Despite a rapidly changing landscape, few would argue
the lack of importance of Russia as a wine making region, however experts from
the country are claiming it’s a new player in the global market. This week the
Ideal Wine Company blog has tasked itself with assessing why.
The Land of
Many Climates
We all know why we don’t value Russian wine, it’s
hardly a secret. It’s the same reason most critics turn their nose up at
English wine. The vast majority of Russia is literally an arctic wasteland
(look up Siberia sometime), and that means that it’s hardly got the climate for
quality viticulture.
What many people forget is that a large swathe of
Russia sits significantly lower on the map than Siberia, and this area of the
country enjoys temperatures similar to those regularly seen in France, the old
bastion of global viticulture. This means that despite the dominance of Western
European countries, as well as up and comers such as Australia and Argentina in
the global market, it is entirely possible for Russia to enter said market.
A 3,000 Year
Old Wine Making Industry
And it seems as if they’re doing so, at least according
to the Moscow Times. This week the newspaper
gave a metaphorical toast to the country’s viticulture industry, dropping some
knowledge on those of us who have long underestimated it.
According to the news, it turns out Russia’s market is
over 3,000 years old, and the despite the prominence of Vodka as the drink most
people associate with the world’s largest country, the interest in Russian wine
has grown extraordinarily over the past ten years, and they specialise in many
areas, notably in the production of such classic vintages as the Pinot Noir.
Welcome to
the Russian Wine Revival
The newspaper proceeded to speak to the brand manager
Evgenia Ivanova at OKV, one of Russia’s oldest wine import companies.
Specifically, he detailed how old traditions are being revived in the country
by modern entrepreneurs through the illustration of the Rayevskoye wine maker
building up operations at the site just Southwest of Krasnodarsky Krai, the region where experts found the oldest traces
of wine making in Russia.
Ivanova said: "The Rayevskoye winery produces interesting, original
wine of the Pinot Noir sort. They can be proud of this because Pinot
Noir is a capricious, aristocratic wine that requires a lot
of work." He continued by saying: "The best ground was found
near the village of Rayevskoye and it was only after seven years
of experimenting, in 2011, that they started to sell their wine,
such as Pinot Noir and Renaissance."
The revival of Russia’s role in viticulture reminds us here at the Ideal
Wine Company of the sheer versatility of this industry; the same versatility
you can find with the many luxury vintages to be found on our product list!
