![Abrau-Durso Storage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Abrau-Durso_Storage.jpg)
Russian wine refers to
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
made in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, at times also including the disputed region of
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
.
The vast majority of Russia's territory is unsuitable for grape growing, with most of the production concentrated in parts of
Krasnodar
Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...
and
Rostov
Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:
While t ...
regions, as well as Crimea.
The Russian market is characterized by the presence of many low-cost products, with a significant part of local wines having a retail price of less than 100 rubles ($).
Attempts to shift away from the low-quality reputation of Soviet wines has been moderately successful, though 80% of wines sold in Russia in 2013 were made from grape concentrates.
In 2014 Russia was ranked 11th worldwide by the area of vineyards under cultivation.
The Russian wine industry is promoted by local authorities as a healthier alternative to spirits, which have a higher alcohol content.
History
![Khutorok Winery in Kuban](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Khutorok_Winery_in_Kuban.jpeg)
Wild
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
vines have grown around the
Caspian Caspian can refer to:
*The Caspian Sea
*The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea
*The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea
*Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian peopl ...
,
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
and
Azov
Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak,
is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population:
History
Early settlements in the vicinity
The mo ...
seas for thousands of years with evidence of
viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
and
cultivation for
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
with the
Ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...
found along the shores of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
at
Phanagoria
Phanagoria ( grc, Φαναγόρεια, Phanagóreia; russian: Фанагория, translit=Fanagoriya) was the largest ancient Greek city on the Taman peninsula, spread over two plateaus along the eastern shore of the Cimmerian Bosporus.
The ...
and
Gorgippia
Anapa (russian: Ана́па, ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. Population:
History
The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was originally a major seaport (Sin ...
.
[J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 597 Oxford University Press 2006 ] It is claimed that the Black Sea area is the world's oldest wine region.
The founder of modern commercial wine-making in Russia was Prince
Lev Golitsyn
Prince Lev Sergeyevich Golitsyn (russian: Лев Сергеевич Голицын; 24 August 1845 – 26 December 1915) was a Russian winemaker of the 1890s. He established the production of sparkling wines in Russia.
Biography
Lev Sergeyevich ...
(1845-1915), who established the first Russian factory of
champagne wine
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, sp ...
s at his
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
n estate of
Novyi Svet
Novyi Svit or Novy Svet ( uk, Новий Світ, translit=Novyi Svit; rus, Но́вый Свет, r=Novy Svet; crh, Novıy Svet; literally: 'New World' or more correctly 'New Community') is a resort, an urban-type settlement in Sudak Municipa ...
.
After the
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
the French wine-savvy professionals fled Russia, but the industry was gradually reestablished, starting from 1920. According to Denis Puzyrev, before the 1917 Revolution wine was drunk in Russia only by the aristocracy, a situation that only changed under Soviet rule.
The wine industry experienced a rebound in the 1940s and 1950s during the
Soviet era
The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...
until the domestic reforms pushed by
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
in 1985 as part of his
campaign against alcoholism. After the
fall of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, the transition to a
market economy
A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
with the
privatization
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
of land saw many of the area's prime vineyard spaces being utilized for other purposes. By 2000 the entire Russian Federation had only under cultivation, less than half the total area used in the early 1980s.
Semi-sweet and sweet wines account for 80% of the Russian market, a share exceeding 90% in the economy segment.
Since 2006, Russian wineries have adopted European techniques and standards. The
Abrau-Durso winery is considered the flagship of the new wine industry.
In 2018 and 2019 several Russian wines were rated by
Robert Parker of ''
The Wine Advocate
''The Wine Advocate'', fully known as ''Robert Parker's Wine Advocate'' and informally abbreviated ''TWA'' or ''WA ''or more recently as ''RP'', is a bimonthly wine publication based in the United States featuring the consumer advice of wine criti ...
'' and scored between 80 to 97 points.
In 2020 Fanagoria Blanc de Blancs Brut, a 2017 wine from the Fanagoria Estate Winery in
Fanagoria on the
Taman Peninsula
The Taman Peninsula (russian: Тама́нский полуо́стров, ''Tamanskiy poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia, which borders the Sea of Azov to the North, the Strait of Kerch to the West and the ...
, was awarded a gold medal at the "Chardonnay du Monde" ("Chardonnay of the World") international tasting competition.
Geography and climate
![RussiaNorthernCaucasus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/RussiaNorthernCaucasus.png)
The climate of the
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
region, where most of Russia's vineyards are located, is typical of a
continental region. To counter the severe winters many vine growers will cover their vines over with soil to protect the vines from frost. In the area of
Krasnodar
Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...
there are anywhere from 193-233 frost free days during the growing seasons that allow the vines in the area to grow to full ripening.
The area of
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
has a varied climate with some areas
semi-desert. About 13 percent of Russian wine is produced in the area around Stavropol which has 180-190 frost free days. The region of
Rostov
Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:
While t ...
is characterized by its hot, dry summers and severe winters which produces grapes in lower yields than other parts of the country. Nevertheless
Rostov
Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:
While t ...
is a region with a great diversity of atochtonous grape varieties which originally from the Don Valley including such az Tsimlyankskiy Tchernyi, Kumshatskiy, Krasnostop Zolotovskiy, Plechistik and others
Wine and grapes
Russia produces wine of several different styles including still,
sparkling and
dessert wine
Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert.
There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...
. Currently there are over 100 different varieties of grapes used in the production of Russian wine. The
Rkatsiteli
Rkatsiteli (; Georgian რქაწითელი ''rkats’iteli''; literally "red stem" or "red horned") is a kind of grape used to produce white wine.
History
This ancient vinifera originates in Georgia and is supposed to be one of the olde ...
grape accounts for over 45 percent of production. Other varieties grown include
Aligote,
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...
,
Cabernet Severny,
Clairette blanche
Clairette blanche is a white wine grape variety most widely grown in the wine regions of Provence wine, Provence, Rhône (wine region), Rhône and Languedoc wine, Languedoc in France. At the end of the 1990s, there were of Clairette blanche g ...
,
Merlot
Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
,
Muscat
Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...
,
Pinot gris
Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...
,
Plavai
Plavay () is a Moldovan variety of white grape. This variety was popular in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. Now is rarely cultivated.
See also
*Moldovan wine
Moldova has a well-established wine industry. With a p ...
,
Portugieser
Blauer Portugieser is a red Austrian, Slovenian wine, Croatian wine and German wine grapeJ. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 542 Oxford University Press 2006 found primarily in the Rheinhessen, Pfalz and wine r ...
,
Riesling
Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...
,
Saperavi
Saperavi ( ka, საფერავი; literally "paint, dye, give color") is an acidic, teinturier-type grape variety native to the country of Georgia, where it is used to make many of the region's most well-known wines. It is also grown in R ...
,
Silvaner
Sylvaner or Silvaner is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany, where its official name is Grüner Silvaner. While the Alsatian versions have primarily been considered simpler wines, it was included among the vari ...
, and
Traminer
Savagnin or Savagnin blanc (not to be confused with Sauvignon blanc) is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune and vi ...
.
Russia currently has the following
controlled appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...
s that correspond to the sorts of
grapes
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago ...
:
Sibirkovy (Сибирьковый),
Tsimlyanski Cherny (Цимлянский чёрный),
Plechistik (Плечистик),
Narma (Нарма), and
Güliabi Dagestanski (Гюляби Дагестанский),
[J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 598 Oxford University Press 2006 ] Krasnostop Zolotovsky
Krasnostop Zolotovsky is an indigenous Russian grape variety that is regarded as the local grape with the best potential for red wine production.
The name 'Krasnostop' is derived from the Russian words ''Krasniy'' ( rus, Красный, which m ...
(Красностоп Золотовский), Saperavi (Саперави), Platovsky (Платовский), Bastardo Magarachsky (Бастардо Магарачский), Kefesia (Кефесия), Kokur Belyi (Кокур Белый).
A Russian wine guide published in 2012 lists 55 wines from 13 wineries, including names such as
Fanagoria,
Lefkadia,
Chateau du Talus,
Abrau-Durso,
Chateau le Grand Vostock.
The market is largely fragmented, and even the market share of leading producers (such as Kuban-Vino or Viktoria TD) is below 3%.
See also
*
Russian cuisine
Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds of social ...
*
Sovetskoye Shampanskoye
''Sovetskoye Shampanskoye'' (Сове́тское шампа́нское, 'Soviet Champagne') is a generic brand of sparkling wine produced in the Soviet Union and successor states. It was produced for many years as a state-run initiative. Typical ...
*
Winemaking in Crimea
Winemaking in Crimea has existed for over two thousand years.
History
Winemaking has been developed in Hersonissos, the Bosporan Kingdom, in the Principality of Theodoro and the Genoese colonies.
The Ottoman period was unfavourable to wine becau ...
References
External links
Russia winesRussian wine industry today
{{Wine by country