Wines of Ukraine launches UK HQ

By James Bayley

Published: 04 September, 2023

Wines of Ukraine has established a UK headquarters to help further grow its reputation on the international stage.

The organisation, which was formed in 2021, is made up of 15 members comprising craft wineries from across the country, with an overwhelming majority of pre-war sales rooted in the domestic market.

As reported by Harpers, Wines of Ukraine had a strong presence at this year’s London Wine Fair as well as other international trade shows such as Prowein.

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With the proposed UK import operation now beginning to take shape, Wines of Ukraine will host its inaugural tasting for the UK trade and media on Monday 9 October at 67 Pall Mall in London.

At this first UK tasting, 11 wineries from six Ukraine wine regions will show approximately 60 wines covering different styles including sparkling wines, unfiltered orange wines and sweet wines – as well as still reds, whites and rosés.

Some in the UK trade have already taken the plunge, as businesses look to build on the goodwill consumers are showing towards Ukraine plus the diverse wines it has to offer.

Tania Olevska, marketing and PR director of Wines of Ukraine UK, said: “Our producers are excited to meet and present their bottles to wine professionals in the UK this autumn. Now is the right time to bring the wines of Ukraine to the UK, when we have a high quality and a good range of styles – all of which is confirmed by high ratings at international wine competitions and great feedback from both professionals and consumers.”

The full-scale war unleashed by Russia has significantly affected the state of Ukraine’s wine industry – some wineries are occupied, others are damaged and looted, some vineyards are mined and not cultivated, and the local market has shrunk. However, in 2022, Ukrainian wines began to be discovered worldwide and today they are represented in the UK, USA, Japan, Poland, Baltic and Nordic countries, amongst others.

Svitlana Tsybak, co-founder of Wines of Ukraine, added: “The mission of our team is to promote Ukrainian wines worldwide, present Ukraine as a winemaking country, and tell everywhere and everyone that Ukraine has its own place in the winemaking world.

“For the last two decades, Ukrainian wine has experienced a renaissance, and now it is time to show our wines in the UK. This is one of the most important markets for us, not least because of the country’s support for Ukraine, which we very much appreciate.”

To register for the event click here.

Wineries to be showcased:

Beykush Winery, Mykolaiv

Stakhovsky Wines, Zakarpattya

Chateau Chizay, Zakarpattya

Biologist Craft Winery, Kyiv

Vynkhol Oksamytne /TM Villa Tinta, Odesa (Bessarabia subregion)

Kolonist Wine, Odesa (Bessarabia subregion)

Frumushika Nova, Odesa (Bessarabia subregion)

Shabo, Odesa

Tiras Winery /TM My Wine by Eduard Gorodetsky, Odesa

Graevo, Zaporizhzhia