**Tallinn-Helsinki, January-February 2023 shopping, LIGHT

MAKING WINE IN THE
TIME OF WAR
The winemakers of Ukraine are in a difficult position – instead of focusing
on producing unique and tasty wines, the owners of vineyards must protect
themselves and their beloved creations from missiles and tanks. These are
the stories of the Beykush Winery and the Stakhovsky Vineyard.
Beykush is Ukraine’s most valued wine producer
from the Mykolaiv region, right on the coast of the
Black Sea. The winery was founded in 2010 with
an ambition to cultivate grape varieties that had
never been grown in Ukraine before – Pinotage,
Alvarinho, Tempranillo, etc. As a trick of nature,
one year the berries were not harvested as they
did not ripen enough. Later, while inspecting
the fields, the wine master discovered that the
grapes had grown a valuable mold called Botrytis
and it was from this “lost” harvest that Beykush
developed its exceptionally pleasant series of
dessert wines called “Passion”. The Beykush
Winery matches varieties that are not usually
combined, thereby breaking all the golden rules
of winemaking. As a result of this, wines with
completely unique flavors are born. For example:
Yafe Nagar – a blend of Chardonnay and Riesling;
Kara Karmen – a Ukraine’s own Amarone.
The Beykush Winery is about 100 km from the
front line of the war. As of now, the region has been
hit with indirect fire and ammunition has fallen
on the plantation, but the wine cellar has not
been damaged. All the wines, that were already
bottled, were transported into a safe place in
Wester-Ukraine.
The owner of the Stakhovsky Vineyard is Sergiy
Stakhovsky, a top tennis player of Ukraine, and
today, at the front, defending his homeland. The
Stakhovsky Vineyard is a small wine producer
from Transcarpathia, aiming at producing highquality
drinks. Stakhovsky does not focus on
the quantity, but quality of the wines produced
there, wanting to remain a small business. His
first experience with wines was in Bordeaux,
where he used to play in local tennis clubs that
where sponsored by the best wine producers of
the region. In 2015, he had become such a big fan
of wine culture that he rented 20 hectares of land
to start producing liquid gold himself.
This year, Stakhovsky wanted to open a visitor
center in his vineyard, but sadly, the war
cancelled his plans. Making wine at the time of
war is not easy – lack of workforce, materials
necessary for production and low sales have put
Stakhovsky as a winemaker in a difficult position.
Alcohol may be harmful to your health!
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