2023 harvest: ‘The motivated endure’
The 2023 Ukrainian wine harvest reflects winemakers’ resolve. Amid the ongoing conflict, vintners display remarkable resilience; diligently tending vineyards, producing wines and exporting their products worldwide. Despite unique challenges, winemakers remain optimistic.
Credit: Wines of Ukraine
According to the Wines of Ukraine website: ‘Six wine regions have been officially approved in Ukraine. This is an outdated norm in our legislation, which has been in effect since Soviet times and does not correspond to today’s realities. The Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine [aka Wines of Ukraine] is actively working to expand the winemaking area to most of Ukraine. A large number of new wineries that have appeared in the last 5 years are located in cool climates.’
Svitlana Tsybak, CEO of Beykush Winery, reflected on a challenging 18 months, ‘Beykush is a family-owned winery that spans just 13 hectares, it’s located two kilometres from the occupied area. When full-scale war erupted last year, we faced uncertainty about our winemaking prospects. In July, we decided to bottle wines initially prepared before the war’s outbreak. We also dedicated ourselves to caring for the vineyards. Last September yielded high-quality grapes due to dry, hot weather, with no issues in the vineyard. This year could be a mixed bag – I hear reports of unfavourable weather conditions from Zakarpattia (near the Hungarian border). However, due to last year’s success, we expect to increase our
