The Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek Oʻzbekiston) with its capital Tashkent in the heart of Central Asia covers 448,978 km². It borders Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the north-east, Tajikistan to the south-east, Afghanistan to the south and Turkmenistan to the south-west. The former USSR state became sovereign following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
History
Uzbekistan has an ancient wine-growing and wine culture. Grapes were grown in the Ferghana Valley as early as the 6th century BC and were supplied to the Chinese Empire. This is evidenced by cultivated grape seeds found near Samarkand dating back to the 5th century BC. Towards the end of the 7th century AD, the Arabs conquered the country and the flourishing viticulture was greatly reduced due to the religious ban on alcohol.
Viticulture today
The most important wine-growing areas are located on the edge of the mountains and in the river valleys around Tashkent, in the Ferghana Basin (Fargʻona vodiysi in Uzbek), near the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand and in the south-east of the country. The climate is continental with very cold winters characterised by late and early frosts.
In 2022, the vineyards covered 117,804 hectares of vines, but the wine production volume was only 218,000 hectolitres. The most important white wine varieties are Bakhtiori, Bayanshira, Bishty, Kuldzhinskii, Muscat Blanc, Rkatsiteli, Riesling and Soyaki. The most important red wine varieties are Aleatico, Khindogni, Morrastel (Graciano), Pervomaisky, Rosenmuskateller and Saperavi. Many of the numerous autochthonous grape varieties were probably selected from wild vines. More than half of the varieties (mainly Kishmish = Sultana) are used for the production of table grapes and sultanas.
Alcoholic beverages mainly include high-alcohol wines, sweet dessert wines, sparkling wines and brandies. Large wineries are Bulungur, Gala Assiya, Kibrai, Nizhni Chirchik, Ogenek, Pastdargom and Uzvinsanoat.
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