By Eugene Gerden for Meininger’s Wine Business International
The Russian government has designed a package of measures aimed at developing of winemaking in the Crimean peninsula, which was one of the centres of wine production during the Soviet times.
Among the planned measures are the development of the new federal law ‘On grapes and wine’, which would allow winemakers who make wine from their own grape to receive benefits and incentives from the state. It would also offer state subsidies for the planting of new vineyards (in a potential area of 80,000 ha), an exemption from VAT, and the creation of distribution of Crimean wines in federal and local retail chains in Russia.
According to Dmitry Kozak, Russia’s deputy Prime Minister, there are also plans to provide additional funds to support the largest Crimean wine producers, including the Massandra wine factory, the Koktebel factory of vintage wines and cognacs, the Inkerman Winery, the Magarach Institute of Wine, the New World factory of sparkling wines, and the Sun Valley and Gold beam wine factories.
Total volume of investments in the implementation of these plans may exceed $800m. Russia has big hopes for the development of winemaking in Crimea, given that the total vineyard area in the Peninsula currently exceeds 30,000 ha, compared to 60,000 ha in the whole of Russia.
"The Crimean wine industry is on the verge of big events and the recovery of its Soviet positions, when Crimea provided up to 60% of the USSR’s needs on grape, is an acute need for us,” said Yanina Pavlenko, head of the New World factory of sparkling wines, which is one of Crimea’s largest producers of sparkling wines. "The development of Crimean wine industry will provide an impetus for the development of the entire Russian wine industry.”
The investments will allow Russia to develop Crimean agriculture and thereby reduce dependence on imports of European and Latin American wines.
The Russian Federation annexed Crimea in April 2014. According to Reuters, PresidentBarack Obamais expected to speak to several European leaders on Friday about imposing economic sanctions on Russia.
