Ukrainian Wines Return to ProWein in Force

Despite the conflict, life goes on in Ukraine. Grapes are picked and wine produced, sold and consumed. And 12 wineries are making their way to ProWein in the hope of building their export sales.

Reading time: 2m 15s

The Prince Trubetskoy winery in Kherson before the invasion. Sadly inaccessible today because of daily shelling
The Prince Trubetskoy winery in Kherson before the invasion. Sadly inaccessible today because of daily shelling

Last year, Prowein opened its doors on May 15th, less than 12 weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Among the exhibitors was the Shabo winery, one of Ukraine’s biggest, which was uncertain until the last moment whether its wines or anybody to pour them would be able to get to Dusseldorf. The journey proved worthwhile for the Ukrainians who reported having had some very good meetings at the fair.   
 

Joint stand in hall 12 (A03)

Ten months later, Shabo is back at Prowein – on stand G38 in Hall 12 – but this time, they will be accompanied by 11 other producers on a Wines of Ukraine stand - A03 – in the same hall. Behind this initiative is the two-year-old Ukrainian Association of Craft Winemakers with support from the USAID Competitive Economy Program. The two-year-old, 72-member, association was originally created, in the words of its director Svitlana Tsybak, to “actively develop the Wines of Ukraine brand” and to coordinate and develop the national winemaking industry. Today, however, it finds itself helping to remove mines from vineyards recaptured from the Russian occupiers and rebuild wineries after devastating attacks.

Meininger’s recently published news of the impact of the war on the Ukrainian wine fraternity, including Svetlana Tsybak, director of the Beykush winery who, at the end of last year, despite the conflict, opened a wine bar in the heart of Kyiv, focused on small artisan wines.

Wine

Russia’s invasion has touched every part of Ukraine’s wine economy. Looted wineries, sommeliers turned soldiers, and destroyed warehouses are only part of it, as Sergey Panov reports.

Reading time: 6m 45s

New realities: mines, bombardment, destruction...

Among the other exhibitors at ProWein are the Prince Trubetskoy Winery whose whose vineyards have yet to be fully de-mined and whose facility is in part of Kherson that is still subject to daily shelling. As the Ukrainian Association of Craft Winemakers states in a press release “even now, after the expulsion of the Russians from Kherson, “it is not clear what happened to the production facilities, ancient wine cellars, restaurant and hotel complex.”

It is sadly all too clear from aerial photographs what has happened to the Artwine winery in the currently besieged city of Bakhmut. The buildings, home of Ukraine’s leading sparkling wine producer, with an annual potential output of 25m bottles, have been destroyed. Fortunately, the business and most of the 500 employees relocated to Odessa in the south, early in the war.

We have to spread the word that, despite the war, life goes on here, we continue to grow grapes and produce our wines.

Looking forward to ProWein, Svitlana Tsybak says “The attention that Ukraine is getting all over the world these days is extraordinary. We have to spread the word that, despite the war, life goes on here, we continue to grow grapes and produce our wines that have already been recognized by the world. We are happy to do our job, to work for our Victory.”

Interviews

In this exclusive interview, Giorgi Iukuridze, co-founder of Shabo, Ukraine's leading winery, shares his experience of the last seven months, since the invasion of his country by Russia

Reading time: 7m 10s

The Ukrainian Wineries at ProWein
  • 46 Parallel Wine Group (Odessa region).
  • Artwinery ( Mykolayiv, Kherson and Odessa regions)
  • Beykush Winery (Mykolaiv region)
  • Biologist Craft Winery (Kyiv region)
  • Chateau Chizay (Transcarpathian region)
  • Father’s Wine VB (Ternopil region)
  • Kolonist Winery (Odesa region / Southern Bessarabia)
  • My Wine by Eduard Gorodetsky (Odessa region)
  • Prince Trubetskoy Winery (Kherson region)
  • Stakhovsky Wines (Transcarpathian region)
  • Tiras Winery (Khmelnytskyi Region)
  • Vinhol Oksamitnoe/Villa Tinta (Odesa region / Southern Bessarabia)

 

 

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