DAN'S WINE BLOG-UKRAINIAN WINE

Friday, May 27, 2022

Like most people before the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Putin on February 24 this year, I knew that Ukraine made wine, especially in the Crimean Peninsula that Russia annexed back in 2014 – but that is all.

Well, since then I have learned that Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe, is/was one of the world’s top exporters of wheat and barley and has around 40,000 hectares of vines, plus there is another 30,000 in annexed Crimea. Not new to making wine, there have been wine presses dating back to around 400 BC found in Crimea. For most of history, Ukrainian wine making like that of Georgia was mainly for personal consumption rather than on a commercial scale. The wines were well regarded up until the 20th Century.

However, with the advent of the Soviet Union early in the 20th Century, winemaking escalated to industrial proportions. Over this dark period vineyards grew to approximately 250,000 hectares (Australia had 146,000 hectares in 2020-2021) producing the “industrial” wine for which the USSR became known – cheap and barely drinkable. The vast majority of these industrial vineyards were grubbed out after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since then and especially since the turn of this century the Ukrainian wine industry has begun growing again, not only in overall size but more importantly in wine quality, with a significant rise in boutique wineries which are resurrecting Eastern European varieties as well as producing quality wines from the mainstream varieties. The main European varieties grown are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Albari?o and Pinot Noir while the more “native” (Eastern European) varieties include the reds, Feteasc? Neagr?, Saperavi and Plavac Mali and in the whites the tongue twisting, Cserszegi F?szeres and Telti-Kuruk (Ukrainian native)?– try saying any of those other than Saperavi quickly three times!!

Until 2014 Ukraine had only four major winegrowing regions, Bessarabia (bordering Moldova and the Black Sea), the Black Sea region, Transcarpathia (which borders Romania and Hungary) and the now Russian annexed, Crimean Peninsula.

Until fairly recent times the only “local” wines that Ukrainians trusted were those from the better known, internationally trading wineries in Crimea, so they mainly drank imported commercial wines. However, in the 21st Century, wine drinking has been growing quite considerably especially the wines of new local boutique wineries, as well as premium imported wines. In 2006, the first wine bar was opened in Kyiv and they have been spread across much of the country as wine drinking has once again become a part of the Ukrainian lifestyle.

Although I have not had the opportunity to try any Ukrainian wines thus far, from their comparisons to Georgian wines that I have seen in the European press, I would love to see some enterprising soul importing Ukrainian wine into Australia – that is, once David (Ukraine) has beaten Goliath (Russia). I will line up and pay to taste their wines.

In the meantime, there are plenty of calls across Europe for the wine trade there to support them as they struggle with rockets landing in their vineyards, warehouses being blown up and workers killed by the Russian war criminals.?GO UKRAINE!!!

PS:?I have just heard that the Ukrainian’s have cyber hacked the Russian Unified State Automated Alcohol Accounting Information System (EGAIS) through which all Russian alcohol shipments must be registered by law. As a result, all documents uploaded to the site by the Russian liquor trade on May 4 disappeared.?He, he, he!!

Well that’s it for another week! Have a good one and please stay safe. Cheers, Dan T.