The semi-presidential federal republic of Russia (Russian Российская Федерация, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) in Eastern Europe (3,952,550 km²) and Northern Asia (13,122,850 km²) with the capital Moscow covers 17,074,636 km². Despite the break-up of the former USSR into many states in 1991, Russia is still the largest country in the world. However, the situation in viticulture has changed enormously as a result. In Europe, Russia borders Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and the Ukraine. In Asia, these are Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. In March 2014, the controversial annexation of the Crimean peninsula (Ukraine) took place, which is regarded as an independent federal district.
South of the Caucasus, vines may have been cultivated and viticulture practised as early as 8,000 years ago, and the Transcaucasia region is considered the cradle of wine culture alongside Mesopotamia. The North Caucasian region of South Dagestan in the coastal strip of the Caspian Sea is considered to be the oldest wine-growing region. At the beginning of the 17th century, vineyards were planted in Astrakhan at the mouth of the Volga near the Caspian Sea to supply the Tsar's court with wine and grapes. At that time, however, wine culture was underdeveloped and wine was imported in large quantities from France and Germany.
Exceptions were the vineyards of Count Vorontsov (1782-1856) and Prince Lev Golitsyn. The latter is also considered the founder of the famous Crimean sparkling wine at the Nowyj Swet vineyard. Golitsyn was also commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) to establish the former state winery Massandra. These three wineries on the southern coast of Crimea also produced sweet dessert wines in the style of Château d'Yquem, Madeira, port and sherry, which were highly sought after by the aristocracy.
Russian viticulture suffered severe setbacks during the two world wars, but after 1945 new vineyards were planted on a large scale. All 15 states at that time practised viticulture with predominantly autochthonous grape varieties. Before the collapse of the USSR in 1990, the area under vines was around 1.1 million hectares, from which around 16.5 million hectolitres of wine were produced. At that time, the USSR was one of the largest wine producers in the world. Under Mikhail Gorbachev (*1931), an extensive grubbing-up programme was launched. The government wanted to limit the enormous consumption of vodka and thus combat the rampant alcoholism. However, this objective was clearly missed, as consumption fell only marginally. The consequences were severe losses in state revenue and setbacks in viticulture.
To protect domestic wine production, the Russian government decided in May 2019 to ban the purchase of imported wines, sparkling wines, liqueurs and fruit wines by public institutions. Quality viticulture is on the rise, with many winegrowers specialising in first-class wines with the help of experts from Italy and France. However, the national drink is still vodka; 12 to 15 litres are consumed annually per person (aged 16 and over).
Most Russian wine-growing regions have a continental climate. Winters are extremely harsh, which is why the majority of vines have to be protected against frost by covering them with earth. Around 90% of the vineyards are located in the North Caucasus in the south-west of the country. The most important wine-growing region is Krasnodar in the foothills of the Caucasus. It lies on the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea and is separated from the Crimean peninsula by the Kerch Strait. The second most important region is Dagestan in the North Caucasus. Other regions are Stavropol in the foothills of the Caucasus, as well as the two regions of Rostov and Chechnya (North Caucasus), which are insignificant in terms of volume.
In 2022, the vineyards covered 101,200 hectares and the wine production volume was 4.7 million hectolitres. The grape variety index with the top 50 (Kym Anderson statistics):
Grape variety |
Colour |
Synonyms or name in Russia |
hectare |
Cabernet Sauvignon | red | - | 8.528 |
Rkatsiteli | white | - | 6.477 |
Aligoté | white | - | 5.843 |
Bianca | white | - | 3.513 |
Chardonnay | white | - | 3.481 |
Merlot | red | - | 2.988 |
Sauvignon Blanc | white | - | 2.501 |
Pervenets Magaracha | white | - | 2.238 |
Riesling | white | - | 2.232 |
Isabella | red | - | 1.362 |
Odessky Cherny | red | - | 1.250 |
Pinot Noir | red | - | 918 |
Levokumsky | red | Levokumsky | 890 |
Pinot Blanc | white | - | 865 |
Saperavi | red | - | 716 |
Krasnostop Zolotovsky | red | - | 562 |
Gewürztraminer | white | - | 500 |
Dunavski Lazur | white | Dunajski Lazur | 483 |
Muscat Blanc / Muscat | white | Muscat Belyi | 483 |
Tsimlyansky Cherny | red | Tsimlyansky | 451 |
Saperavi Severny | red | - | 325 |
Viorika | white | Viorica | 307 |
Citronny Magaracha | white | - | 307 |
Podarok Magaracha | white | Podarok Magaratcha, Podarok Magaracha | 292 |
Vidvizhenets | pink | Vydvijenetz, Vydvizhenets | 271 |
Riton | white | - | 255 |
Doina | red | - | 227 |
Traminer | white | Savagnin Blanc | 214 |
Zala Gyöngye | white | Zhemchug Zala | 193 |
Muscat d'Hamburg | red | - | 180 |
Crystal | white | - | 171 |
Tsvetochny | white | Tsvetochnyi | 169 |
Amur | red | - | 146 |
Stepnyak | white | Stepniak, Sztyepnyak | 144 |
Riesus | white | - | 115 |
Müller-Thurgau | white | - | 106 |
Ruby Golodrigi | red | - | 82 |
Sukholimansky Bely | white | - | 80 |
Dekabrskii | red | Dekabrskiy | 78 |
Pinot Gris | white | - | 78 |
Onitskanskii Belyi | white | - | 66 |
Trebbiano Toscano | white | Ugni Blanc | 66 |
Dostoinyi | red | - | 65 |
Fioletovy Ranny | red | Filetovyi Ranii | 50 |
Goecseji Zamatos | white | Goecsei Zamatos | 40 |
Golubok | white | Goloubok, Goluboc | 37 |
Muscat Ottonel | white | Muscat Ottonel | 34 |
Barkhatnyi | white | - | 30 |
Sémillon | white | - | 25 |
Irsai Olivér | white | - | 24 |
Kukanovskii | white | Koukanovsky, Kizilovyi Belyi | ? |
Kumshatsky Bely | white | Kumshatskii Belyi | ? |
Kumshatsky Cherny | red | Kumshatskii Cherny | ? |
Map: © Goruma
Flag: by Zscout370, Public domain, Link
Massandra Winery: By SilvioMartin - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Massandra Palace: By A.Savin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
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Sigi Hiss
freier Autor und Weinberater (Fine, Vinum u.a.), Bad Krozingen