Since the end of the Soviet Union and the independence of Azerbaijan, many attempts have been made to revive and modernize the Azerbaijani wine industry. Today vineyards are found in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains and the Kur-Araz lowlands near the Kura River. In the 21st century, Ganja, Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhchivan have emerged as centers of wine production in the region.