Overview of Top Stories in the Russian Wine World. Every week we identify for you the top stories in Russia about wine, spirits, restaurants, beer, cider, etc. We provide an English-language summary of each of them, as well as a link if you want to learn more. Written by Evgeniy Kotelevsky, edited by Thomas Anthony.
Best-selling Australian AR-technology pioneer "19 Crimes" presented its new wine featuring Snoop Dogg
The main feature of “19 Crimes” is the use of innovative Augmented Reality (AR) technology. When you place your smartphone camera in front of the bottle and open a special “19 Crimes” app, the characters on the labels come to life and start to tell their stories. Originally there were Australian prisoners from the 18th-19th centuries on the labels. The collection recently added Snoop Dogg to its labels thanks to a collaboration of the brand with the American rapper. Wines from “19 Crimes” are popular in a number of Russian wine-retail chains. Learn more about the brand in English.
Gosstandart has approved a new GOST (All-Union State Standard): “32030-2021: Wines. General technical conditions”
This new GOST standard replaces the “Table wines” GOST, which for a long time was the main one used in wine production in Russia. Thus, this new GOST for “Wines. General technical conditions” complements the existing specialized GOST for “Wines with protected geographical indication and wines with protected appellation of origin. General specifications.” The professional community is discussing its ins and outs, including: the prohibition against selling wines containing sediments but aged for less than 36 months in the bottle, and the need to label orange wines as white. You can familiarize yourself with the text of the new GOST in Russian by following the link.
Photo: © Simple Wine News
South Ossetia increased its wine export to Russia by 30% in 2021
The general director of the only licensed wine producer in South Ossetia, "Ironsan Winery," Aleksey Tsapaev said that his factory currently ships 300 thousand bottles monthly to Russia. Wine expert Sergey Panov links the sharp increase in exports to the new version of Federal Law No. 468, "On viticulture and winemaking in the Russian Federation," and the consequent transfer of the production of the "Fotisal Wine House" from Crimea to South Ossetia. Read the original news in Russian.
O'KEY Group of Companies presented a new format of hypermarkets in St. Petersburg
The range of products in the new store format was increased to 5000 SKUs. This includes an updated wine category, including the “O'KEY Selection” collection selected by Frank Smulders MW. A useful novelty for wine lovers is the Digital Sommelier system, which displays detailed information about a wine when the label is held up to a screen. The first stores of the new format were opened on Bolshevikov and Bogatyrsky Prospects. Read the original news in Russian.
Discounter “Da” has presented a revised wine range
On November 18, a presentation of the expanded “Da” wine range took place in the Moscow restaurant Modus. The “Da” team has been holding such presentations on a regular basis since 2016. At the moment, the chain's assortment includes 138 wines (24 sparkling, 109 still, 5 fortified). The entire range is foreign wines imported by a technical importer. Read the original news in Russian.
“Vkusvill” chain has opened its first wine store in St. Petersburg
The new store is located on Kosmonavtov Avenue. “Vkusvill” launched its first store focused on wines back in May 2020, on Bolshaya Spasskaya Street in Moscow. The initial purpose of the launch was an experiment to determine whether the chain's clients are ready to buy wine from it. Read the original message in Russian.
Geneticists from the Kurchatov Institute presented a method to determine the vintage of a wine by its molecular composition
The President of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute," Mikhail Kovalchuk announced that now they are not only able to identify the wine vintage, but also to determine the varietal blend and even the terroir! “Such comparisons have already been made, they are truly impressive,” said Kovalchuk. Read the original news in Russian.
Photo: © Simple Wine News
23% more grapes were harvested in Sevastopol in 2021 compared to last year
The average grape yield increased by 17.9% compared to last year, and amounted to 4,93 tons per hectare. Currently there are about 5 thousand hectares of vineyards bearing fruit in the region. Read the original news in Russian.
“Russian Media Group,” known for the “Maxidrom” series of rock music events, will organize wine festivals
It has already submitted applications for two trademarks: "Russkoye igraet" (Russian plays) and "Russkoe igristoye" (Russian sparkling). The company will be responsible for the musical element of the festival, while winemaking partners will be responsible for the enogastronomic part. Such festivals are planned to be held several times a year in Moscow, the Krasnodar Region, and Crimea. Read the original news in Russian.
Roman Sosnovsky was among the Top 5 sommeliers of Europe and Africa at the International Sommelier Association (ASI) competition in Limassol, Cyprus
The title of the best sommelier in Europe and Africa went to the Italian Salvatore Castano, Nina Jansen from Denmark was second, and third place was taken by the Austrian Suvad Zlatic. Roman Sosnovsky, outgoing President of the Moscow Sommelier Association, took fifth place. Congratulations! Read the original news in Russian.
Krasnodar winery Château le Grand Vostock signed a contract with renowned French wine consultant Michel Rolland
This is a long term contract with Laboratoire Rolland, led by Michel Rolland. According to Alcoexpert, the French consultants started their work at the Russian winery in August of this year, while Mr. Rolland himself visited Château le Grand Vostock in October. This joint project with the famous French wine consultant is a part of the winery renovation program currently taking place, which also includes the purchase of new French barrels, modernization of the facilities and equipment, and replanting with new vines. Read the original news in Russian.
Cover photo: © John Gibbon/Unsplash.