Start reading here
Crimean vineyards
The overall area of Crimean vineyards is about 32 thousand hectares (area of vineyards in Russia is about 60 thousand hectares). However, only 16 thousand hectares of them actually crops.
Crimea cannot display past crops after the annexation: while 95 thousand tons of grapes were harvested in 2013, in 2014 – only 70 thousand tons and even less – 58 thousand tons were harvested in 2015. These low results were explained by absence of irrigation and weather conditions (freeze up in winter and drought in summer). During the Ukrainian times not less than 90 thousand tons used to be cropped providing the weather conditions.
However, local ‘authorities’ are not concerned in this regard and report about their ambitious plans to harvest not less than 125 thousand tons of grapes by 2017 and even to increase this number up to 155 thousand tons by 2020. Yet, they didn’t provide any feasibility demonstrations for their prognoses, having added their fantasies to the Russian thrift box of Crimean projects.
Similar surreal patterns are displayed in Crimea regarding vineyards, area of which is going to be increased in 5 times – up to 150 thousand hectares within a couple of years. In order to achieve this quantity, it is required to plant over a million seedlings. So far, the picture looks gloomy: only 250 hectares have been planted in 2014, a little bit more in 2016 – 500 hectares. It is planned to plant a thousand hectares in 2016, but winemakers do not share optimism of the authorities.
“In spring, 300 ha of seedlings have been planted in Crimea. We do not know, whether any more seedlings will be planted in autumn,” one of the winemakers said.
In Ukrainian times, there were no such ambitious plans but in the period from 2005 to 2011 Crimean winemakers planted 9.5 thousand hectares of vinelands and received compensations from the state in the amount of 260 million hryvnya (about 42 million USD).
Western sanctions and Crimean brands
Besides Russian problems, Crimean winemakers faced sanctions of the western countries: nationalized enterprises of the wine industry fell under the direct sanctions of the EU and the USA, having lost the possibility to access the western markets. The rest of the winemaking enterprises can export Crimean wines to the west only with Ukrainian certificates.
Ukraine strives to protect Crimean trademarks that rightfully belong to our state. Wines under the trademark “Inkerman” is successfully bottled on the mainland. It was possible to keep the brand “Novy Svet” – in the end of 2015 champagne started to be produced under this well-known trademark in Kharkov. The situation is the worst with “Massandra”, which brand is under protection of a special law, according to which this wine can be produced only at the enterprise in Crimea.
“This is why wine under the trademark “Massandra” is not produced anywhere in Ukraine, although there are facts of illegal sales. We litigate with such companies-marauders, because they discredit the state brand and misuse the fact that we cannot control the Crimean enterprise. On the other side, in Ukraine, there are a couple of wine facilities ,which are leased out but these contracts expire soon. It is possible to create the new NPJSC “Massandra” at the premises of these facilities and legislatively ensure such transition,” said the ex-Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the AR Crimea Aleksandr Liev on the radio station “Krym.Realii”.
Vintage wines oversell
The drop of production volumes of wine and prohibition of trade and bottling in Crimea is offset by the sale of vintage wines. “Massandra”, which administration managed to sell out wines that were produced in the period between two world wars, succeeded the most in this field. Thus, during the first half of 2016, 7.5 thousand bottles of wine starting of 1935 and ending 1918 have been sold.
At the same time, the occupational administration of the enterprise realizes that it sells unique collections of wine. Nevertheless, the instantaneous profit is more important for the temporary rulers than historical value.
“Production we sell as vintage wine is rare wine, which cannot be cheap by default. It ran the gantlet of history, among which there were evacuation, earthquake, two world wars and “period of oversell,” emphasized the appointed by the occupation authorities “director” of the enterprise Yanina Pavlenko and added that oversell of those wines produced good profit for “Massandra”.
In 2015, unique 1948 “Pedro Ximénez” and 1944 “Muscat White Best Selected” wines, grapes for which were handpicked, were offered for sale. The public prosecution office of the AR of Crimea opened a criminal case on the fact of vintage wines oversell. However, it can barely stop the occupants.
Crimean viticulture has already survived hard times more than once – wars, German occupation, and Gorbachov’s “Dry Law”. Will it be able to survive Russian annexation? Or will the ‘wine drink’ most accurately characterize the swill produced by Crimean winemakers and the remains of the former luxury – vintage wines – will be sold by auction thanks to the activity of the Russian authorities?
