Ukraine is far from the first country you think of when talking about wine, but our history of winemaking and our wines are no less significant than our country
Today, Ukraine is on a new path that goes through the search for lost terroirs, the discovery of new local varieties, experimentation with technology and the rethinking of traditional methods of wine production.
Winemaking in Ukraine has been historically predetermined: our country has advantageous geographical location, and its climate favors grape growing. Not surprisingly, during the Soviet era Ukraine was the main wine producer. The origins of winemaking in our country date back to the 4th century BC (in Crimea), going 2 800 years back in the present-day Odesa Region.
Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, the major wine growing and producing region in Ukraine, has been a heavy blow to the industry. Ukraine lost more than half its bottled wines, mostly semi-sweet and dessert wines. But the loss of Crimea and the armed conflict in the east ironically gave a giant push to Western-style dry wines, especially in Transcarpathia and the southern Odessa and Kherson regions.
The struggle for the territory of Ukraine has been going on for centuries, and is still going on. This also affected the development of winemaking in our territories – in some places it fell into decline, in others – it completely disappeared, but somewhere it flourished with renewed vigor.
Today, Ukraine is on a new path that goes through the search for lost terroirs, the discovery of new local varieties, experimentation with technology and the rethinking of traditional methods of wine production.
The full-scale war unleashed by Russia significantly affects the state of the industry – some wineries are occupied, some are damaged and looted, vineyards are mined and not cultivated, the local market has shrunk. But we continue our fight. In 2022, Ukrainian wines began to be discovered worldide and today they are already presented in UK, USA, Japan, Poland, Baltic and Nordic countries and others.
Ukraine is a wine-growing region of Old Europe, and we invite you to discover it from a new side!
Ukraine is located between the 44th and 52nd latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. The landscape is primarily flat, interspersed with occasional hills, featuring the Carpathian Mountains to the west and the Crimean Mountains on the Crimean Peninsula in the south.
The climate of Ukraine varies significantly between the mainland and the Crimean Peninsula. The mainland experiences a mostly continental climate, characterized by hot summers and cold winters, often accompanied by significant frost risk in early spring. This continental climate becomes less pronounced in the west, particularly in the Zakarpattia region, where summers are less intense and winters are milder. Annual rainfall ranges from 350-400 mm in the south to 1200-1500 mm in the Carpathian Mountains.
A large number of new wineries that have appeared in the last 5 years are located in cool climates, where excellent white and sparkling wines are produced, and classic wine-growing regions are located in the warmest climatic zones of Ukraine, where red wines are best revealed.
The winemaking of the Black Sea region is influenced by the continental and maritime climate. There are a large number of salty estuaries, bays, lakes, and in the southernmost point of the region there is a micro-region called Bessarabia, a large part of which is covered with steppes, and the rest is washed by the Black Sea. Droughts often occur here, and the soils are chernozems, loams, and sandy loams with interspersed limestone rocks.
Zakarpattia is a region of Ukraine located on the border with Hungary and Slovakia. Zakarpattia has always been considered the land of white wines, but in recent years, red varieties have been ripening here as well. The climatic conditions of the region are favorable for growing grapes, because the territory is closed from the North by the Carpathian Mountains from cold winds, and this creates a special microclimate. There is a lot of sunlight, and vineyards grow on the local slopes.
Most of the vineyards in Ukraine are planted with international grape varieties. The most popular white varieties are Aligote, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Traminer. The most common red varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Saperavi. Some Ukrainian wineries successfully grow and produce wines from Tempranillo, Timorasso, Albarino, Pinotage, Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch, etc. Also, with the development of winemaking in more northern and central-western regions, Johanniter, Solaris, Jupiter and other frost-resistant varieties are popular.
Local varieties began to gain popularity among winemakers only in recent years. However, there are also those wineries that have been working with them for a long time and are moving in this direction. Among the most popular white varieties: Telti-Kuruk, Sukhomlinsky white, Citron Magarach. Also, a large number of autochthonous varieties remained in occupied Crimea – Kokur, Kefesia, Ekim Kara and others.
Most of the territory of Ukraine has been scarred by war because the Russians have been actively destroying civilian infrastructure and this fate hasn’t spared the wineries of our country.
Russian troops had nearly destroyed Ukrainian winemaking after the hostile invasion of our sovereign country. At this very moment the devastating war, that started with Russian unprovoked attack, is destroying wineries and vineyards, killing thousands of innocent citizens.
Ukraine has a great history of winemaking and we hope that we would be able to share our wines with winelovers from all over the world after the war end. We continue to fight for our freedom and to protect our land, language and identity!
Ukrainian wines began to be discovered worldide and today they are already highly rated by best wine experts of the world
I’m impressed by the rise in quality of the wines especially now, considering the challenges of war. Odesa Black and Telti-Kuruk were well known to me from my previous visits to Ukraine, but they presented a completely new experience for most attendees of ProWein. For the future I would suggest you to focus as much as possible on Ukrainian indigenous grape varieties, they are what makes a difference.
Wine critic
A characteristic of Ukrainian wines which is a certain freshness and brightness. So, they are actually very subtle, lively and the quality is really high. These aren’t wines that you choose out of sympathy, I would say that they’re really exciting.
Master of Wine
The Ukrainians have shown how powerful the belief in one’s right to exist is as they continue to fight for their survival as a nation. So too will the wine trade also endure, especially with the support of the international wine community
Decanter Magazine, Wine Writer & DWWA Judge
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