Winemaking in Ukraine has been historically predetermined: Ukraine has advantageous geographical location, and its climate favors grape growing. The origins of winemaking in Ukraine date back to the 4th century BC (in Crimea), going 2500 years back in the present-day Odesa Region.
Ukraine's main wine-producing regions include Odesa region (52 thousand ha of vineyards), Kherson region (20 thousand ha), Mykolaiv region (15 thousand ha), Zakarpattia (8 thousand ha) and Crimea. Additionally, small vineyards are planted in all the regions of Ukraine. The varietal diversity of grapes in Ukraine is represented by the internationally selected and also several autochthonous varieties. The most renowned autochthonous variety is Telti Kuyruk cultivated on in Shabo terroir. The most widely planted selected variety is Odesa Black and Sukhyi Liman White, while Saperavi, Aligote, Rkatsiteli, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Riesling are the most popular international varieties.
The illegal Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 had a profound effect on Ukrainian wine production. Currently, unoccupied Ukraine holds 41,000ha of vines; about the same as all of Piemonte, Italy. In Crimea there is an additional 30,000ha of vines where wineries from all over Ukraine were sourcing grapes. This included one of the main sparkling producers, Artwinery, despite them being located in the caves of an old salt mine very close to the frontlines in Donetsk. Ukraine lost more than half its bottled wines, mostly semi-sweet and dessert wines. But the loss of Crimea and the armed conflict in the east ironically gave a giant push to Western-style dry wines, especially in Zakarpattia and the southern Odesa and Kherson regions. Read more
Coded by Yuliia