People say that it is impolite to ask a woman’s age, but not in this case. 82 year-old Angin Nikolaevna (all the former employees of the “Ararat”company used to call her that) was looking for some documents with her trembling hands, especially the ones that qualified her as a first class wine maker.
– How did you choose this profession?
– At first I entered the Middle Eastern sciences faculty of the State University. Later I met the former deputy rector of the Agricultural University, academician Aghadjanyan, who offered some of my classmates and me to transfer to the newly opened wine making faculty of their university. He said, “You will bless me later”. I transferred there without thinking twice.
– Did you bless him later?
– Yes, because later I liked my work very much. After graduating from the university in 1947 I worked at the “Kheres” wine factory in the city of Ashtarak as head of reproduction department till 1960. Later, I went on to work at the Echmiadzin city wine factory till 1990 as a senior wine maker.
– Mrs. Angin, I know that you have not joined the Communists’ party. How could you succeed in that period being nonpartisan and woman?
– I don’t know why but back then officials always helped me. In this connection I remember when the director of our company was offered the position of the Yerevan Champagne factory director (of course he refused), the staff suggested me to work in that position. I refused that offer by saying that I was nonpartisan. The secretary of the regional board was surprised and said, “What is the problem? We will solve it in a day.” Anyway I didn’t agree and worked in that factory till I retired in 1990.
– How long would you be able to work there if you didn’t retire?
– Of course I didn’t want to retire because I can work now too.
– There were a lot of men in your staff. Do you remember having any conflicts with them?
– If it were like that we would not be able to work because all the other department heads were men. As for our factory, it was one of the leading factories. And generally this field was a leading one and was representing our country abroad. The head of the ministers’ council back then used to call everyone and order them to produce more in order to reach the planned capacity. That is why we used to work all day long. And now when I hear how much grape the Yerevan brandy factory buys I feel pity, because we used to produce that capacity in a day. Our wine factory often invited guests. And the hall where they were taken to was furnished by me. Singer Rosi Armen, who was a rare guest back then, visited our factory too and told the men that had gathered around, “Armenian men are so immature!”
– What kind of influence has your work had on your family?
– My work has always been a priority all my life. My husband and children have always understood me. Of course my sister helped me a lot with our communal expenses and I could hardly be able to work without her help (her daughters were laughing because their teacher had never seen their mother – S.A.).
– As a professional, what do you think, is today’s wine worse than the wine back then?
– I can’t buy all brandies with the money I get now. As for wines, I think the best wine is the wine produced by “Vedi Alco”. I remember when I was waiting for winter impatiently so I could drink the wine that I had made because mine will always differ from the rest. I remember that Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen the 1st used to drink only the wine that I made and also invited his guests to our factory. Someone has even gambled and won with the help of my wine. But of course he doesn’t remember me any more. I used to meet a lot of officials, but now after my retirement no one remembers me. Besides being a professional wine maker, I am also a citizen of Arabkir community that has been around for more than 50 years. The only person that has helped me is the head of Arabkir community municipality, Hovhannes Shahinyan.
– How did you become a member of the international commission of wine tasters?
– The first international tasting competition in the USSR was organized in 1970. Five participants were representing Armenia. 27 countries were participating in that competition. I remember when during the tasting process everyone was looking at Margar Sedrakich because he knew our product very well. And when trying our wines he was making a hint so to make us understand that he was trying our products in order to give high marks. Of course these five participants helped but didn’t play a key role. Our products won golden medals. And I remember once, the head of the commission drank our “Dvin” cognac, stood up and said, “You shouldn’t just drink this brandy, you should drink it wholeheartedly”.
– What do you think about the new “Patchik”( “Kiss”) and “Zokanch” (“mother-in-law”) wines?
– Wine production is serious and we know how Armenians refer to mother-in-laws, this is a joke. Of course, they are the ones who decide the name their product.
– Which cognacs are considered good and how are they kept?
– Usually good brandies are made of 15-20 years old alcohol and are kept in special places and conditions. Good brandy has good flavor. And the more it is kept the better its quality. The secret of Armenian brandy is the Armenian sun, land and water, which create special taste. Of course I don’t think that today’s good brandy is made of old alcohol no matter what they write on the label.
– What about wines?
– Whereas you can make brandy after some procedures, I can’t say the same about wine. You can’t make it in a short period of time. It has to be kept for a long period, and even for several years. As for today’s wine, it can only be considered to be a wine to be stored in the collection after being kept for ten years.