Azerbaijan makes more wine than it can reasonably drink, in more styles than any single guide can carry. This almanac is our reading of it. 5 regions, ranked the way we'd visit them; the houses our critics keep returning to; and a short list of restaurants where we'd spend the evening.
Femente · Country Almanac
A wine guide toAzerbaijan
Azerbaijan
5
17
14
The country, in numbers and adjectives.
The terroirs, by hand.
4 regions worth the trip first — chosen by the Femente desk for the houses we’d open with, the variety of styles within each, and the cooking that grew up around them.
Wine of Azerbaijan
The Caucasus heat strips tannins bare and pushes ripeness hard; producers here chase either brutal density or the cool-ferment restraint…
Shamakhi
The Caucasus foothills pull cold nights into a continental climate where white grapes hold their acid and reds ripen into silky,…
Gabala
The high plateaus of Gabala strip back the richness that altitude usually grants; here, cool nights and volcanic soils push white wines…
Ismaily
Ismaily pulls tension between ripe, extracted reds and mineral whites that seem to resist warmth—a region where restraint and ripeness…
The houses that keep showing up.
2 Azerbaijan estates the prestige critics have agreed on — ordered by the count of 95+ scores across Vinous, Decanter, Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator.
Where to spend the evening.
12 rooms across Azerbaijan our editors keep coming back to — chosen for the cooking and the wine list, in that order.
TohQa
Traditional · Ethnic Fusion — Baku
92
Volare
Italian Style — Baku
40
Cafe cannelle
Cafe Concept · European — Baku
40
Pizzeria Sheki Chef 🍕
Pizza · European · Traditional — Baku
40
Circle Restaurant & Music hall
Grill · Middle Eastern · Traditional — Baku
40
FUGA
Street Food · Ethnic Fusion · Modern — Baku
40
Beer Loft
Grill · European — Baku
40
Xemse Garden | Ailəvi restoran | Banket | Şou proqram
Grill · European · Traditional — Baku
40
AEF RESTAURANT-SPORT BAR
Grill · Middle Eastern · Traditional — Bayil Settlement
40
Restaurant & Lounge
European · Ethnic Fusion — Baku
40
Vogue Baku Restaurant
Modern · European — Baku
40
Gilyad
Traditional · Middle Eastern — Lerik
40
Add Azerbaijan to your cellar journal — or pick a region and start walking.
A short note in your inbox when we add a new region, find a winery worth crossing town for, or open a tasting we’d send you to. No noise. Just the ones we’d book ourselves.