Our Story

Behind The
Name

/SHōˈfər,ˈSHōfər/ | chauf·feur

Shofer, the Armenian word for “chauffeur,” features the emblematic Soviet-era Lada car, used near-exclusively by the country’s cabbies. Like in many countries, these drivers are a lively bunch: equal parts welcoming, efficient, boisterous, and opinionated. They take pride in showing newcomers the richness of their homeland, and in facilitating everyday life in Armenia’s towns and cities. Like the Shofers, our wines are made to transport adventurous spirits to regions unknown and to celebrate the new and memorable.

Shofer Rosé is firmly rooted in ancient wine-making heritage but, like our travelers, remains highly evolved with a fresh perspective in approach and taste. Shofer doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should you.

For every bottle or glass of wine we sell in the US, we are turning a new person’s attention to a little known place in the world that has historically been known for attacks on its land and culture from its nearby neighbors.

The Label

The Lada car is part of Armenian culture in more ways than its ubiquity among its drivers: it is a symbol of Armenia’s past as a Soviet satellite country, but has persisted through its newest chapter as an independent republic. These cars break down constantly but never die, and are dependable in the varying weather conditions and terrain of Armenia. Sometimes, particularly in rural towns, you’ll see a Lada car transporting fruits, vegetables, or bags of nuts and grains from farmers to stores or markets; you may even see one herding livestock out of harm’s way on a rural highway road. The Lada car is more than a means of transportation: making it the core component of our Shofer logo was important to us, along with giving it a vibrant, colorful look!

The “SHOFER” logo is written in the same font of the license plates found in Armenia, and much of Eastern Europe. If you look closely, you can see the letters “AM” written in the bottom right corner of the logo; “AM” is the country code for “Armenia,” and appears on all license plates of registered vehicles in the country. We thought this would be a nice design element, and another call out of the land our juice comes from.

Lastly, the landscape on the back of the label is inspired by Khor Virap, an important cultural and religious site for Armenians, located in the Ararat plain in Armenia.

We hope you find the label as fun and interesting as the wine itself – please let us know what you think in our Contact Us section, or through our Instagram handle @drinkshofer!