According to Best Tastes of Russia, Abrau-Durso Champagne Factory topped the list of the 2025 50 best wine estates in Russia. Remarkably, this producer has held the leading position for three years running. Overall, the Krasnodar Territory dominates the list, with 22 estates from this region included. Apart from these, the rating features 21 Crimean vineyards, four representing Rostov-on-Don, and one each from Dagestan, Stavropol Territory and North Ossetia. The 50 Best Tastes of Russia project, launched in 2021, evaluates wine estates, food manufacturers, and hospitality services based on surveys conducted among 500 respondents, including entrepreneurs, investors, restaurateurs, hoteliers, chefs, sommeliers, and enogastronomy experts.

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Your first ranking came out in 2022, two years after Russia passed a law that Russian wine must be produced exclusively from Russian grapes. This innovation served as a powerful impetus for the industry’s development. How does this manifest itself in your ratings when the editions of 2025 and 2022 are compared?

Indeed, within just a few short years, we have witnessed creation of a new, modern, rapidly developing sector of the economy. When we surveyed our experts for the first time, we frequently asked in response: “Are there actually Russian wines?” Among our 500 experts, none are random individuals: they include restaurateurs, hoteliers, chefs, sommeliers, heads of big companies, and representatives from various specialties within the wine industry. Their surprise at our question indicated not that wine production didn’t exist in Russia altogether but rather that contemporary domestic wines and wineries lagged far behind their international competitors. Today, many of these experts have changed their stance, as is confirmed by the fact that domestic wines are now featured on the wine lists of virtually all leading restaurant projects across the country, feature prominently in international rankings, earn awards at prestigious global competitions, and so on.

We never suggest whom to vote for. The only restriction is that participants may not vote for themselves or their own company. Our experts nominate their favourite brands. So, the Top 50 traditionally includes those who are well-known and actively engaged in the market. Experience shows that marketing strategies relying on principles like “sitting quietly in the bushes” or adhering to the belief that “we’re already the best, deserving only first place or not worth mentioning at all” have precisely the opposite result.

If your experts vote for certain wineries on the basis not only of the quality and taste of the product but various criteria, then what defines the best wineries in your concept?

Today, a winery is no longer merely a wine producer. First and foremost, it is a strong, recognizable, talked-about brand. A tourist attraction, partner of restaurants and hotels, organizer and frequent participant in enogastronomic festivals, various contests, exhibitions of contemporary art, design events, etc.; a manufacturer of diverse beverages (including low-alcohol and non-alcoholic wines) and even exclusive lines of premium local products (cheeses, meat delicacies, assorted gourmet items) created with the same passion and quality as their primary product. So, today’s best winery is a dynamically and strategically evolving brand with high profitability and of a proper global standard, a trendsetter in fashion, style, and lifestyle.

How can we maintain a balance to ensure that the ranking includes not only estates with the biggest budgets for PR projects and marketing initiatives?

I believe the key here lies in the attitude, desire, energy, creativity, adventurousness, relentlessness, and sincerity of the winery owners and staff. Here, it is appropriate to recall Alexander Odoyevsky’s quote: “And from a spark, a flame arises.” This is exactly how it works: many quite small estates have risen dramatically in just a few years. Without unlimited expense accounts and budgets with multiple zeros that don’t need to be repaid, they’ve already gained a loyal audience, partnership projects with restaurants, hotels or, for example, roads built alongside vineyards funded by state subsidies, etc. At the same time, without love, determination, and commitment, success can elude anyone irrespective of their budget, millions spent indiscriminately can yield absolutely zero results. This is clearly demonstrated by our rankings (not only of the best wines but also the best food producers, gastronomic tourism sites, etc.).

By the way, we constantly discuss these topics personally with many owners, managers, and employees during specialized events where I also act as a moderator, or at other gatherings when we act as organizers or partners. One significant event in the wine industry, The Wine Map of Russia competition, is scheduled to take place in mid-May at the Abrau-Durso resort, the official information partner being the guidebook 50 Best Tastes of Russia. Members of the jury: head sommeliers from leading restaurants and restaurant groups in Moscow, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnoyarsk, and St. Petersburg, will determine the best Russian wines through blind tastings, as well as identify the most interesting, notable, promising, and robust projects in the entire winemaking sphere of 2025. So it is extremely important for us to highlight and provide informational support to the best, rather than randomly selected candidates. As you can see, we achieve this goal through various highly effective means.

Russian wine is experiencing a boom today: it’s fashionable to be interested in it and invest in it. Such a boom has both advantages and disadvantages for sustainable development. What threats caused by overly rapid growth would you highlight?

Rapid growth brings obvious problems: personnel, logistics, marketing, investment. Our rankings’ main task of is to attract attention from the widest possible audience, given that releases of 50 Best Tastes of Russia are included in business publications and draw the notice of administrations, government and nongovernmental institutions, companies, and services nationwide. To reflect on problems and seek solutions, we employ numerous additional formats: overview materials, author columns written by representatives of leading companies. Additionally, we host roundtable discussions organized by the 50 Best Tastes of Russia guidebook, which we traditionally conduct at the Baltschug Kempinski Moscow hotel, involving business leaders from various industries across the country. Materials related to these events are published on our project website and in partner media outlets. This format proves particularly engaging, delivering answers to the most pressing questions.

What’s your personal strongest wine impression?

Zaraysk. Until recently, a forgotten town located far from serious tourist traffic. Today, however, it has become one of the brightest rising stars in federal-level culinary and cultural tourism. Its driving force is the newly restored Kremlin with kilometres-long promenades, beaches, cafés and other infrastructure along the Osetr River. Zaraysk is now arguably more intriguing than popular destinations like Kolomna, Suzdal, Plyos, etc. This town offers a wealth of ultra-local products and specialities, such as Zaraysk gingerbread, farmhouse cheeses, and meat-based cuisine, among others. Interestingly, Zaraysk enjoys a comparatively mild climate despite being situated in the Moscow Region, and winemaking is beginning to thrive here. Nikolai Vystavkin, owner of the Ramenskaya Winery, recently planted around 200 Solairis grapevines and Pinot Noir varieties. Soon, this will become another tourist attraction. So, today, Zaraysk represents incredible emotions, happiness, fairy tales, and future prospects. I strongly recommend visiting it.