wein.plus
Attention
You are using an old browser that may not function as expected.
For a better, safer browsing experience, please upgrade your browser.

Log in Become a Member

Regions

Comprehensive description of all European growing areas, their grape varieties, traditions and legal rules with maps.

Wine regions in Ukraine 2 growing regions

Description to Ukraine

The Republic of Ukraine ( Україна Ukrajina in Ukrainian) in Eastern Europe with the capital Kyiv covers 603,700 km². The country borders Russia to the east and north-east, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the south-west and the Black and Azov Seas to the south. The former USSR state became sovereign after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Ukraine is divided into 24 oblasts (districts), the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (with the capital Simferopol) and the two cities Kyiv and Sevastopol with a special status.

Ukraine - Landkarte, Flagge und Wappen

Civil war-like conditions broke out in February 2014. The "Crimean crisis" subsequently led to a referendum in which the majority of the population voted in favour of joining Russia (there was no option to remain in Ukraine, i.e. the status quo). Crimea and parts of the Donbas have been under Russian control ever since. Ukraine continues to see Crimea as an autonomous republic and part of its own territory, while Russia sees it as a separate federal district. The UN declared the referendum invalid by a large majority. On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a war of aggression against Ukraine in violation of international law and recognised the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. This led to the bombing and destruction of many cities.

History

There was already a wine culture on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula in the 4th century BC, and wine presses and amphorae have been found from this period. In the northern part, however, it only developed much later from the 11th century onwards thanks to monks. In the Middle Ages, the Genoese, who owned Sudak at the time, traded Crimean wines throughout Europe. Under Catherine II (1729-1796), the Crimean peninsula became part of the Russian Empire in 1783. Her favourite Grigori Alexandrovich Potyomkin (1739-1791) reclaimed it and also promoted viticulture. The count imported vines from Italy, Spain and France, where the climate was very similar to that of the Crimea. The soil around the town of Sudak was particularly fertile. Here lies the aptly named Solnechnaya Dolina (Sun Valley) with 300 days of sunshine a year and a large winery of the same name. Near Yalta, Count Mikhail Vorontsov (1782-1856) had vineyards planted and a large winery built in 1820. He then founded the Magarach Wine Institute nearby in 1828.

The German scientist Peter Simon Pallas (1741-1811), who was brought into the country by Catherine II, deserves special credit for Russian viticulture, as he planted large vineyards in the Sudak region. He was the first to describe in detail around 40 indigenous grape varieties. In 1878, Prince Lev Golizyn founded the still existing Nowyj Swet (New World) winery in Sudak. Sparkling wine was first produced in 1799 in the climatically favoured towns of Sudak and Alushta. However, the quantities were insignificant. Golitsyn is considered the founder of the famous Crimean sparkling wine (Shampanskoye Krimskoye). He was also commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) to found what is now the Massandra state winery. In the mid-1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev (*1931) initiated an anti-alcohol campaign. Extensive deforestation reduced the vine population from 225,000 hectares to less than 100,000 hectares. This set viticulture back decades.

Cultivation areas, vineyards & grape varieties

Ukraine consists of four large wine-growing regions. This is by far the largest area in the south-west around the city of Odessa with around half of the total area, the peninsula of Crimea on the Black Sea with around a third, the Transcarpathian region bordering Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, and the area south of the Dnieper River near the cities of Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk. The continental climate is characterised by hot summers and harsh, frosty winters of over minus 30 °Celsius. Well-known brand wines are Kagor, Naddniprjanske and Tschorny Doktor.

In 2021, the vineyards covered 41,800 hectares of vines and the wine production volume was 660,000 hectolitres (2019: 1 million hectolitres). Around 180 grape varieties are cultivated, the majority of which are indigenous.

Grape variety

Colour

Synonyms or Ukrainian names

Hectare

Rkatsiteli white Rkatziteli, Topolioc 5.775
Cabernet Sauvignon red - 4.935
Aligoté white - 4.814
Sauvignon Blanc white - 1.550
Chardonnay white - 1.500
Merlot red - 1.400
Riesling white - 1.350
Odessky Cherny red Alibernet, Semenac 1-17-4 1.250
Isabella red - 1.200
Gewürztraminer / Traminer white - 500
Pinot Noir red - 385
Muscat Blanc / Muscat white - 338
Pinot Blanc white - 170
Al Burla pink Albourlah ?
Antey Magarachsky red Antei, Antei Magarachskii ?
Bastardo Magarachsky white Bastardo Magarach, Magaracha Bastardo ?
Cevat Kara red Djevat Kara, Dshevat Kara ?
Citronny Magaracha white - ?
Ekim Kara red Echim Kara ?
Fioletovy Ranny red Filetovyi Ranii ?
Kapitan Jani Kara red Adzhi Ibram Kara, Agii Ibram, Capitan Kara ?
Kapselsky white Capsule Skii, Capsule Ski ?
Kefessiya red Cefecia, Cefesia, Doktorsky Chernyi ?
Kok Pandas white Coc Pandas, Kok Pandasse ?
Kokur Bely white Belji Dolgi, Kokuri Belji ?
Krona red - ?
Lapa Kara red - ?
Lydia white Lidia ?
Pervenets Magaracha white Pervenec Magaraca, Pervenets Magaracha ?
Podarok Magaracha white Podarok Magaratcha, Podarok Magaracha ?
Ruby Golodrigi red Ruby of Golodryga ?
Rubinovy Magaracha red Magaracha Ruby, Ruby Magaracha ?
Ruby Tairovsky red - ?
Saperavi red Saperavi ?
Sary Pandas white Sarah Pandas, Sari Pandas ?
Soldaia white Soldaiya ?
Solnechnodolinsky white - ?
Sukholimansky Bely white - ?
Telti Kyryk white Tilki Kuyrugu ?

Map: © Goruma
Flag: by Government of Ukraine, Public domain, Link
Coat of arms: by Alex Khristov, Public domain, Link
Source 1st and 2nd paragraph: WIKIPEDIA Ukraine

In this section you will find
currently 165,225 Wines and 25,033 Producers, including 3,160 classified producers.
Rating system find+buy Tasting samples Editorial schedule

EVENTS NEAR YOU