Winemaking in war time

In the early hours of 28 August 2025, in one of Russia’s largest drone and missile attacks of the war, a drone ploughed into the distribution warehouse of Pilot’s Wines in Kyiv. The explosion left a smouldering mess of twisted metal and shattered glass.

Economic losses aside, ‘nearly all sample bottles that had received Decanter and other awards’ were destroyed, which was ‘especially painful’, company representative Olena Sizarova told Decanter.

‘These bottles were… part of our brand’s history. We planned to use them for professional tastings, masterclasses, staff training and presentations. We wanted Ukrainian consumers to taste the very wines that had been recognised by experts.’

The attack was only the latest in a seemingly endless series of blows to the wine industry in Ukraine. Since the war began, wineries have been bombed, occupied or abandoned. Supply chains have been upended and employees have fled or joined the fight against Russia.

Ukraine’s preeminent sparkling wine producer, Artwinery, had to relocate from the eastern city of Bakhmut, which now lies in ruin. At Koblevo winery in the Mykolaiv region, Russian paratroopers reportedly landed in the vineyards.

At nearby Beykush winery on the south coast, Russian troops are only about 8km away on a strip of land across the water, from where they routinely shell Ukrainian towns and villages.

Yet throughout the nearly four years of grinding war, Beykush has not ceased production, and a new wave of small independent wineries like it are radically reshaping the Ukrainian wine scene.

Finding a way ‘out’

The conflict has not only highlighted the resilience of Ukraine’s wine producers, it has also catalysed change and spurred wineries to look abroad, according to Svitlana Tsybak, Beykush’s CEO and head of the Ukrainian Association of Craft Winemakers.

She recently had to deal with the theft of thousands of bottles of Ukrainian wine in the UK from the back of a lorry bound for London City Bond.

After Russia’s 2022 invasion there were tight liquor restrictions. ‘I decided at the time to switch my focus to export markets, which helped us survive,’ said Tsybak. Other wineries did the same.

‘Before the full-scale war, small wineries didn’t export, except for a few bottles here and there, because the domestic market was the main market.’

In the weeks after Russia invaded, Tsybak, whose husband is a former sommelier serving in Ukraine’s armed forces, frantically set out to find new overseas buyers and promote an industry facing an existential threat.

That year, Beykush was short of staff and couldn’t bottle its latest vintage because of a lack of glass. But the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), judged in London, were approaching, which Tsybak felt was an unmissable opportunity to showcase Ukraine’s top wines.

Amid the chaos and clogged borders, Tsybak couldn’t ship wines that were already registered for export from Ukraine and the window for awards entries was about to close.

With the help of a friend, she managed to get samples out of the country to Hungary and from there an acquaintance from the UK carried them back in two suitcases and delivered them to the Decanter warehouse.

The effort paid off. Beykush’s 2019 Reserve Chardonnay won a gold medal at the awards that year.

A Ukrainian wine list

Two years later, in the spring of 2024, Polish Master of Wine Wojciech Bońkowski set off for western Ukraine with wine exporter and former global marketing director for New Zealand Winegrowers Chris Yorke (currently CEO of Wines of Austria), whom Bońkowski credits with the boom in New Zealand wine exports.

Bońkowski and Yorke held a two-day tasting involving winemakers from across Ukraine. ‘One idea that emerged was that a competition is a very useful tool to select the best wines and showcase the country,’ Bońkowski said. He is also the regional chair of Central and Eastern Europe at DWWA. He envisioned 24 leading Ukrainian wines that could serve as a ‘presentable shortlist of wine to show in any country’.

At a tasting in Warsaw that July, Bońkowski and five other MWs came up with the list, which included sparkling, orange and late-harvest wines, capturing the rich array of styles, varietals and terroir in a region with an ancient winemaking tradition.

Booming small-scale wineries

Meanwhile, Tsybak pointed to the rising number of small-scale wineries as evidence of green shoots in Ukraine’s wine sector.

‘New family-owned wineries are opening every year, and about twenty opened last year. They’re small wineries, producing a few thousand bottles a year,’ she explained.

Her association now represents nearly 80 small-scale wineries and their exports are steadily growing. But the bigger picture is complex. The loss of the Russian market meant a dramatic decline in overall exports – from about $38m in 2017 to only around $9m in 2022, according to Ukraine’s state customs service. Bulk wine from big producers accounted for much of that.

According to Tsybak, boutique wineries entering new markets are now driving the rebound in foreign sales. Still, international consumers are yet to fully appreciate Ukraine’s wine heritage, she added. ‘I participated in many wine events in many countries, and you usually get the same question: Ukraine produces wine?’

And yet Ukrainian wine is truly Old World. The country was a thoroughfare for successive waves of invaders and settlers who have left their imprint on Ukrainian wine – ancient Greeks, Romanians, Ottomans and others.

The industry’s modern history, however, has been fraught. During Soviet times, Ukraine was a major producer, but under the stifling weight of a command economy wineries prioritised volume, churning out sugary bulk wine. In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev’s campaign to curb alcoholism dealt a devastating blow to Ukraine’s wineries. Vast areas of vineyards were uprooted.

Before the Kremlin’s 2022 full-scale invasion, Ukraine was still reeling from the loss of its most historic wine-growing region, Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. With Crimea no longer under Ukrainian control, the country effectively lost around half of its vineyards overnight.

The much-needed aid

Today, Ukraine lags behind other regional wine producers like Georgia and Moldova, where viticultural revolutions are well under way.

In both those countries, a crisis helped precipitate change when, in 2006, Russia, their main export market, suddenly embargoed their wine, ostensibly over quality concerns. The real reason was widely believed to be retaliation for the two post-Soviet states shifting westwards.

Foreign aid has been considered key to Georgia and Moldova’s success, helping their industries innovate and open new markets. In Moldova especially, The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ‘completely revolutionised the industry’, said Wojciech.

USAID also assisted Ukrainian wine producers in recent years, worked with Wines of Ukraine to promote the country’s products abroad and ‘financed their going to wine fairs, business missions and so forth’, he said. But Trump’s funding cuts ended that, depriving Ukrainian winemakers of much-needed support as they continue to grapple with the hardships of a war.

The end of war may seem a long way off, but that day will eventually come, and Sizarova of Pilot’s Wines believes that Ukrainian wine could become a ‘confident, respected player on shelves and wine lists worldwide’ backed by ‘a growing wine-tourism culture’.

Wojciech agrees. Peace will bring increased investment and rising local consumer affluence, greater EU integration and, he said – pointing to a Ukrainian bakery franchise next to the coffee shop in Warsaw where we met – a massive expansion of potential markets.

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Speaking to Decanter from Kyiv, where she travelled to immediately after being informed of the crime last Monday (13 October), Ukrainian Wine Company CEO Svitlana Tsybak said she was shocked not only at the theft but the reaction by the Met police.

‘They asked the driver if he had been harmed. When he said no, they decided not to come to the site,’ Tsybak explained.

‘We called the police again when the driver arrived at the London City Bond (LCB) warehouse and asked them to at least come and issue an official document confirming the crime – something we urgently need for the insurance company.

‘They didn’t come and instead sent me an email apologising and offering mental health support.’

‘Come on, I’m from Ukraine! My husband is on the front line; we live in constant stress. My mental health is strong enough to handle this situation. But they still need to do their job and at least record the crime properly.’

Thieves ‘knew what they were looking for’

Of 12 pallets of wine on board the lorry, five were stolen, equivalent to about 3,000 bottles, Ukrainian wine ambassador and UK-based wine educator Sera Karamshuk told Decanter.

‘The thieves knew what they were looking for,’ she said. ‘They were very specific. They took all of the sparkling wines from three different producers.’

Karamshuk said the thieves took all the sparkling wine from Grande Vallee and Chateau Chizay, as well as the entire shipment of Kolonist wines – both sparkling and still.

‘We know how it happened as it was all caught on CCTV,’ she added. ‘They had a mini van, so they were prepared to take a substantial amount. They parked up and loaded straight from the lorry to the van.’

‘What we suspect, based on the preparation, is that this is not the first time these thieves have targeted wine deliveries,’ Karamshuk said. ‘Which makes it worse that the crime is not being investigated – especially as there is CCTV.

Huge loss

‘Any theft is awful, but this is fine wine from boutique producers, made while their country is under attack. So it really hurts.’

Karamshuk explained that the driver of the lorry, who had travelled from Ukraine, had arrived at night so stopped to rest in a CCTV-monitored carpark near London on his way from Dover to LCB’s Burton warehouse, awaiting his Monday morning delivery slot.

After discovering the Ukrainian wine theft, the driver called Tsybak and then, when the police said they would not attend the scene of the crime, continued to LCB who checked the paperwork to confirm what wine had been stolen.

The wine, including new releases, had been destined for restaurants, independent retailers and the Ukrainian Wine Company’s online shop.

‘This is a huge loss for our company,’ Tsybak told Decanter. ‘We had planned this shipment for a long time and were counting on it for Christmas sales, too.

‘3,000 bottles… gone’

‘What happened is beyond words. Around 3,000 bottles… gone. I can’t even describe the shock I felt when I received the news.

‘Now, the situation is even more complicated,’ Tsybak added. ‘The producers no longer have these wines in stock to reorder and, while we have credit, we don’t have any goods to sell to repay our wineries.

‘Of course, we will pay them, but for a young and small company like ours, this is a very serious loss.

‘Moreover, it’s deeply emotional. I know how difficult and dangerous it is to produce wine in Ukraine. And then to have it simply stolen…’

Tsybak and Karamshuk have urged members of the wine trade and the public to contact them, either through the Ukrainian Wine Company’s website or its social channel @uawines_uk, if they have any suspicions of the stolen wine being circulated.

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Decanter Sponsored Guide: Ukraine

Wine producers and military colleagues paid tribute to Captain Arsen Fedosenko, who was working as a photographer for the Ukrainian armed forces’ strategic communications department.

He was wounded in the Kharkiv region in June, and died in hospital one day later, said Wines of Ukraine, which represents several producers in the country.

A funeral service was held in Kyiv on 13 June, as reported by Canada’s CBC News, with a selection of his photos also on display.

Fedosenko joined the Ukrainian army as a correspondent in March 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion began on 24 February, and used his photography skills to document life on the frontline. 

However, he had been a photographer for more than two decades. He became closely connected to Ukraine’s wine sector, earning plaudits for his work charting the country’s winemakers and vineyards.

‘I want the world to fall in love with Ukrainian wine through art photography,’ said Fedosenko in his nominee profile on the Wine Travel Awards website.

Wines of Ukraine, which is headed by Svitlana Tsybak of Beykush Winery, described Fedosenko as a talented photographer, designer and artist, as well as a passionate wine enthusiast and aspiring winemaker. 

‘He took hundreds of wonderful photos of the vineyards, wineries and winemakers, and was planning to publish a photo book about Ukrainian craft winemaking,’ the group said. 

‘Arsen visited over 30 wineries located throughout Ukraine and laid his own vineyard in 2019. His works were exhibited in Ukraine and abroad.

‘He also created labels and logos for several wineries, [and] hosted wine tastings and wine lectures, promoting Ukrainian wines. His creative impact in the development of Ukrainian winemaking can’t be overestimated.’

Fedosenko had a wife and two sons, the group said. ‘The Wines of Ukraine team, along with Arsen‘s family, friends and colleagues and all Ukrainian winemakers, will keep his memory alive.’

Fedosenko was the 82nd media worker killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion back in 2022, said the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), a Ukrainian non-governmental organisation. Ten of those people died ‘while performing editorial assignments’, it said.

IMI cited a Telegram post by the Ukrainian armed forces’ strategic communications department that paid tribute to Fedosenko’s character and dedication.

Military casualty figures for Ukraine and Russia are difficult to confirm. In February 2024, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

A May 2024 report from the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said there had been 32,989 civilian casualties since 24 February 2022, including 11,126 people killed and 21,863 people injured.

Arsen Fedosenko’s photography appears in Decanter’s recent sponsored guide to the wines of Ukraine, created in partnership with Beykush Winery, Big Wines, SHABO and Vinos de La Luz.

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Understanding Ukraine’s wine industry

February 2024 marks the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And though media attention has shifted largely to the Middle East in recent months, the fighting continues, with a colossal impact on the country and its inhabitants.

Amid these geopolitical challenges, Ukrainian winemakers – internationally led by Svitlana Tsybak, CEO of Beykush Winery – are showing resilience and innovation, despite the area planted to vineyards falling from 41,800ha in 2022 to 36,600ha today (source: OIV; Wines of Ukraine).

Scroll down to see O’Connor’s selection of wines from the Black Sea Region

The country’s leading producers remain undeterred, and even in the throes of war have been travelling abroad to show their wines to an international audience – one that is overwhelmingly keen to show its support, and at the same time to discover a new and intriguing wine region. In October last year, a group of 11 producers came together to present the first UK trade tasting of Ukrainian wines, held at private members’ club 67 Pall Mall in London, where about 60 wines of varying styles were shown.

The history

When we say ‘new’, of course, we mean new to the wine lover – not in terms of the nation’s heritage. Ukraine’s winemaking roots go all the way back to the 4th century BC and beyond, originating in Crimea. However, it was in the 11th century that wine cultivation kicked off in the northern regions around Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Fast-forward to the 18th and 19th centuries, and wine production soared under the control of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Poland. The modernisation of techniques and the introduction of new grape varieties marked this era.

In recent times, Ukraine, with 2,500km² of vineyards, was a major supplier of wine to the USSR, especially of Sovetskoye Shampanskoye (Soviet Sparkling Wine). The 1985-1988 anti-alcohol campaign instigated by then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev led to the destruction of a significant number of vineyards. However, since 2000, Ukrainian winemakers have rebounded, reaching a deeper understanding of how best to adapt vine-growing to the terroir and climate.

Ukrainian grape varieties you’ve probably never heard of

In Ukraine, the focus is primarily on international grape varieties, such as Aligoté, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Traminer for whites; and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Saperavi for reds. Some wineries are experimenting with varieties such as Albariño, Blaufränkisch, Pinotage, Tempranillo, Timorasso and Zweigelt.

As winemaking expands to northern and central-western regions, frost- or fungus-resistant varieties such as Johanniter, Solaris and Jupiter are on the rise, while notable examples of local varieties also gaining traction are…

• Citron Magarach A white grape variety from Yalta’s Magarach research institute, producing wines with a light straw to amber colour, pronounced citrus tones, and a full, round palate with low acidity. Its frost resistance makes it popular in northern Ukraine.

• Sukholymanske White Created in the second half of the 20th century, this white grape variety yields wines with a light golden colour, fruity aromas of pear and white flowers, and a harmonious taste with notes of melon and white plum, accompanied by a pleasant sourness in the aftertaste.

• Telti-Kuruk An indigenous white grape exclusive to Ukraine, having survived the phylloxera epidemic. Known as ‘fox tail’, thanks to the shape of its bunches, it offers fresh, mineral wines with floral and fruity notes of white acacia and quince. It has similarities to the Hungarian variety Juhfark (‘sheep’s tail’), and it is said Telti-Kuruk was planted back in the 16th century, when the territory belonged to the Turks.

• Odesa Black (Alibernet) This is a challenging but rewarding red grape first created in 1948, a crossing between Alicante Bouschet and Cabernet Sauvignon. It produces dark, intense red wines with mint and blackberry aromas and velvety jam notes.

Around the wine regions

The climate in Ukraine varies from temperate to Mediterranean, with southern Crimea (the peninsula occupied by Russia since its 2014 invasion) basking in fruity ripeness. There are ‘officially’ six wine regions in Ukraine, delineated since Soviet times, but these are now deemed outdated by the producers. The promotional body Ukrainian Wine Company UK prefers to categorise the country’s land under vine as follows: the Black Sea region (including Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson), Bessarabia, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea.

The Black Sea region – Odesa (or Odessa), Mykolaiv and Kherson – has 2,500 years of winemaking history. With a blend of continental and maritime climates, this area produces robust reds and traditional sparkling wines. Key varieties include whites Sukholymanske and Telti-Kuruk and a range of international grapes.

Bessarabia, within the Odesa region, champions ancient winemaking traditions, applied to diverse varieties including Citron Magarach, Sukholymanske and Odesa Black. The region’s expansive steppes endure humid winters and hot, dry summers, with soils including the renowned Ukrainian black, fertile chernozem soils and mineral-rich loamy grounds.

Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia), bordering Hungary and Slovakia to the west, transitions from white to red wines. The Carpathian mountains create a unique microclimate for vine cultivation, with white varieties Traminer, Furmint, Chersegi (Cserszegi Fűszeres in Hungary) and red Blaufränkisch (also known by synonyms including Blauer Limberger, Kékfrankos, Lemberger or Modra Frankinja) all thriving. The region previously attracted tourists from around the world, with its vineyards, wineries, geothermal spas and ancient castles.

Zaporizhzhia, the smallest wine region with less than 5,000ha of vineyards, holds historical significance. With its shores washed by the Sea of Azov (above the Black Sea), this area enjoys a temperate continental climate with saline and humus-rich chernozem soils. Notable for resort towns, thermal springs and salt mining, it was also the location of the Zaporozhian Sich stronghold, the principal centre of Ukrainian Cossacks. As Decanter was going to press, 70% of he Zaporizhzhia region, including the majority of vineyards, remained under occupation, with the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive maintaining its position.

Crimea, though impacted by the 2014 invasion, remains one of Ukraine’s oldest winemaking regions. The climate is conducive to viticulture, with soils ranging from marl to chernozem.

In defiance

Most of the new wineries that have sprung up in Ukraine in the last five years are located in cool-climate areas. These developing, and ‘unofficial’ wine regions – (west to east) Lviv, Ternopil, Khmelnitsky, Vinnitsa Kyiv, Chernihiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv – produce high-acidity and aromatic white wines and very bright rosés. Some winemakers are trying their hand at producing amber and sparkling wines, too.

Experimentation is widespread, even while the winemakers navigate the unprecedented challenges caused by war. Wines are emerging produced by varied approaches, ranging from ancient Georgian techniques such as qvevri, to the most modern methods. And, with the country in the spotlight, even if for tragic reasons, the world is taking notice.

The international exposure has become a lifeline for Ukrainian winemakers, with heightened interest coming from new and returning customers. The stories they have to tell resonate with resilience and hope, offering a glimpse into the promising future of Ukrainian wines. Ukraine’s indomitable spirit is bottled, and waiting to be shared with the world.

Five key Ukrainian producers to know

Beykush

This family-owned winery spans 14ha and is located just 2km from the occupied area. In Chernomorka village, on the Beykush peninsula by the Black Sea, it embraces French, Italian and Georgian clones alongside the rare Telti-Kuruk grape. From traditional- method sparkling to amphora-aged wines, its experimentation captures the essence of this special terroir.

Bolgrad

Established in 1998 by the Markushevskiy and Maslenkov families, Bolgrad Winery embodies three generations of winemaking expertise. Thanks to their proximity to the Black Sea, the vineyards benefit from a microclimate that imbues the wines with salinity and freshness. With more than 600ha under vine, Bolgrad produces about 6 million bottles annually.

Kolonist

Founded in 2005 in Bessarabia (the south of the Odesa region), Kolonist Winery, owned by the Plachkov family, has a range that runs from classic aged whites to indigenous specialities such as Odesa Black and Sukholymanske white. Co-owner Hryhoriy Plachkov’s military service experience is reflected in the winery’s tenacity.

Shabo

Founded in 1822 by Swiss settlers, southwest of Odesa, Shabo is now operated by a Georgian winemaking family. Despite the war’s challenges, especially around Odesa, and disrupted work shifts due to air raid sirens, Shabo continues to craft wines from its modern winery near the Black Sea – its cellars of almost 5,000m² are among the largest in Ukraine, and can hold more than 13 million bottles. The team works with international varieties, but also varieties originating from the wider region, such as Saperavi, and specifically from Ukraine, including Telti-Kuruk.

TM Villa Tinta or Vinhol Oksamitnoe

A family estate winery since 1998 with 500ha of vines planted, situated in the historic winemaking district of Bolgrad, which is in southern Ukraine, in the Odesa region near the Black Sea and the border with Romania. The sub-tropical climate is tempered by lake Yalpuh. It works with a wide range of grapes including Sukholymanske and Odesa.

Taste of Ukraine: O’Connor’s selection from the Black Sea Region

Wines were tasted non-blind

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2023 harvest: ‘The motivated endure’

The 2023 Ukrainian wine harvest reflects winemakers’ resolve. Amid the ongoing conflict, vintners display remarkable resilience; diligently tending vineyards, producing wines and exporting their products worldwide. Despite unique challenges, winemakers remain optimistic.

According to the Wines of Ukraine website: ‘Six wine regions have been officially approved in Ukraine. This is an outdated norm in our legislation, which has been in effect since Soviet times and does not correspond to today’s realities. The Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine [aka Wines of Ukraine] is actively working to expand the winemaking area to most of Ukraine. A large number of new wineries that have appeared in the last 5 years are located in cool climates.’

Svitlana Tsybak, CEO of Beykush Winery, reflected on a challenging 18 months, ‘Beykush is a family-owned winery that spans just 13 hectares, it’s located two kilometres from the occupied area. When full-scale war erupted last year, we faced uncertainty about our winemaking prospects. In July, we decided to bottle wines initially prepared before the war’s outbreak. We also dedicated ourselves to caring for the vineyards. Last September yielded high-quality grapes due to dry, hot weather, with no issues in the vineyard. This year could be a mixed bag – I hear reports of unfavourable weather conditions from Zakarpattia (near the Hungarian border). However, due to last year’s success, we expect to increase our production by 20% this year, thanks to two additional hectares maturing, despite the rockets above us.’

Tania Olevska, owner of Friends Wine Travel, added, ‘Winemakers had no alternative but to continue nurturing vineyards and pursuing their craft. Emotionally, it’s crucial to stay engaged during wartime; otherwise, despair takes hold. Thus, despite the conflict, we enjoyed a bountiful harvest last year. This year is looking promising too.’

Kolonist Winery, founded by the Plachkov family in Bessarabia, exemplifies resilience and growth. Initially producing 30,000 bottles annually, it has expanded to 350,000 bottles, with 63ha of vineyards. The portfolio features classic aged whites and reds, semi-dry, sweet and sparkling styles. Its specialities, Odesa black and Sukholymanske white, highlight Ukraine’s indigenous array. Even during the conflict’s early stages, when alcohol sales faced restrictions and night-time lights were banned, the winery persisted. It opened its doors to families from occupied regions and provided humanitarian aid. Hryhoriy Plachkov, co-owner of the winery, presently serves as a military officer.

Former tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky, who now fights on the frontline against Russian, is the owner of Stakhovsky Wines in the Zakarpattia region. He spoke with decanter.com as he landed back in Kyiv safely, reflecting on the last two vintages, ‘We have 22.5 hectares of vines, producing 10,000 cases yearly. The 2022 vintage was very powerful and charismatic, but missile attacks left us without power for 2 weeks. The 2023 harvest faced weather instability, in our region, but we won’t fully know the results as we are just preparing for harvest starting the last week of September. Overall, the Russian invasion devastated wineries, making it difficult for the wineries to survive, but motivated vine growers and winemakers endure.’

Status quo: An overview of Ukrainian winemaking

The success stories highlighted above should not mask the devastating effect the conflict has had on some regional wine production. Many occupied regions have suffered significant impacts, leading to the loss of wineries in Kherson and other areas, producers said.

Tsybak, who is also c0-founder of Wines of Ukraine, a pivotal organisation championing domestic producers born out of the collaborative spirit when the conflict started, anticipated it would take at least a decade to revive some regions’ wine production. Overall, Ukraine has retained around 100 wineries (down from 180 before the war started), with the majority remaining operational.

One other challenge confronting Ukrainian winemakers was the complexity of legislation and bureaucracy. Over the last two decades, Ukraine’s wine industry has undergone a remarkable resurgence. Between 2016 and 2018 substantial legislative improvements were made to support small wine producers.

Tsybak highlighted the progress made: ‘Since 2018, we have been working on simplifying legislation, such as removing the need for an excise stamp on bottles.’

In 2021, a significant milestone was achieved with the removal of the still wine excise mark. More recently, law 9030 introduced key provisions such as streamlined licensing, the removal of administrative penalties, simplified reporting, support for winemakers and a provision for minor producers to purchase grapes for a much-reduced licence fee.

According to Stakhovsky, ‘The Ukrainian wine industry was looking on the uprise since 2016 when a new law was signed by the President giving small “craft” winemakers the right to produce wine from own-grown vines without paying roughly £16,000 on license fees.’

These legislative amendments have fostered the growth of boutique wineries in the country, he explained.

Paving the path forward

The worldwide wine community has rallied in support of Ukrainian winemakers since the outbreak of the war.

‘Recent years have seen many nations reassess their views on Ukraine. They now understand Ukraine’s true essence. Importers have expressed their desire to import our wines, resulting in repeat orders. Ukrainian wines have found new markets, and international markets have discovered Ukrainian wine. For instance, our Estonian partners started with just a single pallet, wanting to help out, and today their orders have increased to 5-6 pallets per month,’ Tsybak said.

She added that Ukraine’s wine industry is working tirelessly to expand its reach and enhance its presence on the global stage, introducing the Ukrainian terroir to global audiences.

While Ukrainian winemakers navigate the challenges of conflict, they are simultaneously preparing for a promising future. Despite uncertainties, 2024 plans are infused with optimism.

Kostiantyn Tintulov, commercial director of TM Villa Tinta, shared his vision, ‘In 2024, we plan to increase exports and domestic sales, explore new markets, launch new wines, and contribute to our country’s restoration.’

Vladimir Palariev, co-owner and winemaker at Frumushika-Nova was also optimistic when speaking to decanter.com, ‘In 2024, we plan to introduce a unique line of wines featuring indigenous grape varieties. We hope for robust sales in the UK and EU.’

The resilience and creativity exhibited by Ukrainian winemakers during these challenging times point to a bright future for the nation’s wine industry. Wines of Ukraine will present 13 wineries to UK trade on the 9th of October at 67 Pall Mall in London and plans to participate in Prowein and the London Wine Fair, building on its successes from the previous year’s participation in these prominent international fairs.

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EU officials are exploring whether funds from frozen Russian assets in Europe could be released to help reconstruction in Ukraine, and the idea is of interest to Ukrainian winemakers impacted by Russia’s invasion 12 months ago.

‘We are raising the question of funds with the European Commission,’ Volodymyr Kucherenko, director of Ukrvinprom, Ukraine’s wine industry body, and director of the Ukrainian Wine Institute, told Decanter.

European wine trade body CEEV (Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins) said it would support the move, although it is acknowledged that any funds may be needed more urgently for key infrastructure.

With wineries and vineyards mainly located in the south and east of the country, Ukraine’s wine industry has suffered alongside communities in the year since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

‘We have several mutilated vineyards and damaged wineries due to massive rocket attacks,’ Kucherenko told Decanter. ‘Also, some wineries in Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Donetsk regions remain under occupation.’

He added, ‘These are tough times. Since 2019, with the beginning of the pandemic, Ukraine wine production and sales have fallen. During 2019-2021, the wine production area decreased by 18.6%. And since the start of the full-scale invasion the situation has worsened much further,’ he said.

Ukraine wineries on the frontline

Valery Zavorotny, owner of Olvia winery in the Mykolaiv region, and Tairovo winery in the Odesa region, said 585 hectares – more than half of his vineyards – had been damaged over the past year.

‘The material loss is severe, many people have left the country and won’t return, and we have 100 of our staff fighting in the war,’ said Zavorotny.

Andrii Strelets, general manager of the historic Prince Trubetskoi winery located in the Kherson region, said Russians had looted $1m-worth of its wine collection, with 32,000 bottles and buildings destroyed by bombings.

‘The winery is located on the right side of the Dnipro River which has now been liberated, but at the moment we are unable to go to and fully assess the damage as we are under constant fire from Russians on the left side of the river,’ Strelets said.

Oleksandr Mironenko, owner of Graevo wines and Wines of Zaporizhzhia winery, said some of his vineyards remained occupied by Russians. Falko, a producer in the Mykolaiv region that was mined five times, said cluster bombs had damaged vineyards, storage facilities and killed animals.

Meanwhile, Artwinery said it was looking for a new production base as a consequence of war in the besieged city of Bakhmut.

‘The city is under constant fire and we cannot access production facilities at the moment,’ said Alexandra Cherednichenko, Artwinery’s marketing director.

But Cherednichenko added, ‘We are selling our wines and we’ve been able to resume production of the most popular varieties of Artemivske sparkling wine in the region of Odessa by using the facilities of our partner.’

After the Russian invasion began last year, Artwinery said it was able to evacuate staff and mature, ‘ready for sale’ sparkling wines from its cellars.

Turning to exports

While some Ukrainian wine producers are supplying the country’s army with wine and brandy, a collapsed domestic market means companies have been trying to generate more exports.

‘65% of still and sparkling wine in Ukraine were consumed by women, but millions of women have left the country,’ said Giorgi Iukuridze, cofounder and CEO of producer Shabo, which owns 1,200ha of vineyard in the village of Shabo on the Black Sea.

‘Fortunately, we’ve managed to export 105,000 bottles of wine to Denmark and we’re hoping to increase exports there to a million bottles this year,’ Iukuridze said.

Ukrvinprom has been seeking support for Ukraine at European wine fairs, and attended the recent Wine Paris and Vinexpo Paris show.

Despite the prevailing darkness in Ukraine, there was some lightness to cheer the mood during the 2022 harvest, where several producers said they had been able to pick healthy grapes.

‘We think it is the best vintage in recent history,’ Iukuridze said. ‘In terms of climate, at least, it’s [as] if the gods had been helping us.’

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Having left the ranks of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) in 2008, Ukraine has again joined the leading intergovernmental institution. This brings the total number of member countries up to 49.

The renewed membership is effective from 30 October and was formalised on Friday 4 November at the OIV’s General Assembly in Baja California, Mexico. The plenary session, which closed the institution’s 43rd annual congress, had its most symbolic and heartfelt moment when the Ukrainian representatives were given the floor to address their counterparts.

‘Ukraine has returned to the big home [of wine]. The producers of Ukraine reaffirm the fundamental principles of the treaty that gave birth to this organisation,’ said Volodymyr Pechko, head of Ukraine’s delegation.

‘Many things have happened, in the world and in our country in particular. The world is not the same it was a few years ago. Our land is experiencing violence but I can assure you that the moral of our wine people is as strong as ever,’ he added.

‘We bring greetings from all Ukrainian wine regions. We also bring greetings from all the wine professionals who are not able to dedicate their time to their passion because they have been called to defend their country.’

Symbolic return

Both Luigi Moio, president of the OIV, and Pau Roca, director general of the OIV, highlighted the deep symbolic relevance of Ukraine’s return to the institution as an active and full member. ‘Wine has long inspired values of peace and agreement,’ said Moio. ‘Wine catalyses agreement between countries with disparate interests and helps surpass any antagonism.’

Roca agreed and highlighted the OIV’s experience, during its more than 100 years of history, in creating agreement between countries which, beyond wine matters, might be at war. ‘It’s a source of great satisfaction to be able to sit all members at the same table.’ He stressed that ‘Ukraine has been welcomed back to the OIV by ALL [his own emphasis] members’ – a group that also includes Russia.

Roca went on to contextualise this reintegration as part of a larger movement in which Ukraine has been ‘forced back to the international stage as a result of a delicate situation’. He added: ‘The conflict has catalysed its participation in international forums.’

Ukraine was an active member of the OIV from 1997 to 2008. As a signatory of the organisation refoundation agreements of 3 April 2001, Ukraine requested to be accepted as a member again. The country’s government ratified the legal document on 30 September to formalise its legal adoption and the reinstatement process.

Ukrainian wine industry

With a total 41,800ha under vine, Ukraine has the world’s 31st largest vineyard surface area. In 2021 the country produced 660,000hl of wine. It was also an important import market for wine, with consumption rates increasing slightly (against global trends) until the Russian invasion in March 2022.

Speaking after the assembly, Pechko explained the diverse and serious impact the conflict has had on the Ukrainian wine industry. Vineyards have been destroyed and occupied; wineries have been shelled and looted; supply chains are broken; the country’s bottle factories have been destroyed. More dramatically, many winemakers and their families have been injured or killed.

As an active member of the OIV, Ukraine will benefit from its network of 1,000 experts, as well as important information and cooperation channels. This gives the country’s wine industry an essential support network, as it grapples with severe economic and structural challenges.

In the long-term, membership will also allow Ukraine to access important resources to fully reestablish itself and give the country a much-needed role in shaping the evolution of the wine sector. Pechko stressed the importance of meaningful support from winemakers from other countries, in the form of equipment and know-how.

A meaningful step has been taken, with Ukraine now back at the wine industry’s most important forum.

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The ‘Freedom Blend’blend uses a combination of indigenous grape varieties from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to symbolise and celebrate freedom in those countries.

Purcari is located just 15 miles from the Ukrainian border. It has turned its luxury suites, tasting rooms and conferences rooms into emergency accommodation, housing more than 5,000 people that have fled war-torn Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion.

The award-winning winery – which claimed best-in-show, platinum and gold medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2020 – initially created a ‘Freedom Blend’ as a show of support after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

It has now created a new bottling to raise funds for refugees from the current war. The dry red wine consists of 65% Saperavi, 20% Rară Neagră and 15% Bastardo grapes, aged in oak for nine months prior to bottling. It is said to offer notes of blackcurrant, cherry, blackberry, dried plums and red pepper.

In the UK, it sells for £19.95. All proceeds will go to Ukrainian refugees. You can purchase it from Transylvania Wines, Best of Hungary, North & South Wines in London and other independent retailers.

It is now more than 100 days since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. More than 14 million people have fled their homes in that time, according to the United Nations.

Half are displaced within Ukraine, while around 7 million have left for neighbouring countries, including Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.

Poland has taken more than any other country, but 483,306 Ukrainians have headed into Moldova, which has the largest concentration of refugees by population. The refugees are housed in makeshift reception centres if they cannot stay with friends or relatives.

International support is required to support the displaced Ukrainians, and wines like ‘Freedom Blend’ can help to raise vital funds.

A brand called Vodka Zelensky – created by refugee and fashion designer Anastasiia Rosinina, who fled Kyiv in March, and named after the Ukrainian lead – has also launched in the UK. All profits go to Ukrainian aid.

Stoli launched a limited-edition Ukrainian-themed vodka, while Cornish brewery Harbour created a ‘Stand With’ IPA, and there are various other drinks brands have launched limited-edition bottlings to support the humanitarian aid.

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In addition to the fine wine auctions reported on previously by Decanter, further initiatives have been set up to raise money for those in crisis.

UK-based wine importer Les Caves de Pyrene has been helping to relocate families fleeing from war-torn Ukraine and settle them in safe havens across Europe, in accommodation provided by the importer’s European winemakers.

To help cover the logistical costs of relocating families, the importer has announced it will hold a fundraising auction and charity dinner on 9 May at Michelin-starred Galvin La Chapelle in London.

The evening will include a live auction of rare and iconic wines, large formats and older vintages, as well as vineyard tours and dining experiences.

Among the rares on offer will be an imperial (6L) of Château Haut-Brion 1995, a jeroboam of Montevertine Pergole Le Torte, magnums of Domaine des Miroirs and rare bottles of Domaine Pierre Overnoy. In addition to the live auction, there is an online auction.

Elsewhere, US-based wine and spirits auction house Acker has announced that it has partnered with worldwide wine societies to host a fine wine auction, with proceeds donated to World Central Kitchen – a non-profit set up by chef Jose Andres to support relief in humanitarian, climate, and community crises.

The Société des Amis du Champagne, Commanderie de Bordeaux, Commanderie des Costes du Rhône, Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Baillage de New York and Wine & Spirits Magazine have all donated lots for the auction.

In Bordeaux, Laurent Fortin, Honorary Consul to Ukraine for the Nouvelle Aquitaine region and owner of Château Dauzac, called for donations from the wine world for a charity auction hosted by online auction platform iDealWine. Many rare bottles and large formats went under the hammer.

The Italians are stepping up too, as the Brunello, Chianti Classico and Bolgheri regional bodies held an auction called Vini per la Pace (Wines for Peace) at the Vinitaly trade fair in Verona last month.

The auction offered a wide range of unique Tuscan bottles from rare vintages and in large formats and raised £19,175 for Caritas Internationalis, which provides humanitarian aid to refugees.

Director of the Brunello Consorzio, Michele Fontana, said ‘We are really proud of all the winemakers of Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico and Bolgheri-Bolgheri Sassicaia for their prompt and generous participation to this initiative.’

Because they were able to generate so much participation and offerings from winemakers, they have another auction in the pipeline.

More Italian wines are going under the hammer to raise money for Ukranian refugees. Sparkling wine producer Ferrari Trento, official sponsor and toast for Formula 1, has put jeroboams of the special Formula 1 edition Trentodoc Blanc de Blancs, signed by the winning drivers, up for auction. All proceeds will go to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Wines for Ukraine auction and Wine Unites for Ukraine auction, reported on by Decanter in March, raised £4,770 and £87,938 respectively

But raising money through wine auctions is just one way of supporting Ukraine through the crisis, there are other ways the industry has offered humanitarian aid.

The International Sommelier Association has launched an employment platform aimed at helping Ukrainian refugees find jobs in the drinks sector. The platform will allow wine producers, restaurants, bars, retailers, wholesalers and others to advertise jobs directly to refugees from Ukraine. All job offerings and postings will be vetted by the association.

Nocking Point Wines, based in Walla Walla in Washington State, has released a special-edition of their 2019 Outside red blend, with the label designed around the Ukrainian flag. Proceeds go to the Stand with Ukraine GoFundMe campaign which was launched by Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis. Kunis was born in Ukraine and the couple have partnered with Nocking Point Wines to rasie money for charity.

Sergiy Stakhovsky, Ukrainian tennis star turned winemaker, has taken up arms to fight for his country.

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Fine wine auctions launched in aid of Ukraine crisis

Ukrainian wine, hanging in the balance

Amid the devastation and turmoil since Russia’s invasion on 24 February, Beykush winery on southern Ukraine’s Black Sea Coast has been among those attempting to continue operations as much as possible.

Last week, Beykush began transporting thousands of wines to western Ukraine in order to protect them for possible export to other markets, winery director Svetlana Tsybak told Decanter. ‘Yesterday we sent three palettes, about 1,200 bottles, and today the same quantity,’ she said.

She also spoke of the determined efforts to get bottles to the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) warehouse in the UK recently.

It’s not the first time Beykush entries have been hand-delivered, but the winery went to extra lengths in 2022 by sending six cases of its wines to a friend’s office in Hungary, moving them over the border one case at a time over two weeks.

‘Finally, we asked the brother of my friend,’ said Tsybak. ‘He came from London via a flight, he took all these wines, paid additional cost for this and flew back to London and brought this wine to Decanter.’

She explained that the courier was the brother of Ukrainian tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky, who also owns a winery near to Beykush but who has enlisted in the military to help defend Kyiv.

Tsybak, who spoke to Dccanter from Kyiv but who has mostly been in the south of the country, is also head of the local craft wine association and has spent time helping to organise humanitarian aid in recent weeks. Beykush’s owner recently encouraged European wineries with spare accommodation to help host refugees.

In terms of business, Tsybak said exports could be a crucial source of revenue for wineries. She said there have been a lot of requests, but the supply situation is inevitably tough. ‘Our biggest problem is that we don’t have enough volume. We have wines still in tanks but can’t bottle this wine,’ she said.

A bottle manufacturing plant used by many wineries in the same area has been destroyed, she said.

Beykush has bought bottles from Spain over the past three years, but this is now difficult to organise, and has recently been organising shipments from nearby Moldova.

There has been particular interest from a company in the UK, said Tsybak, who believes Beykush orange wine, produced from the Rkatsiteli grape variety, could appeal to wine drinkers in the country.

Processes include extended maceration and ageing in American and French oak for three years. ‘We produce about 700 or 900 bottles. Now we are ready to give all this wine to the export market.’

Tsybak previously told Decanter that several wineries in southern Ukraine had been occupied, particularly those closer to Kherson. Beykush has remained free, but the situation continued to be tense late last week, with reports of more attacks being launched in the Mikolaiv area not far from the winery.

‘We all worry about the situation, but we need to continue our lives.’

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Ukraine winery owner urges Europe’s vintners to host refugees

Fine wine auctions launched in aid of Ukraine crisis

Several fine wine auctions have been organised by the members of the trade in support of emergency relief efforts and humanitarian aid for people affected by war in Ukraine.

One auction organised by private member club Crurated brought together more than 250 bottles from coveted producers.

It included top names in Burgundy, Champagne and Italy, such as Louis Roederer (Cristal), Domaine Meo-Camuzet, Domaine Dujac and Bartolo Mascarello.

Running from 14 to 20 March, a spokesperson told Decanter that Crurated raised $134,000 (£101,000) in aid of Ukraine.

The group said all funds raised would be distributed to Red Cross, Save The Children, UNHCR and UNICEF.

Each bottle sold also provides access to a digital non-fungible token (NFT) that verifies the wine’s authenticity and ownership history, Crurated said.

Spanish gems feature in Wines for Ukraine auction

Writer and Decanter contributor Miquel Hudin has organised an online auction of Spanish wines, with winemakers in Catalunya offering up bottles directly from their cellars.

Lots range from vaunted Priorat labels to older vintages and low-intervention wines, said Hudin on his website. ‘I hope that there’s a bit of something for everyone in here,’ he said.

Lots include top wines from Priorat’s 2013 vintage, such as Álvaro Palacios L’Ermita, Clos Erasmus and Clos Mogador.

There is also a piece of Priorat wine history in the shape of Cellers La Scala Dei, La Cartoixa 1974. ‘While there were 105,000 bottles of this wine produced originally, there are now known to be just over 100 in existence, all at the premises of the winery from which this was wine was kindly donated,’ said the auction site.

Alongside the wines, Hudin is offering a one-day Priorat wine tour for four people, which he said would normally have a value of €1,000.

The online auction runs from 21 March to Friday 1 April (midnight).

Proceeds will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross, Come Back Alive, and/or World Central Kitchen. See full details of the ‘wines for Ukraine’ auction.

Wine Unites for Ukraine auction

This fundraising auction by the UK wine trade has been organised by Sarah Abbott MW, Tim Atkin MW, Madeleine Waters and Celia Bryan-Brown. They have asked members of the trade to contribute lots.

Several lots involve top sparkling wines, including Ridgeview Blanc de Blancs 2009, a methuselah of rosé from Cornwall’s Camel Valley and a magnum of Champagne Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blancs 1999.

One lot is for a stay, tour and tasting at Bordeaux second growth Château Pichon Baron, for four people.

Decanter has also created a lot for the auction, including a 12-bottle case of Gold & Platinum medal-winning wines from the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 and 2021, plus a pair of Grand Tasting tickets to the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter London on Saturday 5 November, as well as a 12-month subscription to both Decanter magazine and Decanter Premium.

Other lots include a place on a WSET Level 1 course with accredited provider Rebecca Lamont Wine School, and a six-book ‘Cellar Edition #1’ collection from the Académie du Vin, which features the late, great Steven Spurrier’s memoirs, A life in wine.

The online auction will be live from 9am on Friday 1 April to 18:00 on Sunday 3 April.

Proceeds will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which is helping those affected by the crisis. See full details of the Wine Unites for Ukraine auction.

Other companies across the wine world have either announced direct donations or joined efforts to help fundraise.

UK retailer Majestic Wine has created a funding page for the DEC on its website and said that it will match all donations up to £50,000.

As previously reported by Decanter.com, the owner of Ukraine’s Beykush winery has asked Europe’s vintners to consider offering spare accommodation to refugees.

According to the UNCHR agency, more than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on 24 February.

The France-based International Sommelier Association (ASI) has launched a jobs platform for wineries, retailers, restaurants and others across the trade ‘willing to offer employment [to] Ukrainian refugees’.

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Ukraine winery owner urges Europe’s vintners to host refugees

Russia and Ukraine: a statement from the Decanter World Wine Awards

Eugene Shneyderis, founder of Beykush winery on the Black Sea coast in southern Ukraine, said he was keen to reach out to vineyard estate owners who may have the space to host refugees.

More than three million people have fled the war in Ukraine since Russia began its invasion on 24 February, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

Shneyderis, 49, lives in Spain with his family and said he was inspired by the story of a nearby wine company in Penedes, which was using accommodation normally reserved for harvest teams to house the refugee family of a Ukrainian employee.

‘I think it’s a nice idea,’ he said, speaking to Decanter late last week. He said he was planning to contact wineries and regional wine associations to ask for assistance with his initiative.

‘I have a winery. I understand that wineries right now have some possibility to take some refugees,’ he said.

He cited the ‘icanhelp.host’ website, which has been set up to connect refugees with potential hosts.

George Kachanouski, a Belorusian tech entrepreneur based in Krakow and part of an international team behind icanhelp.host, told Decanter that he and others began the project after discussing how to help Ukrainians in hard times.

He welcomed the prospect of wineries offering up spare accommodation. ‘I believe that the best accommodation for Ukrainian people right now is by nature, because they are in psychological shock.

‘I think a wine farm is a perfect place to stay, get calm, recover, and then move on with your life.’

One pressing issue for the team is verification of hosts. Kachanouski said the team was working on adding extra verification steps, and currently has moderators looking at hosting offers.

‘We have a team of engineers from unicorn start-ups, and they’re quite skilled at working in this environment where you grow really fast and you have a lot of demands on the technical side,’ he said.

Airbnb is also among the organisations to have launched a scheme to enable hosts to offer accommodation to refugees.

Moldovan winery helping to shelter Ukraine refugees

One winery that has already joined the wider relief effort near to the Ukrainian border is Moldova’s historic Château Purcari.

Around 344,000 people have crossed the Ukraine border into Moldova, according to UNHCR.

At Purcari, people have been temporarily staying in rooms, the restaurant and car park, said Andrei Leahu, senior marketing manager, after being contacted by Decanter.com on 10 March.

The winery also set up a roadside tent to help refugees, ‘informing them what to do next in Moldova, providing all the necessary directions, internet, hot drinks and some meals, medication, even sweets for children’, said Leahu via email. ‘We do our best to support the people of Ukraine.’

Others across the wine industry have been seeking to raise money or donate funds in aid of the Ukraine refugee crisis.

The Primum Familiae Vini group of wineries, including some of the world’s top family-owned producers, said recently it was donating €25,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Vineyards under fire in southern Ukraine

In Ukraine, some wineries in the Black Sea region – including those lying closer to the city of Kherson – have been occupied, said Svetlana Tsybak, director at Beykush winery and also head of the local craft wine association.

Beykush, in the Mikolaiv region, has been untouched so far. ‘Our winery is still our winery,’ said Tsybak, who has been helping to organise humanitarian aid in the area. ‘We just hope we still stay free,’ she added.

Vineyards have not escaped shelling. ‘It’s very dangerous working in the vineyards,’ she said, adding she was scared for colleagues.

Some wine industry people with military experience have joined the army to help defend the area, Tsybak said.

She added that she’s received offers of jobs and accommodation from foreign winery contacts, with whom she did business when working as an importer.

‘Personally, I’m staying in Ukraine,’ she said. ‘All my people stay here in the winery, and they plan to go to the vineyards…because they need to prepare the vineyards for the season,’ she said.

See also: 

Russia & Ukraine: a statement from DWWA

Following the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Decanter World Wine Awards will be cancelling the entries for any Russian wineries which have entered the competition, and their wines will not be judged.

As a gesture of support for our Ukrainian entrants, we will be waiving their fees.

We realise that the world’s winemakers have more that unites than divides them, but we feel we have to make a stand.

All of us at Decanter and the DWWA are hoping and praying for a peaceful resolution to this situation, and we send our very best wishes to all those affected.

Leading UK wine and spirits supplier Enotria&Coe said it was no longer ‘actively sourcing’ Russian products, and was planning to donate all profits from sales of current Russian stock to support victims of the war.

In an email to customers, managing directors Ants Rixon and Sam Thackeray provided information about a number of Russian vodka brands stocked by the company. These include Stolichnaya – made in Latvia and owned by Russian billionaire and Putin critic Yuri Shefler – and Russian Standard, owned by oligarch and Russian Standard Bank proprietor Roustam Tariko.

The company also listed non-Russian alternatives, such as Sweden’s Absolut, Ketel One from the Netherlands, and Grey Goose, distilled in France.

‘We wanted to give our customers more information about the history and current ownership of our top-selling vodkas, so they can make informed decisions about which products to list and pour,’ Rixon and Thackeray told Decanter.com. ‘We are currently working on a mechanic to donate all profits from sales of Russian products to support victims of the conflict.’

Research analyst GlobalData said the action would damage Russian vodka suppliers’ brand recognition and offer a spotlight to rival producers from other countries.

The company pointed out that the US government had sanctioned state-run liquor stores to stop selling Russian-made spirits, with many private operators following suit, and members of the public boycotting Russian goods.

Carmen Bryan, GlobalData consumer analyst, said brand loyalty was ‘heavily influenced’ by alignment to people’s values. ‘This puts Russian vodka brands in a precarious position, as prolonged conflict will not only damage immediate sales, but may also cause permanent disillusionment against Russian commodities in the long term,’ she added.

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Around 200 Ukrainian wine producers from the Odessa region recently blocked roads, asking the government to pay more attention to the problems in their industry.

It was the latest in a series of protests by winemakers in Ukraine.

Despite government announcements about promoting domestic winemaking, some in the industry fear a serious crisis is looming.

Protesters in Odessa said that businesses were on the brink of collapse due to the loss of the Russian market.

The route to Russia has been cut due to the dispute between the country and Ukraine over Russia’s annexation of Crimea – itself a wine producing region that has since seen investment by Russia’s government.

At the end of 2018, the Ukrainian government announced plans to attract more foreign investment to the country’s wine sector, in order to boost quality via improved winemaking techniques.

There has been speculation that vineyard land could be offered to foreign investors at below market prices, in order to foster growth.

A conference for winemakers was held on 14 February 2019 in Odessa to discuss regional variation and geographical indications for wine, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Ukrainian wine exports rose by 20% in 2018, versus 2017, to $38m, according to figures posted on Facebook in January this year by the then-deputy agriculture minister, Olha Trofimtseva.

But, she added that Ukraine remained a net wine importer.

Wine sector analysts in Ukraine and winemakers themselves have warned that financial problems for existing wineries could lead to a major crisis, and that this may curtail government plans.

See also: Wine targeted as Russia and Georgia tensions mount

Speculation about potential bidders for Massandra winery has been building after Vladimir Konstantinov, head of the Crimean parliament, earlier this year said there were plans to privatise the historic producer, which was founded in 1894 and also has one of the largest wine collections in the world.

A tender process was expected to take place in October and November this year.

Massandra, which has long had high-profile admirers – including Tsar Nicolas II – was recently passed from Russian federal control to authorities in the Republic of Crimea.

However, any attempt at privatisation would likely draw the ire of Ukraine and its allies.

Ukraine’s government previously managed Massandra but lost control after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. European Union officials said in a legal note dated July 2014 that Massandra’s assets had been ‘transferred contrary to the Ukrainian law’. In 2015, Ukraine officials accused Massandra of illegally auctioning vintage wines that were part of Ukrainian national heritage.

Massandra’s value has been estimated at RUB12 to 15 billion (US$180-250 million), according to reports.

One of the potential bidders was reported to be Boris Titov, a businessman whose family owns Russia’s largest winery, Abrau-Durso.

However, a spokesperson for Abrau-Durso told Decanter.com that the company was not a potential suitor. ‘Abrau-Durso is not interested in buying Massandra winery,’ the spokesperson said.

Other potential bidders for Massandra have been reported to be billionaire businessmen Arkady Rotenberg and Yuri Kovalchuk, although their interest has not been confirmed. Both men are believed to be close to Russian president Vladimir Putin and have been targeted by US Treasury sanctions since 2014.

Kovalchuk bought Crimea’s Novy Svet winery in late 2017 via Rossia Bank, in which he has a majority stake, according to The Moscow Times.

Any deal for Massandra could present extra risks in terms of western sanctions for the buyer.

However, Russian lawyers from the Bannikov and Partners law firm said that this might not deter potential bidders that have already been made subject to EU and US sanctions since 2014.

Additional reporting by Chris Mercer.

From the archive: Andrew Jefford talks to Crimean winemakers in 2014

August? That's when you go away on holiday and nothing much happens, isn't it? It used to seem so. Not this year. The last three weeks in in Gaza, Iraq, West Africa, Syria, South Sudan and Eastern Ukraine have been hard to ignore.

Workers in the Moet & Chandon vineyards in Champagne during World War 2

Those events, of course, have nothing to do with ‘the wine world’, and you may consider what follows ridiculous. Personally, though, I feel some unease at such times – about carrying on as normal, about opening more bottles and merrily effusing about their contents, about assuming that there are no lines of connection whatsoever between a family annihilated in a bombed home and a blocked malolactic fermentation, or between a swiftly fatal disease with no cure and the decision about when to harvest a vineyard of grapes. These spheres have, after all, collided in the past, as commemorations of 1914 remind us – and from the highest perspective, every event on earth is connected in some tenuous way.

In practical terms, of course, one can do something: donate to aid organisations instead of buying more bottles. (Bravo, in passing, to Jancis Robinson and Nick Lander’s Wine Relief initiative, which enables wine lovers to do both simultaneously. Wine Relief has raised more than £4million for aid projects since its inception in 1999.)

What, though, about merriness in tragic times? Can there be any kind of moral justification or even value to wine drinking, or is the very idea fatuous?

Merriment, whatever its cause (and at merry wine gatherings, the cause is never wine alone) is misery’s antithesis. Those experiencing misery at present will, save in the most abject cases, have some recollection of merriment in the past; indeed they may cling to such memories in order to help themselves traverse the horror of a present crisis. Merriment, in this sense, is a resource, promoting psychological health. Sufferers surely do not wish their suffering to be universal; they wish for it to be known, and acted upon by those in a position to help. This is most likely to happen if by-standers are themselves psychologically healthy.

Secondly, wine creation is an act of high agriculture, and the ability to farm unimpeded by invaders and persecutors is perhaps the most important practical benefit of peaceful times. When you drink wine, you celebrate that agricultural act, and the peace it implies. If you have paid a lot for the wine, you provide incentives, even if distant, for the creation of conditions which make such an agricultural act possible. Note that a single season is never enough for wine: five years of peace is needed to bring a vineyard to fruition, and half a century or more of peace for a wine of place to acquire an international reputation. You can’t create a vineyard, as you might chance a field of poppies, during a lull in the fighting.

You hope, naturally, that the peace in which vines can be grown is a just one. But not all peace is just; that is why some reflection is necessary before buying wine (or any other agricultural product) from former zones of conflict, or lands acquired by one nation following the invasion or persecution of another. We ought to remember, though, that there are few vineyard areas either in Europe or outside it which are cultivated by truly indigenous land-owners alone; almost all winemakers everywhere are the descendants, even if multi-generational, of invaders and colonists. These wrongs are rarely righted. You must decide what passage of time is necessary to redeem a land-grab, or how vile a recent act of expropriation in-fact is.

One of the effects of alcohol, finally, is to put its user into a heightened emotional state. In this state, the user may be more likely to sympathise with the plight of those in a less fortunate situation than themselves, and perhaps pass to action with a credit card or in some other way. This may be a reason for watching or listening to the news with a glass of wine to hand. Of course, any heightened emotional state may also result in an outburst of bigotry, xenophobia or self-righteousness. I like to think that wine drinkers tend to the former rather than the latter — but I might be wrong.

Written by Andrew Jefford

Has Ukraine lost its most significant wine-producing region? Quite possibly.

Esse Vineyard, Crimea, Ukraine

Under Ukrainian law, of course, the March 16th referendum and its result are illegal; the result will not be recognised internationally; sanctions will follow. Russia, though, is in control of the peninsula. Since no party wishes to see armed conflict there, it is hard to envision the Crimea making a swift return to the Ukrainian fold, no matter how fervently its Ukrainian and Tatar minorities might wish for this. There are many regions of the world where international recognition (or restitution) of re-assigned borders is a diplomatic nicety which must wait decades for resolution. Every superpower behaves with expedience and hypocrisy in these matters.

The situation in the Crimea, in fact, is an unusually complicated one, as I discovered last week in attempting to assess the feelings of local growers, as well as discuss Crimea with fellow wine journalists in both Kiev and Moscow.

The customary historical accounts of winemaking in the Crimea stress the key role played by wealthy Russian aristocrats in the nineteenth century, following the region’s accession to the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great in 1783; the region’s emblematic winery, Massandra, was built under the impetus of the final Russian Tsar, Nicholas II. Winemaking in the southern coastal strip of the Crimea, though, is much older than that – certainly datable back to the Greek settlers of Chersonesos Taurica (Sebastopol) in the 6th century BC, with wine amphorae found near Inkerman being earlier still. Winemaking here continued in the Byzantine period, and the Genoese both grew and distilled wine here in the Middle Ages; it even prospered in relaxed Ottoman times. Rulers came and went; wine endured.

The 1853-56 Crimean War was essentially a superpower squabble played out on the hapless peninsula’s territory, and the Crimea’s strategic significance led to it being much tussled over in the twentieth century, too, resulting in two famines in the inter-war years, German occupation in World War Two, and the ethnic cleansing of Crimean Tatars in the early Soviet period. Its passage from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954 came, significantly, when the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev, was a politician with Ukrainian roots. It was a gesture to mark the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslav. Subsequent Ukrainian independence, of course, was not part of the script back then, and it is entirely possible that Moscow now views that ‘gift’ as more of a loan. The chaotic ousting of President Yanukovych provided the perfect opportunity to grab the loan back.

Fellow wine-writers in Kiev such as Olga Markovets, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Drinks+ magazine, are very proud of the Crimea, and regard it as “the cradle of Ukrainian winemaking”. I also contacted Dmitry Merezhko, the publisher of Simple Wine News in Moscow, and asked how Russian readers and friends viewed recent events. “There’s the same split that we have in the whole of Russian society,” he told me. “I personally know people who were at the severely dispersed meeting near the Defence Ministry [a March 4th demonstration against President Putin’s actions in the Crimea], as well as those who are celebrating a new Russian winemaking region.”

Existing economic interests in the Crimea are, likewise, deeply split. Many of the older enterprises and institutions (like the Sevastopol Winery or Noviy Svet) are owned by the Ukrainian state, but private enterprises often have Russian shareholders. The Russian wine trading company Legendy Kryma (Legends of Crimea) presented a major investment project to the Crimean government shortly before the recent crisis. “Among the new wineries and vineyards,” says Tetyana Bolshakova, a Crimean wine enthusiast, “I would say more than half belong to Russian people. If Russia comes here, I do not see any problems for them. Under Ukraine, it would totally depend on the new government and how wise they are going to be.”

I contacted leading local growers Igor Samsonov of the 49-ha Esse and Pavel Shvets of the 10.5-ha biodynamic domain Uppa, both sited near Sevastopol. Each stressed that life for small Crimean winegrowers wasn’t easy under Ukrainian administration – it was hard to buy agricultural land, and they were beset with regulations meaning, Igor says, “high corruption and bribes”. Worst of all, though, was that the wholesale licence required to sell wine costs €50,000 a year. “Yes: 50,000 euros,” said Pavel. “And every winemaker who wants to sell bottled wine in the restaurants and shops of Ukraine has to have it. This doesn’t contribute to the creation of a competitive environment, and it makes it impossible for many small producers to get going.”

They also both pointed out that Russia was a much more important market for Crimean producers than continental Ukraine itself. “I’ve toured many cities in both Russia and Ukraine,” said Pavel, “and there’s a big difference. The Russian market is much richer and more diverse, and the wine consumers there are more knowledgeable. Crimean wine is special there. Kiev and Odessa are lovely cities with lovely people, but a lot of wine is made in other parts of Ukraine and so our wine doesn’t seem so special in those places.” Tetyana, Igor and Pavel all stressed that the local market was potentially the most important of all – providing tourism could continue to flourish there. “The present situation kills it” said Tetyana. “We don’t have much time.”

“Wine, like money, likes silence,” summarised Igor. “Any big political or economic upheavals are not good for business. But our business is connected with the land. So whatever happens we are going to stay and to make wine here in Crimea, and in the long run we hope that our wine will be welcomed both by the new Ukraine and by Russia.” “Time will put everything in its place,” agreed Pavel. “The main thing is that we keep everything peaceful and no one else gets hurt. The worst thing is anarchy and chaos. We are nervous and concerned right now, but we have other things to think about — the sap is rising in the vines. Nature is also a confrontation between the strong and the weak, and about the balance between the two. Like every winemaker every spring, I just hope that this year brings the chance to make a great wine. And to have fair conditions to sell it.”

Written by Andrew Jefford

Taste a variety of DWWA-winning wines, at BEEF мясо & вино in Kiev.

Address: Shota Rustaveli Street, 11, Kiev 02000, Ukraine

www.beef.kiev.ua

The selection of award winning wines available are:

• Viña Tarapacá, Gran Reserva Etiqueta Negra Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipó Valley 2010 Chile – Bronze
• Perrin et Fils, Les Sinards, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône 2009 France – Silver
• Broglia, La Meirana, Gavi, Piedmont 2011 Italy – Silver
• Capichera, Isola dei Nuraghi, Southern Italy 2010 Italy – Bronze
• Zeni, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Veneto 2009 Italy – Silver
• Bodegas del Palacio de Fefiñanes, Albarino de Fefiñane, Rías Baixas 2011 Spain – Bronze
• Saint Clair, Sauvignon Blanc Wairau Reserve, Wairau valley, Marlborough 2011 New Zealand – Regional Trophy, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc over £10
• Seghesio, Zinfandel, Sonoma County, California 2010 United States – Silver

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