of diaspora Armenians could be
satisfied with more modest means and the vast savings directed
towards Armenia. A million dollars each could be thus invested in
border villages to build or renovate a school or small factory.
~SThe fact remains that in 3-4 generations Armenians in the diaspora
will cease being Armenian. They~Rre only kidding themselves when they
talk about preserving Armenian identify in the diaspora. Tragically,
the diaspora is already on the road of extinction,~T Varuzhan says,
noting the diaspora communities that already have assimilated.
When I commented that Armenians from the diaspora don~Rt come to
Armenia due to a lack of jobs, while at the same time local Armenians
are leaving, Varuzhan said those moving to the States won~Rt find many
offering them jobs right off the bat in these troubled economic times.
Ending on a positive note, Varuzhan believes there are many in Los
Angeles who want to relocate to Armenia. What~Rs preventing them from
making the move is the lack of social justice in Armenia and their
own tight financial resources.
From: Baghdasarian
Sona Avagyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/20264/20-years-later-yerevan-native-returns-to-put-down-roots-and-make-wine.html
13:51, November 6, 2012
After twenty years of living in the U.S., Varuzhan Mouradian has
returned to Armenia for good.
A Yerevan native who races his roots to Van, Varuzhan has brought
his wife and four children with him. He says it would be a mistake
to remain in the States even though that country has given him much.
~SSlowly, I have to put down roots here for good. After all, a person
can only feel happier on his own soil. I constantly surprised by
people who are amazed that I have returned. Hopefully, what I have
done will be regarded as natural and will be duplicated on a massive
scale,~T says Varuzhan, who was a CPA back in Glendale.
He opened his own company and has left it in the hands of his partner.
Varuzhan started making plans to return ten years ago. In his recent
years, the family would spend their summer vacations in Armenia so
that the children could see Armenia for themselves and integrate into
the local lifestyle.
Back in the States, Varuzhan immersed himself in viticulture. He
travelled to the wine centers of the U.S., France and Italy and took
courses in wine making at U.C. Davis. Varuzhan was thinking of buying
land in Santa Barbara but changed his mind and decided to invest his
money in Armenia. He~Rs purchased land in the Sasounik village in
Aragatzotn Marz.
~SMy aim is to change my profession and to start growing grapes. Many
can~Rt understand how I could leave my warm and secure office in
America, come here, and get involved in work that is quite demanding
and labor intensive. My friends who knew about the project really
pitied me when they saw the poor state of the land on which I would
have to make my dream come true. However surprising it may sound, their
troubled faces strengthened my backbone to confidently persevere,~T
Varuzhan recounts.
This is the land on which Varuzhan Mouradian will build his dream
wine taverna/factory
6.5 hectares of the sixty hectares he purchased has been planted
with wine grape varieties. His ultimate vision is to build a small
wine wine taverna/ production plant. The preliminary work is near
completion. It will be a multi-functional site with a wine tasting
hall, a wine cellar, so that visitors can see how the entire process
from grape to wine unfolds. There~Rll be a parking lot, fountains
and even horses. It will also serve as a club where jazz concerts
and harvest festivals will be organized.
~SIt~Rs not just a business but a way of life. At first, I approached
it as a hobby but later I was confident enough to invest a good deal of
love and work into it, knowing that in the end it would be successful.
It~Rs become the most important project in my life, something that
my children can carry on.~T
When I ask Varuzhan if he~Rs taken into account the risks of starting
a business in Armenia, the vintner says there~Rs risks in any new
business and you can~Rt foresee them all.
~SThe first question they ask me in the diaspora is ~Qwon~Rt they
create trouble for you in Armenia?~R I tell them so far I~Rve
only been helped, not hindered. So what if one day I meet up with
a trouble-maker?
Should I get disillusioned and leave Armenia? Of course not. Each
country has its own particular business climate. Just take the
government bureaucracy in France for example. Should that make someone
starting a business in France to declare that the country isn~Rt a
good business location?~T
Varuzhan says that wines produced in Armenia are looked down upon in
Los Angeles. Most of the wine exported from Armenia is purchased by
the Armenian market there. It~Rs really not up to American standards.
Armenia, he says, isn~Rt even marked on the maps showing international
wine making nations.
He says that things are slowly changing for the better in terms of
crafting quality Armenian wines.
Tracing his family tree back to Van, Varuzhan wants to study the grape
varieties and wine making techniques the Vasbourakan region was once
famous for under the Armenian rulers of the day.
Four years ago, when Varuzhan served as president of the Vasbourakan
Compatriotic Union in Los Angeles, he and several members travelled
to Western Armenia, including Van. Next year, he wants to visit the
villages of Van to see if any old grape varieties are still grown.
The vineyards in Sasounik
~SSadly, there isn~Rt much available literature about wine making in
Van, but being a grandson of Van I have set out to do more research.
Let~Rs see what happens,~T Varuzhan says.
Varuzhan says that there are many positive aspects of American life
he~Rd like to see here in Armenia. He mentions the comfortable roads
first of all. He~Rd also like to see more smiles on the faces of
people in Armenia rather than scowls, and for people to be a bit more
tolerant and good-natured towards others.
~SI~Rm not a newcomer and am fully aware of everything here. If
need be, I could count off more complaints and negative things than
the complainers I met. Can you name a country where corruption and
monopolies don~Rt exist? They will not disappear on their own. We
have to work together to remove them,~T Varuzhan says.
While he accepts the important role the Armenian Apostolic Church plays
in the diaspora, at the same time he can~Rt understand why millions of
dollars are being spent to build churches in foreign lands. Varuzhan
believes that the spiritual needs of diaspora Armenians could be
satisfied with more modest means and the vast savings directed
towards Armenia. A million dollars each could be thus invested in
border villages to build or renovate a school or small factory.
~SThe fact remains that in 3-4 generations Armenians in the diaspora
will cease being Armenian. They~Rre only kidding themselves when they
talk about preserving Armenian identify in the diaspora. Tragically,
the diaspora is already on the road of extinction,~T Varuzhan says,
noting the diaspora communities that already have assimilated.
When I commented that Armenians from the diaspora don~Rt come to
Armenia due to a lack of jobs, while at the same time local Armenians
are leaving, Varuzhan said those moving to the States won~Rt find many
offering them jobs right off the bat in these troubled economic times.
Ending on a positive note, Varuzhan believes there are many in Los
Angeles who want to relocate to Armenia. What~Rs preventing them from
making the move is the lack of social justice in Armenia and their
own tight financial resources.
From: Baghdasarian