The History of the Barrow – Surrounded by the old vineyards lays a Scythian barrow, where, in 1959, researchers reportedly found an amphora with wine sediment. This story serves as the tie which links Arba to winemaking through the ages. It reminds Arba of the tales of Queen Tomiris drowning her enemy in the bowl of wine, ancient caravans along the Silk Way carrying amphorae of wine from Greece and Caucasus, and poems by Omar Khayyam about wine.

Arba wine founder: Zeinulla Kakimzhanov

In 2006 when Zeinulla first started restoring the vineyards he dreamed of Burgundy ore Alsace. The beautiful places in the world greatest wine region. Zeinulla wanted to create the same culture in his own country Kazakhstan. It was experts from Europe who told that Assa valley, a cool, high, and sunny mountain terroir which produces grapes of the best quality. Since then Arba wines has got international awards, and glowing reviews. Arba exports today to China, England , Italy, and now even a test shipment Sweden. We believe that Arba Wine are pioneers of fine wine producion in Kazakhstan. The dream is that the wines will be on the list with the best wines in the world. The founder of Arba wine showed us the way. We did winetasting at Arba Wine. Contact information is included in the link to Arba wine homepage:

Arba wine

Arba wine usually start to harvest during the last 10 days of August and complete the process in the middle of October. As is the case with all of the technological procedures, the harvesting is conducted manually. August and September in the regions are usually hot, but thankfully they are very dry. Dryness from August to October plays to them advantage, as it allows Arba to efficiently harvest the grapes that are dry and not damaged by rain. In many countries, rain significantly affects the quality and timeframe of harvesting. As the grape varieties mature one after another, the harvest period is one of the busiest, and Arba are required to attract city workers and part-time employees. During this period, the cantine works 24/7.

Charyn Canyon (also known as Sharyn Canyon, is a canyon on the Sharyn River in Kazakhstan (200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Almaty, close to the Chinese border). The canyon is roughly 90 kilometres (56 mi) in length. It is part of the Charyn National Park (established on 23 February 2004), and is located within the territory of the Uygur District, Raiymbek District and Enbekshikazakh District (of the Almaty Province). Over time, the canyon has gained colorful formations of varying shapes and sizes. Though it is much smaller than the Grand Canyon, it has been described as being equally impressive.

For a million years, wind and water sculpted Charyn’s red sandstone to form today’s fantastical shapes and shadows. We came here to get to see the great wonder of the area, and we where not disappoined. Besides sightseeing and photography, the Charyn area offers many opportunities for walking, and rafting, as well as off-road jeep touring, and simply enjoying beautiful nature.

The history of Charyn canyon stretches back 12 million years, when the river started slowly eroding the stone around it. The oldest, darkest layers at the bottom of the canyons are volcanic lava rocks, on top of which debris slowly accumulated to form natural sculptures. Once upon a time, a vast forest of Sogdian ash trees covered the whole area. The forest did not survive the change to a drier climate, and now only relic populations of the prehistoric, thick-as-baobab Sogdian ashes are left.

Lizards, snakes, steppe hares, foxes and especially groundhogs thrive here. There is also a renegade camel that calls Charyn home. The Charyn river is also home to an endemic fish called the naked osman. We recommend a visit to this unique and fantastic place of nature.