Aimee Keushguerian grew up in Tuscany surrounded by her family’s wine business, but it was during her first harvest with Keush in 2016 that she discovered her passion for winemaking. She began her career at WineWorks, the winery incubator founded by her father in Armenia, where she also helped build Keush, the country’s first traditional-method sparkling wine brand. She later founded Zulal Wines, dedicated to small-batch expressions of Armenia’s rare and indigenous grape varieties, and served as Riedel’s Ambassador to Armenia.
Aimee holds an MBA in Wine & Spirits from the Burgundy School of Business, where she deepened her understanding of regional identity and terroir. She has worked with lesser-known native grapes such as Chilar, Tozot, and Garan Dmak, exploring their potential while staying rooted in Armenia’s heritage.
She is featured in A Cup of Salvation, the SOMM TV documentary longlisted for the Academy Awards, which follows her and her father’s efforts to make wine in both Armenia and Iran.
Media Inquiries: Elisa Fershtadt ef3616@gmail.com | https://zulalwines.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
We source our grapes from vineyards that lie just a stone’s throw from the Areni-1 cave. It is the world’s oldest known winemaking facility, dating back over 6,000 years. This proximity invites a powerful reflection and dedication. If vitis vinifera originated in this region, and humans were making wine here millennia ago without modern tools or science, then there must be something inherently special about our soils, climate, and native grape varieties.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
If there were no time constraints, I would establish a fully dedicated experimental vineyard in Armenia to advance research on our indigenous grape varieties, especially Areni. This vineyard would serve as a living laboratory, where we could trial different Areni clones, planting densities, canopy and pruning techniques, CO2 management, and water retention methods, while systematically tracking the outcomes over time.
If risk weren’t a limiting factor, I would go even further, searching for grape varieties on the brink of extinction in regions affected by conflict and war, with the goal of preserving them. In places like Jordan, where winemaking once flourished, centuries of occupation has erased both native grape material and the culture. Countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, may have ancient vines that have yet to be studied or protected. Starting wine projects from these regions and grapes is a form of soft power against extremist regimes spreading extreme cultural norms.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
Our Areni. It’s Armenia’s flagship red variety, and I think it really reflects Zulal’s mission to showcase indigenous grapes with clarity, purity, and a deep respect for terroir. The grapes come from small, family-owned vineyards in Vayots Dzor that are 50-70 years old. Situated between 1,400 and 1,500 meters above sea level and completely ungrafted. Read our review of the Areni Reserve here.
Bonus Question: Why Winemaking?
I never set out to work in wine or follow in my father’s footsteps, even though I grew up in a winemaking family and wine was always part of daily life. In college, I focused on economic development, with a strong interest in supporting rural communities through social entrepreneurship. But during my first harvest with Keush, I saw firsthand how the wine industry in Armenia was helping to revive abandoned vineyards and bring economic opportunity back to border villages. I realized then that winemaking, especially in this context, is both complex and deeply purposeful.