Wine Packaging and Sustainability: What to Expect in 2022 and Beyond

Sustainability is a broad topic in agriculture today, but to be truly sustainable, the practice and its principles must extend to all aspects of production. From grape to glass and through every step in the supply chain, wine producers and distributors are keenly focused on ways to reduce waste and carbon emissions to mitigate the challenges of climate change.

Like most people, you are probably doing your part to save the planet. But the wine industry—and wine lovers in general—tend to cling to the romance of tradition when it comes to packaging.

Glass bottles and natural corks are still seen as more desirable than cans, boxes, and screwcaps. Still, these packaging choices are becoming less sustainable by the minute. Faced with glass shortages, supply chain vulnerability, and mounting evidence that “the way we’ve always done it” is contributing greatly to the wine world’s carbon footprint, something’s got to give.

If you’re one of the many wine lovers out there who still cling to the romance of the tried-and-true, we’d like you to hear us out, consider the evidence, and keep an open mind.

 

Wine’s Carbon Footprint

The California Wine Institute released a paper in 2020 that found the two most significant contributors to carbon emissions from grape to glass are glass bottles (29%) and transportation (13%). Other notable elements included bio-geochemical field emissions in the vineyard (from nitrogen fertilizer applications) and raw materials production, specifically associated with the manufacturing and shipment of materials and chemicals related to fertilization and pesticides.

When it comes to wine packaging, it would seem that the impact of glass bottles is substantial. Wineries are currently experiencing a widespread availability issue with glass bottles due to a global sand shortage (glass is made of sand). And while this might seem ludicrous to some, glass manufacturing requires a specific type of angular sand found only on riverbanks and floodplains.

Couple that with the recent destruction of one of Europe’s biggest glass factories, destroyed by the Russians in their war on Ukraine, and the big picture comes into focus. There’s plenty of wine, but no bottles to put them in.

 

Alternative Wine Packaging Examples

Here are examples of alternative packaging you might already be seeing in restaurants and on store shelves:

  • Wine in Cans. They’re lighter, easier to transport, and 100% recyclable. Plus, great for picnics and by the pool. Yay!
  • Wine in Kegs. Kegged wine stays fresher longer, improving profitability and reducing waste for restaurants and wineries.
  • Crowlers. You see crowlers in brewpubs, but you may soon start seeing them used for charmat method sparkling wine.
  • Bag-in-Box. Typically, consumers do not view boxed wine as a “quality” product, but we’ve already seen the tide turn with brands like La Vielle Ferme, Bandit, Bota Box, and Black Box leading the pack.
 

Bottom line

Wine packaging is ripe for disruption. As the industry innovates solutions and alternatives, we have a massive opportunity to reduce wine’s carbon footprint, but consumer hesitation might be the most significant barrier. Just know that regardless of the vessel it’s in, your favorite wines are still made with love and care. Changes in packaging are not made lightly, as quality is always the number one priority.

And while you’ll likely never see first-growth Bordeaux and Burgundy in a box, don’t be shy to try wine in a can, from a keg, or in tetra packs. When you support wineries committed to being part of the solution, you’re doing a good thing for the planet — and you still get to reap the delicious rewards.

Fill your cellar: sign up for a wine club subscription today!

Sign Up For Exclusive Wine Deals

We never share your personal information. View our Privacy Policy.

Volcanic Wines are Having a Moment

There’s a lot of buzz around volcanic wines these days – but what are they? How are volcanic wines different? Are they good quality? Do they age well? So many questions!

If you’ve wondered about volcanic wines even for a moment, we’ll break it down for you so you can fill your glass—or your cellar—with some good volcanic buys.

Volcanic Wines Defined

Volcanic wines are a general category referring to wines grown on volcanic soil. Simply put, if grapes are grown on or near a volcano, the soil contains a large proportion of mineral-laden volcanic material: lava, basalt, pumice, and volcanic alluvium—everything that settles into the land after a volcanic eruption.

You might wonder why anybody would be so crazy as to plant vineyards on a volcanic slope, but winemakers and growers do not shy away from adversity. As you might imagine, soil with this type of composition isn’t the easiest to farm. Therefore, much of the work must be done by hand, making for quite a laborious process.

Though volcanic earth only makes up a tiny bit of the world’s arable land, it is remarkably good for grapes. It drains well and has a high mineral content but is not particularly fertile, resulting in wines that are structured, savory, concentrated, and higher in acidity, often in sharp contrast to wines made in neighboring regions on non-volcanic soils.

Where in the World to Find Volcanic Wines

Mount Etna, Sicily

The best-known volcanic wine appellation is Etna, in the Southern Italian region of Sicily. Sicilian wines are typically known for low acidity and high alcohol, but grapes grown on high volcanic slopes result in wines with great minerality, structure, and finesse. Typical Etna grape varieties are Nerello Mascelese for reds, Carricante for whites, and other varieties native to the region.

Canary Islands, Spain

Despite the sub-tropical climate, Canary Island red wines are remarkably light and fresh. Red wines made from native Listan Negro can be compared to gamay (Beaujolais) in body and flavor, with notes of black pepper, raspberries, blackberries, and fennel. White wines are often made from Malvasia or Listan Bianco (a synonym for Palomino in the region) and a long list of indigenous grapes.

Red Mountain, Washington State

Washington’s Red Mountain AVA is part of the Cascade Mountain Range and is well-known for its world-class syrah and cabernet sauvignon. Though the region is significantly further north, its climate is similar to Napa Valley in terms of heat and sunshine, resulting in weighty wines with incredible finesse and structure, due in no small part to its volcanic soils.

Lake County, California

Lake County is just an hour’s drive north of Napa Valley and one of the most important growing regions in the state – even though you’ve probably never heard of it before. The vineyards between Cobb Mountain and Mt. Konocti are replete with high-elevation vineyards, especially in AVAs like Red Hills and High Valley, both of which are known for their cabernet sauvignon.

While Etna wines might be the most accessible source, you can also find volcanic wines from Oregon’s Amity Hills, Campania in Italy, and Santorini in Greece. To learn more about volcanic wines, check out Master Sommelier John Szabo’s book, Volcanic Wines: Salt, Grip, and Power.

Travel the world one sip at a time: sign up for a wine club subscription today!

Sign Up For Exclusive Wine Deals

We never share your personal information. View our Privacy Policy.

What Wine Pairs with Ham?

I know we’re all thinking along the same lines right now — what wine pairs with ham?

As we approach the holidays, many of us are planning meals in preparation for long-awaited visits with friends and family. If you really want to wow them this season, pairing up favorite foods with the right wine always brings smiles.

Fortunately, there are plenty of delicious wine options for pairing with ham, even for the pickiest wine drinkers in the bunch.

 

Pairing Wine with Ham: the Basics

Food and wine pairing is like alchemy. Of course, there aren’t many choices that are just terrible, but there are some truly spectacular pairings, and that’s all down to a few key principles.

First, let’s think about the ham. It is usually smoked, often sweet (as in Honeybaked or glazed ham), and quite fatty, no matter how you cook it. The best way to balance and compliment the rich, smoky sweetness of the ham is to pair it with a semi-sweet wine. A little sugar cuts the perception of fat, helping the dish and all its cream-and-butter-laden accompaniments (scalloped potatoes, anyone?) not seem so heavy.

 

Which Wines are Best with Ham?

Now that you know the basic principle we’ll follow, let’s move on to the wines themselves. Here are a few ideas for what wine to pair with ham.

 

White Wines with Ham

Riesling is always an excellent choice. Though you might think that all riesling is sweet, that’s not always the case. You want to look for one with medium-sweetness and weight, such as a riesling Kabinett from Germany. Alsatian riesling (from the Alsace region of France) is also excellent, but many are dry.

A good rule of thumb where riesling is concerned is to look for one with an alcohol level (ABV) of about 11% if you want semi-sweet. Sweeter versions clock in at about 9-10% ABV, and if they’re over 12%, they’re considered dry.

Other great choices include:

  • Vouvray from France (chenin blanc)
  • Chenin blanc from South Africa (value-priced)
  • Moscato (nothing too dry or too sweet)

Try to avoid wines like viognier or rousanne as they could easily overpower the flavors of the ham. By the same token, dry whites like pinot grigio won’t do the dish any justice. You need something aromatic and semi-sweet. If you want to go totally outside the box, try an oloroso or amontillado sherry! You’ll be knocked out at how beautifully they pair.

 

Red Wines with Ham

Choose medium-bodied, fruity reds with good acidity. A little bit of sugar is okay; a lot of tannin is not. Avoid heavy wines like cabernet sauvignon and opt for:

  • Gamay/Beaujolais
  • Pinot noir (new world styles are better with ham)
  • Cotes du Rhone (grenache)
  • Lighter-style zinfandel
  • Primitivo
 

Rosé Wines with Ham

Rosé strikes the perfect balance between red and white. Go for something that’s a little (not a lot) sweet, like a French Tavel or Provencal rosé.

  • Spanish Rosato (Tempranillo or grenache)
  • Nebbiolo rosé (Italy)
  • Sparkling rosé Cava (Spain)
  • Tavel, Lirac, or Provence rosé (France)
  • Vin gris zinfandel (not white zin)

Now that you know what wines to pair with ham, it’s time to send out the invites! To simplify your holiday wine shopping, why not order a case? We’re here to help you tick off your to-do list, and that’s just one way we do it. Sign up for a wine club subscription today!

Sign Up For Exclusive Wine Deals

We never share your personal information. View our Privacy Policy.

Why Does Red Wine Give Me a Headache?

If you get a headache every time you drink red wine, it’s easy to understand why you avoid it. But if white wine and rosé wine doesn’t give you the same adverse effects, what is it in red wine that’s the culprit?

The answer might be a little more complicated than you think. While there are a few common elements that are known to be problematic, what causes your headache might be different than what causes your friends’ headaches.

Today we’ll look at some of the top reasons why red wine gives you headaches. If you know your health history, allergies, and how your body reacts to certain foods, these insights should help you solve the mystery!

 

Red Wine Headache – Reasons

 

Alcohol

Many modern red wines have alcohol levels (ABV) of 14.5% or more. The higher the alcohol, the greater the potential for headaches. Alcohol—any alcohol—dilates the blood vessels in your brain and can cause a headache. Drinking high-alcohol wine on an empty stomach or in the absence of water may cause a headache in as little as 15 minutes. Try to stay hydrated, drink a glass of water between glasses of wine, and choose red wines with an ABV of 13% or less and see how you feel.

 

Tannins

Tannins are naturally present in the skins, seeds, and stems of grapes. There are typically more tannins in red wine than in white or rosé, although this isn’t a hard and fast rule. Extended skin contact will extract more tannins from the grapes, and mass-produced wines often have tannin added to preserve color, add structure, and flesh out the mouthfeel. If tannin is the cause, we could assume that choosing lighter, low-tannin reds like gamay and pinot noir would be headache-free.

 

Sulfites

Some people are allergic or highly sensitive to sulfites in wine. There are legal limits to how much sulfur can be added to wine, and it’s always below the taste threshold. However, if you know you’re allergic to sulfur, try to choose organic or low-intervention wines to minimize your exposure. If you’re getting headaches from red wine and not white, it’s not likely a sulfur issue. White wine always has more added sulfur than red wine.

 

Histamines

Histamines are present in grape skins and more predominantly in red wines because of how they are made. Red wine spends time resting on the skins to extract color and tannin, while white wine is filtered off the skins immediately after pressing. An exception to this rule would be skin-contact wines (also known as orange wines), which are white wines that get extended skin contact. Histamines may initiate an allergic reaction in some people. Also, alcohol inhibits the enzyme in our body that breaks down histamine. Some people lack this enzyme naturally, resulting in high blood histamine levels, dilated blood vessels, and potentially causing severe headaches.

Here’s our cure for what ails you: Sign up for a wine club subscription today!

Sign Up For Exclusive Wine Deals

We never share your personal information. View our Privacy Policy.

Wine and Music: At the Intersection of Two of the Most Pleasurable Things in Life

Ah, music. Ah, wine. There is likely nothing in the universe more subjective or hotly debated than these two things.

We go on at length about this band, that composer, this song, that harmony – and similarly (at least, if you are a wine lover), we argue and pontificate about our wine: This one has no length or structure – that one is too sweet, too acidic, too oxidized, too oaky. I hate chardonnay, but I love good chardonnay … and the same goes for our favourite songs. What equals perfection to some is pure schlock/plonk to others, and no matter how scientific or impassioned the argument, nobody will ever truly win.

In fact, you’d stand a better chance if you settled it with a foot race, or in the octagon.

But despite their polarizing natures, music and wine are forever intertwined. Wine has never ceased to inspire, and there is much evidence that many of the great composers were – shall we say – more than fond of it.

Swilling With The Masters of Music

Franz Liszt and Franz Schubert were both fond of the Hungarian wines of Szekszárd, which we know in modern times as Bull’s Blood. As legend has it, this rich and spicy red was Schubert’s muse while writing the Trout Quintet. As for Liszt, he was known to consume two bottles of cognac a day, plus several bottles of wine, and from that, great works were created.

Rossini had a varied palate and was known to drink red Bordeaux with his fish and Rhine wine with turkey, while Verdi, another Italian composer, loved Chianti and Pomino. Verdi’s operas often featured wine, as evidenced by his versions of Macbeth, Otello, Falstaff, and La Traviata, and he regularly used the stuff to punctuate on-stage emotions – camaraderie, romance, and murderous inclinations alike.

According to Jan Swafford’s 2014 biography, Beethoven, even on his deathbed, was waiting for a delivery of his favourite wine from the Rhineland. When it arrived, he was almost gone himself, with only the strength to utter his last words: “Pity, pity, too late …”

Boozing notwithstanding (there are far too many examples of historic debauchery to list here), it leads us to wonder … did the music inspire the desire for wine? Or did the wine inspire the music?

Wine or Music: What Comes First?

It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg conundrum, but in truth, the two go hand in hand. It’s a sort of ethereal symbiosis that can neither be defined or denied.

Case in point: do you know how many top winemakers had early careers as musicians? It’s true – and I’m not just talking about “celebrity wines” that bear the name but are made by somebody else.

Robert Foley of Robert Foley Vineyards (and formerly at Pride Mountain, Paloma, and many more) in Napa Valley, started life as a musician and recording engineer. In fact, he still indulges his ‘other’ muse. His band, aptly called The Robert Foley Band, tours and records, and he continues to maintain an extensive collection of guitars and a fully equipped recording studio on site.

Another Napa Valley cult-winemaker extraordinaire, Marco Di Giulio was once a musician by trade, and a darn good harmonica player to boot. Marco was responsible for some of the most superfluous wines in recent Napa Valley history, including Lokoya, famous for its world-class cabernet sauvignon.

Marco once told me that he didn’t think musicians becoming winemakers was such a strange concept. After all, as musicians, we all need a relatively transient job. So, we work in restaurants and eventually, gravitate towards wine. Wine appeals to our creativity because it is so subjective, so mutable, so fascinatingly personal in terms of how we enjoy it.

Just like the interpretation of a song or a composition, a wine is never exactly the same twice.

Tim Gaiser, Master Sommelier, is also a musician – and not just a musician, he’s got two degrees in music, one in music history and one in classical trumpet. Tim makes a fascinating point when he says:

The most important connection between wine and music is how it makes us think – how intensive training in either field or both can create complex patterns of thought not found in other fields.”

This could be interpreted many ways, but what it boils down to is this: the ability to think outside the box is integral in both music and wine. In training for either discipline, we learn a lot of technical stuff and then have to necessarily toss it out the window when things don’t go quite the way we had expected.

Taken in this light, and all things considered, perhaps musical training is a precursor to good winemaking.

Equally important, it can’t be argued that a good bottle of wine doesn’t stir the muse.

Here are some wine-friendly selections for your summer playlist:

  • Red, Red Wine (UB40)
  • Lilac Wine (Jeff Buckley)
  • Bottle of Red Wine (Eric Clapton)
  • Tiny Bubbles (Don Ho)
  • You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones)
  • Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (Billy Joel)
  • A Case of You (Joni Mitchell)
  • Killer Queen (Queen)
  • I Will Drink the Wine (Frank Sinatra)
  • Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology (Jack Johnson)
  • The Wino and I Know (Jimmy Buffett)

Fill your glass with a
wine club subscription today.

Sign Up For Exclusive Wine Deals

We never share your personal information. View our Privacy Policy.

Best Wines for Thanksgiving and Housewarming Gifts

It’s that time of year again, and we can be doubly thankful that the lockdowns are behind us, and we can finally gather with the people we love. But no matter what the occasion, whether it’s a family thanksgiving, housewarming, or a simple dinner party with your besties, wine is always a good idea.

But what to bring? Therein lies the dilemma. Fortunately, we’ve got a few ideas to whet your palate.

 

Wines for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving isn’t your typical dinner party. There are some pretty standard dishes on the table, so pairing them up with wine shouldn’t be that challenging. Right?

Well, not so fast. When you think about it, there are so many flavors, from turkey and cranberry sauce to smokey honey ham and the obligatory green bean casserole—where do you start?

You’ll want to bring a wine that everybody will enjoy, so your best bet is to bring a red and a white.

Our hands-down pick for white thanksgiving wine is Italian verdicchio, but you can’t go wrong with just about any Italian white. You could also try other Italian whites, like pinot grigio or Soave, the latter of which is made from the Garganega grape variety.

Can’t find verdicchio? Sauvignon blanc is similar but look for something with soft edges, like sauvignon blanc from California.

As for reds, you can never go wrong with a pinot noir. Pinot noir matches with just about every kind of food, and it’s also a great choice for a vegetarian feast. Look for a pinot noir from Oregon or Sonoma in California. Cooler climate pinots, like the ones from these regions, are always better food wines.

 

Wines for Housewarming Gifts

This year has been one of renewal for many. If you’ve been invited to a housewarming party to ring in the next chapter in a loved one’s life, what better way to christen the occasion than with a special bottle of wine?

You’re best to bring two—one to enjoy and one for your friend to keep as they start a fresh collection in their new digs.

Ideally, you’ll want to choose something they can enjoy now or save for a special occasion. If your friend is a white wine lover, a good-quality chardonnay is an excellent choice as it’s more age-worthy than your typical everyday white. However, if they’re a little more adventurous, try a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s rich, complex, and will keep for many years to come.

For red lovers, you can’t go wrong with a Barolo, Amarone, or a big California cabernet sauvignon. None of these wines are cheap, but it’s easy to find a great one in the $50 range.

But if it’s a really, really good friend, perhaps you want to do a little more—especially if they’re moving far away. A wine club subscription indulges their palates every month (or every other month) and reminds them how much you care.

Wine club subscriptions start at $29 per shipment, and you can customize their selections according to their preferences or surprise them with award-winning finds.

Sign Up For Exclusive Wine Deals

We never share your personal information. View our Privacy Policy.

Wine Tasting Survival Guide: How to Outlast Your Friends and Come Home with Wine You’ll Love Tomorrow

If you’ve ever done a day of wine tasting, you’ll inevitably come home with purchased wine. But did you ever wonder why you love a wine so much at the winery, but when you pull the cork at home a few days later, it just doesn’t live up to your memory?

The good news is, you’re not alone. The even better news is that if you read this article and put these tips into practice, the chances of it happening again are pretty slim.

 

What is Palate Fatigue?

You may have noticed that after you’ve tasted a few wines (or even had a few glasses of the same wine), it all tastes the same. That’s because of what we call “palate fatigue.” Palate fatigue will eventually happen when you consume alcohol, especially if you’re imbibing wine or spirits that are very high in alcohol or very sweet. Some examples might be big red wines from California or Australia, Port, or any kind of fortified or dessert wine.

Once your palate is fatigued, you would be hard-pressed to distinguish between a Grand Cru Burgundy and Yellowtail chardonnay.

But professional wine tasters, sommeliers, and wine judges can all taste dozens of wines in a relatively short space of time. A wine judge might taste 80 wines in a day and still be capable of quantifying the wine and writing an accurate tasting note.

Today, we’re going to learn their secrets, so you can outlast all your friends and be absolutely certain you’re not wasting good money on a wine you won’t love tomorrow.

 

Secrets of Professional Wine Tasters

There is truly only one way to survive a day of wine tasting. You might be a little squeamish about it at first, but this is what the pros do.

You spit.

When you taste wine, you don’t need to swallow it to be able to know everything about it. Wineries will supply a cup for you to spit into, or they’ll have a spittoon. We suggest laying in a supply of red cups to take with you so you always have your own cup and won’t have to worry about the ick factor.

 

Simple Wine Tasting Survival Tips

  1. First, nose the wine. This is where you’ll pick up the aromas and bouquet.
  2. Next, swirl the wine in the glass and nose it again. You may notice different aromas.
  3. Then, take a sip of the wine and swish it around to every corner of your mouth and under the gums, like mouthwash. This is where you’ll get an impression of the wine. You sense acidity on the sides of the tongue, sweetness at the tip, bitterness (and alcohol) on the back.
  4. Draw in a little bit of air in between swishes.
  5. Spit the wine into your receptacle.

At this point, you’ll know whether you like the wine or not. Take notes if you want. At the end of the tasting, review what you’ve had and purchase the ones you really like. Where it gets challenging is after you’ve tasted ten or so wines (which is not unusual when you’re out tasting at wineries). And even if you’re spitting, you will absorb a little alcohol – but if you spit, you’ll have a much better chance of getting to the finish line both sober and well-stocked with wine you won’t regret!

Sign Up For Exclusive Wine Deals

We never share your personal information. View our Privacy Policy.

Red Wines For Roast Beef – Wine Pairing

If you’re planning a holiday get-together, we’ll bet it involves a sumptuous feast of some description. If roast beef is on the menu this year, you might be wondering about wine that pairs with roast beef, and we’ve got some mouthwatering ideas you’re going to love.

 

Roast Beef Wine Pairing

Choosing a wine to pair with roast beef usually skews towards big reds. But let’s also consider what you’ll serve with it. You want to pair your roast beef dinner with a wine that will match your menu in texture and weight.

 

#1 Cabernet Sauvignon

Ideally, look for a big red that’s low in tannins. High-tannin wines like cabernet sauvignon pair well with roast beef but might clash with some of your side dishes. However, it can work if you choose something from a new world region, like California.

Australian cabernet sauvignon, such as from the Coonawarra or Barossa Valley, could also be a candidate, but you’ll find notes of eucalyptus in there, which might not be the optimum choice.

In any case, decanting will soften the tannins and open up the wine considerably. It takes two seconds, you don’t need a fancy decanter (although that’s always fun), and the rewards are instantaneous!

 

#2 Merlot

Merlot is typically a softer wine and does well paired with roast beef and myriad other holiday dishes. It’s also easy for people to love, so a good choice for an all-around wine that will take you from cocktail hour through the meal and beyond.

Choose a merlot from California or Chile. But if you have the option, go for something a little more high-end. There are a lot of uninteresting merlots in the market, but if you spend a few extra bucks, it’ll make all the difference.

 

#3 Rhône-Style Blends

There’s a vast selection of Rhône-style blends out there, and they don’t have to be from France. If you want to splurge, a Châteauneuf-du-Pape will always impress. However, if you’re having a large gathering and want something a little more budget-friendly, try a Côtes du Rhône Villages or something from California or a good quality Australian shiraz.

Grape varieties that fall into this category include grenache, syrah, mourvedre, and carignan, which are often blended but sometimes offered as single varietals. Australia, in particular, is quite fond of their grenache-syrah-mourvedre (GSM) blends, and they’re certainly worth checking out!

 

#4 Alternate Selections

If you have guests that don’t love red wine, go for a rosé. White wines aren’t the best choice, but you could likely do well with a white Bordeaux, an Australian Semillon-sauvignon blanc, or a semi-dry riesling in a pinch.

However, rosé would be the better way to go. Choose something that isn’t too dry or too sweet, perhaps one made from cabernet franc, grenache, or even rosé champagne.

Here’s to happy and safe gatherings this holiday season! Are you looking to stock up on holiday wine? Try our premium case club subscription, where you’ll get 12 bottles of hand-selected wines from the USA and abroad. Cheers!

Sign Up For Exclusive Wine Deals

We never share your personal information. View our Privacy Policy.

War and Wine: Ukraine

War Wine Ukraine

What Putin’s War Means for Ukraine Wine

Our world is no stranger to war. In fact, some of the world’s best-known wine regions have been hotly contested and sometimes threatened during wartime, but most survived. Alsace, France, for example, has at times been in Germany—but that’s a story for another day.

Today, we will introduce you to a world wine region you might not know. Sadly, it is currently under threat, but history tells us that it may yet prevail. The terroir, climate, and people dedicated to growing and producing the wine will undoubtedly replant and pick up the pieces because they know how unique their properties are.

The Birthplace of Wine Itself

Ukraine’s winemaking history dates back to the 4th century BC. The quality of the wines produced in this region and neighboring Moldova, Georgia, and Hungary have been lauded by poets and monarchs for as long as wine has been spoken of.

Here, white wines are produced from aligoté, muscat, traminer, pinot gris, chardonnay, and Isabella, while red wines are made from pinot noir, and cabernet sauvignon. You’ll also find many indigenous varieties, including the highly aromatic Rkatsiteli, Telti Khuruk, and Sukholimanski Bely for whites and Odesa black for reds.

Some of the world’s top sommeliers recognize Ukrainian wine culture and quality, and the region’s best bottles are featured in Michelin-starred restaurants in London and France.

The Irrepressible Resilience of Ukraine

In 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev destroyed over 300 square miles of vineyards during a campaign to reduce Russian alcohol consumption. However, since the fall of the Soviet Union, production rebounded, and high-quality red, white, and sparkling wines once again graced tables at fine restaurants throughout Europe.

Unfortunately, the adversity continued. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, previously a Ukrainian territory. Ukraine lost more than half of its wine production as about 60% of its wineries were located on the Crimean peninsula.

The border between Crimea and the rest of Ukraine is currently the site of some of the heaviest fighting as Russia seeks control of the coastal city of Mariupol and eastward toward Odesa, one of the most significant areas for viticulture. Kherson, near Odesa in Eastern Ukraine, was recently taken by the Russian army. Reports show that many vineyards have been trampled or bombed, but winemakers are already planning their comeback.

In the meantime, many wineries in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and Hungary have opened their doors to refugees, housing them in barrel rooms and cellars and focusing efforts on feeding and sustaining the influx of people.

To add to the problems, a wine bottle manufacturing facility near Kyiv was bombed early in the war, forcing workers to stop production and leaving most Eastern European wineries without bottles. Wine-producing countries surrounding Ukraine cannot obtain bottles or export wine as they usually would as Odesa is the main port. Wine-producing countries like Georgia and Moldova are cut off from their supply chains and most of their export revenue as Ukraine and Russia make up a significant portion.

How You Can Help

Though we can’t do much to change the course of Putin’s war, we can do a lot to support wine producers in the region. Seek out Georgian wine where you can, and keep the faith that Ukraine, its people, and its wine will rise again.

Source: CellarsWineClub.com

Sign Up For Exclusive Wine Deals

We never share your personal information. View our Privacy Policy.