Parfianka Pomegranate

Parfianka was bred by Dr. Gregory Levin, a prominent Soviet-era Russian pomologist, at the Garrygala Fruit Research Station in Turkmenistan, located in the foothills of the Köpet Dag mountain range. Levin named the variety after Parthia, the ancient empire that once occupied the region where the research station stands. Genuinely well-regarded among American home growers, Parfianka consistently outperforms even Wonderful in blind flavor comparisons and University of California, Davis taste trials, despite never approaching Wonderful's commercial market share — it remains a minority home-orchard favorite rather than a commercial crop, in part because its fruit is smaller and less visually uniform than Wonderful's.