During the war, about 70 new wineries appeared in Ukraine, which was made possible by significant improvements in legislation, according to Volodymyr Pechko, head of the Association of Gardeners, Winegrowers, and Winemakers of Ukraine.
“Over the past 4.5 years, thanks to improvements in legislation and climate change, we have seen a 70% increase in the number of wineries… The approximate figure is around 70 new enterprises. They have come out of the shadows, started paying taxes, and officially hired people. Small châteaux have begun to develop in Ukraine. There have never been small wine-producing enterprises in Ukraine, either during the Soviet era or since the country became independent,” he said at the Agro2Food exhibition.
The head of the industry association recalled that previously, in order to obtain a license to produce wine, it was necessary to pay about UAH 500,000. After the transition to a simplified registration procedure for wine-producing enterprises, this procedure became more affordable, and anyone who wishes to do so can obtain a license in two weeks.
After the boom in the creation of small domestic châteaux began, according to the expert, winemakers began to lack raw materials and, accordingly, vineyards.
According to Pechko’s estimates, there are currently about 20,000 hectares of vineyards in Ukraine, of which 5,000 hectares were planted during the war. These statistics do not take into account the occupied territories in Crimea, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions.
The head of the association said that global warming has given Ukrainian winegrowers the opportunity to plant vineyards in regions that are not typical for viticulture. As an example, he cited the Kyiv region, where about 10 licensed wine-producing enterprises operate. They grow their own raw materials in the Kyiv region and purchase the necessary volumes in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
Domestic winemakers, he noted, are forced to actively import foreign alcohol, mainly from Moldova and Georgia, where viticulture is more developed.
Pechko also said that the creation of an isotope analysis laboratory in the Odesa region had a positive impact on the industry. It allows enterprises to check the wine material from which factories produce higher quality products.
“Thanks to the revitalization of processing enterprises, grape growing has become profitable. While in 2023 the cost of 1 kg of grapes for processing was 5-8 UAH, in 2024-2025 it reached 18-25 UAH, which stimulated the planting of vineyards,” the expert noted, adding that Ukrainian wine exports are still low.
“It is too early to say that we are great exporters and ready to conquer Europe. We need to do this, but we need to protect our own market more. We need to make high-quality products and compete with them in Ukraine,” concluded the head of the Association of Gardeners, Winegrowers, and Winemakers of Ukraine.
