ProWein 2023, the world’s #1 wine and spirits trade fair which is due to open its doors again in Düsseldorf on March 19-21, 2023, will be greeting 10 Ukrainian wineries presenting their products under the Wines of Ukraine umbrella.
This is not the first time that Ukrainian wineries will be participating in ProWein. However, this year the Ukrainian Association of Craft Winemakers, which is also the initiator and the founder of Wines of Ukraine, will give a bigger picture of Ukrainian winemaking to the visitors of the famous fair.
Ukrainian Association of Craft Winemakers was established in 2021 in order to coordinate and develop Ukrainian winemaking industry, as well as to enhance the competitiveness of Ukrainian wines internationally, and to promote the brand of Wines of Ukraine.
In times of war, the Association also focuses on helping to rebuild destroyed wineries and on demining the vineyards liberated from russian occupation. Currently, the Association includes 72 manufacturers.
“Our mission is to actively develop the Wines of Ukraine brand,” says Svitlana Tsybak, Wines of Ukraine representative, head of the Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine and Beykush Winery’s Development Director, “The attention that Ukraine is getting all over the world these days is extraordinary. We have to spread the word that, despite the war, life goes on here, we continue to grow grapes and produce our wines that have already been recognized by the world. We are happy to do our job, to work for our Victory.”
The Wines of Ukraine stand at ProWein will present 10 wineries:
Beykush Winery (Mykolayiv region)
Father’s Wine VB (Ternopil region)
Prince Trubetskoi Winery (Kherson region)
Chateau Chizay (Transcarpathian region)
Stakhovsky Wines (Transcarpathian region)
Biologist Craft Winery (Kyiv region)
Kolonist Winery (Odesa region / Southern Bessarabia)
Villa Tinta (Odesa region / Southern Bessarabia)
My Wine by Eduard Gorodetsky (Odesa region)
46 Parallel Wine Group (Odessa region).
Ukrainian winemakers are dealing with the horrors and challenges of russian aggression every day. Some wineries have suffered more than others. Prince Trubetskoy Winery, a historic chateau located in Kherson region, survived the Russian occupation. The winery’s owners managed to retain their staff, but even now, after the de-occupation, it is not clear what happened to the production facilities, ancient wine cellars, a restaurant and hotel complex. It is still impossible to get there because the chateau is located in the territory suffering from daily shelling and missile attacks. Some of the vineyards have not yet been de-mined. Despite the challenges, Prince Trubetskoy Winery is participating in ProWein 2023.
The international wine community already knows a few things about Ukrainian winemaking, considering Ukraine a “young” wine region. However, from a historical point of view, the traditions of winemaking in Ukraine have existed for several millennia.
“Our main goal is to place Ukraine back on the world map of winemaking, which has existed in Ukraine since the time of Trypillian culture (7 thousand years ago). It reached its peak between the 7th and 1st centuries BC. We have a variety of terroirs, dozens of local grape varieties, and most importantly, a new generation of winemakers who have revised the experience of their ancestors, linked it to modern trends, and are ready to present a new history of Ukrainian winemaking to the world,” says Sergey Klimov, a representative of the Wines of Ukraine, founder of the Kyiv Food and Wine Festival, ideologist and co-owner of Like a Local’s wine bar.
“We are very happy that Ukraine has this amazing opportunity to present its wines to a selected audience of wine professionals from all over the world”, shares her thoughts Victoria Agromakova, the Wines of Ukraine representative and founder of Wine&Spirits Ukraine expo. “Ukrainian wines deserve recognition and admiration, and our job is to spread the word and to grow our international business. We do appreciate the worldwide support that Ukraine and its people are getting. Helping Ukraine is a trend, and ProWein is not an exception. We are very grateful to the Ukrainian Consulate in Dusseldorf for their help and attention, and to our partners, the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine, for their valuable input and faith in Ukrainian winemaking.”
“Ukrainian businesses are facing many new challenges these days: they are losing production facilities, their sales are dropping, some of them have to move to safer areas. That is why helping them to restore and develop their business during the war is one of our top priorities. We support the Ukrainian winemakers participating in ProWein because we see our common goal here: to help improve the business environment in Ukraine and stimulate Ukrainian exports,” said Olesya Zaluska, Head of USAID Competitive Economy Program. “We love Ukrainian wines, appreciate the skills and resilience of Ukrainian winemakers, and believe in their successful international future. Let’s make it happen.”
When: March 19-21, 2023.
Where: Messe Düsseldorf, Stockumer Kirchstraße 61, 40474 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Wines of Ukraine stand: Hall 12 / A03.
Pls check this link to see exhibitors’ profiles.
Background info
Winemaking in Ukraine has been historically predetermined: it has an advantageous geographical location, and its climate favours grape growing. The origins of winemaking in Ukraine date back to the 4th century BC (in Crimea), going 2500 years back in the Black Sea Region up to the 14th century in Zakarpattya (Transcarpathia).
The continental climate is characterised by hot summers and severe winters. In 2021, over 100 million litres of wine were produced from 40 thousand hectares of vineyards. Almost 180 grape varieties are cultivated, including the majority of indigenous or varieties grown here.
Ukraine’s most famous indigenous variety is Telti-Kuruk, a white grape grown in Odesa region in the south. Another signature variety is a red Odesa Black, originating from Alicante Henri Bouschet and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Security Service of Ukraine reports the arrest of former Antonov general director Serhiy Bychkov and head of the aviation security unit Oleksandr Netesov in the Mriya destruction case, while former deputy general director Mikhail Kharchenko has been put on the wanted list.
In a telegraph channel on Friday, the Ukrainian security service said it had gathered a solid evidence base on the former Antonov general director, his deputy and the head of the aviation security unit.
“According to the materials of the investigation, on the eve of a full-scale invasion, the officials did not allow members of the National Guard of Ukraine to enter the territory of the Gostomel airport to prepare for its protection. Such criminal actions led to the temporary seizure of a strategically important airfield, surrounding settlements and the destruction of the AN-225 Mriya aircraft,” the report stresses.
The SBU claims that during January-February 2022, officials explicitly prohibited the Ukrainian military to erect defensive fortifications and fortifications at the airfield, for this purpose an order was given to block the access of the National Guard fighters to the territory of the facility.
Based on the collected evidence, investigators of the Main Investigative Directorate of the SBU reported all three defendants on suspicion under Part 2 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstruction of the legitimate activities of the AFU and other military formations in a special period, resulting in the death of people and other grave consequences).
“Two persons involved in the proceedings were selected a measure of restraint in the form of detention. Comprehensive measures are taken to bring to justice the former deputy director general of the SE “Antonov”, who is now hiding from justice. He is wanted,” the SBU informs.
“We are conducting an objective investigation of this case. Those who actually helped the enemy to destroy one of the symbols of Ukraine should suffer the deserved punishment. And the SBU will do everything necessary for this. And our state will definitely build a new plane, because the Mriya, just like Ukraine, cannot be destroyed,” the head of SBU Vasyl Malyuk said in the message of the special service.
As a law enforcement source clarified to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kharchenko, a wanted former deputy director of Antonov, is probably now in Crimea.
The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has included the Italian cement manufacturer Buzzi Unicem in the list of international sponsors of the war, the agency’s press service reports.
According to a press release, this decision was made due to the expansion of the company in the Russian Federation after the annexation of Ukrainian Crimea and a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, despite the announcement of refusal to participate in operating activities.
According to the agency, Buzzi works in Russia through SLK Cement, which owns two cement plants, Sukholozhskcement and Korkino, a terminal in Omsk, and a transport company Tsemtrans. According to him, the company is one of the five leaders in the cement industry of the Russian Federation.
The report states that in the period from 2016 to 2021, the Russian division of Buzzi Unicem paid taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget of the aggressor country for EUR 62 million. In addition, the company cooperates with the Russian Ministry of Defense, and supplies products to the largest state-controlled enterprises: Rosneft and Rosatom.
In Russian social networks, the company expressed support for the mobilized employees, and also sent assistance to the Russian artillery unit, the NACP notes.
The agency emphasizes that the shareholders of Buzzi Unicem never publicly condemned the participation of the Russian subsidiary in the war against Ukraine and did not call for the termination of business in the Russian Federation.
Previously, NACP has already included the following companies in the list of international sponsors of the war: Procter & Gamble, OpenWay Group, Danieli, TMS Tankers Ltd., Minerva Marine Inc., Thenamaris Ships Management, Delta Tankers Ltd., Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd. Mondi PLC, eKassir, Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry, and Bonduelle. Recently, the French corporation Auchan Holding and Metro Cash & Carry have been added here.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has discussed with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen progress in Ukraine’s implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission.
During a call with von der Leyen we condemned today’s Russia’s missile attacks. Welcomed new package of sanctions and agreed on further pressure on Russian aggressor,” he said on Twitter Thursday.
This week, the Pryirpinia Community Foundation donated antibiotics worth UAH 67.8 thousand to the Vyshneve City Hospital and a maternity hospital in Bucha district for a similar amount as part of the Social Medicine Program, totaling UAH 5.8 million. This was reported on the Facebook page of the Public Council at the Bucha District State Administration.
At the beginning of this week, the Charitable Foundation “Pryirpinia Community Foundation”, with the assistance of the Public Council at the Bucha District State Administration, handed over a batch of Indian-made antibiotics Moxetero to the Vyshnya City Hospital utility company for a total of UAH 67,798. The volunteers also donated 200 packs of Moxetero to a maternity hospital in Buchanan district for the same amount.
According to the head of the foundation, Tatyana Lagovskaya, the humanitarian aid was handed over to the hospital in Vyshneve as part of the Social Medicine program implemented by the organization since the end of February this year. The Indian-made medicines worth over UAH 4 million – antibiotics Flucap 74, Linezolid-hetero, Moxetero – were provided by the benefactors The final recipients of the program are residents of Buchanan district who cannot afford medicines costing from UAH 400 to 800 per pack of 10 pills, as well as IDPs, military personnel fighting at the front line, and wounded soldiers being treated in hospitals and clinics.
During the first week of the program, hundreds of packages of medicines worth more than UAH 280,000 were delivered as humanitarian aid to Vorzel, Mykhailivsko-Rubezhivske and Gostomel general practice clinics and hospitals in Vinnytsia where wounded soldiers, including those from Buchansk district, are being treated. The needs of the outpatient clinics in the district are coordinated in effective cooperation with the Deputy Head of the Bucha District State Administration, Mr. Danil Mavlyanov.
In addition to antibiotics, Lagovska said the program includes medical supplies (sterile and disposable surgical gowns, surgical instruments, bandages), which are currently to be delivered by the foundation’s volunteers from abroad. Among the recipients of such medical supplies is even the Kyiv Military Hospital of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. “Thanks to the fruitful and effective cooperation with the governor of Kyiv region in 2022 Oleksiy Kuleba, and now the acting head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration (KORA) Dmytro Nazarenko, our drivers go to Germany, Poland, and Slovakia as volunteers. And they bring back in their cars what our fellow countrymen from Bucha, Irpin, Vyshneve, and other towns and villages of the Bucha district have collected in these countries,” says the director of the charity foundation.
According to Oleksandr Tygov, Head of the Public Council at the Bucha District State Administration, the antibiotics will be distributed free of charge to the IDPs in Vyshneve. According to Mr. Tygov, other organizations that are members of the Public Council are also providing humanitarian aid to medical institutions. For example, last week the Local Communities Movement handed over medical supplies to St. Peter’s outpatient clinic.
CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, Pryirpinya Community Foundation, Social Medicine Program
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel said it is necessary to attract private investment both from Ukraine itself and from the European Union to rebuild post-war Ukraine, for which favorable conditions must be created.
He said this on Thursday in Stockholm at the end of a meeting of the European Council at the level of development ministers. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kurbakov also attended the meeting by video link.
“It is clear that we must prepare ourselves for recovery and reconstruction, which go hand in hand with the process of reform on the way to European membership. These processes reinforce each other. Ukraine needs to move forward on fighting corruption, reforming the judicial system, which will increase the efficiency of spending in Ukraine and create a predictable and fair economic environment to attract private investors. This must be mobilized to ensure that the private sector can play a key role for civil society and local authorities. We must use our funding to attract private investment, both from Ukraine and the EU,” Borrell said of his vision.
The EU high representative stated that the reconstruction of Ukraine will be “the next huge task.” “And the longer this war goes on, the more destruction there will be and the more work we will have to do to support Ukraine in its reconstruction. It is also very clear that Russia must make up for the incredible destruction and loss it has caused Ukraine and its people. It must pay the price for rebuilding Ukraine. To do this, we are working on how we can use and mobilize frozen Russian assets in accordance with international law,” he added.
Borrell recalled that during Wednesday’s informal meeting of defense ministers, defense chiefs discussed military support for Ukraine and today with development ministers discussed rebuilding Ukraine. “Those two things go together. We have to help Ukraine to avoid destruction and we have to support Ukraine to rebuild it. But the less destruction, the better for reconstruction efforts. So we have to send generators to Ukraine to produce electricity and we have to send missiles to prevent Russia from destroying them,” he detailed.
Referring to the participation in the meeting of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Kurbakov, the High Representative said that he “spoke about his vision of priorities.” “It is absolutely clear that we must continue to support Ukraine to win this war,” Borrell stressed.
