Winemaking in Russia

, 1910 Wild grape vines have grown around the Caspian, Black and Azov seas for thousands of years with evidence of viticulture and cultivation for trade with the Ancient Greeks found along the shores of the Black Sea at Phanagoria and Gorgippia. 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 (1845-1915), who established the first Russian factory of champagne wines at his Crimean estate of Novyi Svet. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 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. In 2018 and 2019 several Russian wines were rated by Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate and scored between 80 and 97 points. In 2020 Fanagoria Blanc de Blancs Brut, a 2017 wine from the Fanagoria Estate Winery in Fanagoria on the Taman Peninsula, was awarded a gold medal at the "Chardonnay du Monde" ("Chardonnay of the World") international tasting competition. Since 2020, wine has almost doubled in price, due to an increase in excise. The "Law on Viticulture and Winemaking" in the Russian Federation entered into force on June 26, 2020; the document enshrines 80 basic concepts for the field of viticulture and winemaking, among them "wine", "fortified wine", "sparkling wine", "grape planting", etc. The bill also defines that products designated as "Russian wine" must be produced exclusively from grapes grown in the country. ==Geography and climate==

The climate of the North Caucasus 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 there are anywhere from 193 to 233 frost free days during the growing seasons that allow the vines in the area to grow to full ripening. The area of Dagestan 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 is characterized by its hot, dry summers and severe winters which produces grapes in lower yields than other parts of the country. Nevertheless Rostov is a region with a great diversity of autochthonous 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. Currently there are over 100 different varieties of grapes used in the production of Russian wine. The Rkatsiteli grape accounts for over 45 percent of production. Other varieties grown include Aligote, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Severny, Clairette blanche, Merlot, Muscat, Pinot gris, Plavai, Portugieser, Riesling, Saperavi, Silvaner, Traminer, Russia currently has the following controlled appellations that correspond to the sorts of grapes: Sibirkovy (), Tsimlyanski Cherny (), Plechistik (), Narma (), and Güliabi Dagestanski (), Krasnostop Zolotovsky (), Saperavi (), Platovsky (), Bastardo Magarachsky (), Kefesia (), Kokur Belyi (). 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==