Russia is the largest country in the world, covering over 17 million square kilometers (6. 5 million square miles). It also spans 143 degrees of longitude (27-170°E) and 41 degrees of latitude (41-82°N). Only the southernmost lands of the country are capable of supporting quality viticulture.
Many Russian vineyards are located near the borders with Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Dagestan, Russia's southernmost republic, and its close neighbour, Krasnodar Krai, are the main wine regions. They border the Caspian and Black Seas respectively - an important factor in their climatic suitability for viticulture. Without the moderating influence of these inland seas, the very continental Climate would be too extreme for successful viticulture.
Russian winters are generally very cold, so much so that many vineyards pile soil around their vines to protect them from terminal frosts. Summers are sunny and Warm, which sometimes makes irrigation necessary. The Caspian and Black Seas also mitigate the threat of drought, although a significant proportion of Dagestan is semi-desert.
The most common Grape varieties in Russian vineyards are Rkatsiteli, which accounts for more than one in three vines, and a range of European varieties.
White muscat is a white grape variety of Greek origin. Present in several Mediterranean vineyards, it has several synonyms such as muscat de Die, muscat blanc and frontignac. In France, it occupies a little less than 7,000 ha out of a total of 45,000 ha worldwide. Its young shoots are downy. Its youngest leaves are shiny, bronzed and scabrous. The berries and bunches of this variety are all medium-sized. The flesh of the berries is juicy, sweet and firm. Muscat à petits grains has a second ripening period and buds early in the year. It is moderately vigorous and must be pruned short. It likes poor, stony slopes. This variety is often exposed to spring frosts. It fears mildew, wasps, grape worms, court-noué, grey rot and powdery mildew. Muscat à petits grains is used to make rosé wines and dry white wines. Orange, brown sugar, barley sugar and raisins are the known aromas of these wines.
sparkling wines from the region of Russia go well with generally quite well with dishes of shellfish, appetizers and snacks or lean fish such as recipes of magic marinade (for shrimps, scallops, fish...), baked vegetable chips or impromptu fish fillets with cream and shallots.
On the nose in the region of Russia often reveals types of flavors of non oak, oak or tree fruit.
The French shipment of 600 bottles of De Haartman & Co Cognac – plus 15 boxes of Bénédictine liqueur – is believed to have been destined for Tsar Nicholas II, but was intercepted in the Baltic Sea and sunk by a German submarine in May 1917. Now Cognac house Birkedal Hartmann has refilled 300 of the recovered bottles with Cognac dating from the early 1900s, using packaging identical to the original, and is selling them for €9,000 each. The wreck of the SS Kyros was discovered by Swedish explo ...
Brad Pitt has filed a lawsuit against Angelina Jolie at a Los Angeles court regarding her sale of a stake in Provence winery Château Miraval last year, according to media reports, including in Bloomberg (via Associated Press) and the Los Angeles Times. There had been speculation for several years about how Pitt and Jolie’s divorce proceedings would affect their joint ownership of Miraval, which they acquired in 2008. It was the Hollywood couple’s wedding venue but the estate has also gained a re ...
Amid the devastation and turmoil since Russia’s invasion on 24 February, Beykush winery on southern Ukraine’s Black Sea Coast has been among those attempting to continue operations as much as possible. Last week, Beykush began transporting thousands of wines to western Ukraine in order to protect them for possible export to other markets, winery director Svetlana Tsybak told Decanter. ‘Yesterday we sent three palettes, about 1,200 bottles, and today the same quantity,’ she said. She also s ...
