Wine and love: what the wine town "White Cape" in Gelendzhik will be like
To fall in love and to fall in love - this is the main goal of a project that has no analogues in the world, which will start its work in Gelendzhik next summer. Here, on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory, a wine city called "White Cape" will appear very soon. It will spread over an area of 40 thousand square meters, said the project manager Dmitry Levitsky, who on December 4 presented the concept of "White Cape" in the capital's Museum of Russian Impressionism. More about the new point of attraction on the Black Sea - in the material "Izvestia".
From a wine shop to a movie theater
The city, which is created by the Group of Joint-Stock Bank "RUSSIA", began to build in 2020. The first to open its doors in March 2025 will be a large wine shop, which will sell more than a thousand types of beverages from 150 producers. And by the end of the year "White Cape" will consistently open other points on its very extensive map.
In practice, it will be a large street along which will be located an interactive wine museum named after Lev Golitsyn (the prince was the founder of Russian winemaking), stores and restaurants with domestic products, tasting rooms, a research laboratory center, a sommelier school, an expo center, as well as a winemaking center and a cinema.
- It will be an incredible tourist center that will be a point of attraction for all wine lovers and those who just want to get involved. It is a new point on the map with a good atmosphere where you can easily and pleasantly get acquainted with our wine, - Dmitry Levitsky told at the presentation. - The goal of our project is to fall in love with wine. Only through love people can start to feel a deep interest in this drink, so we are trying to add emotions to the project so that the city would not be academic. The result should be a kind of celebration where wine should flow in rivers.
The architectural concept of the wine city was developed in 2020-2021 by the English archbureau Dyer under the direction of Philip Ball. Later, in the course of the project implementation, it was finalized by architectural bureaus from Russia.
Marina Shpilko from Dyer's Moscow office became the project manager for the development of architectural solutions for White Cape. She has been working in Dyer's international studio for more than 10 years. Her team has vast experience in working with complex international projects, such as Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, the Surf Center in Bristol and others.
Site research is the most important stage of Dyer's work on projects. Experts are helped by detailed study of the area and interaction with its inhabitants to identify its meanings and unique features. This is how the project "White Cape" in Gelendzhik was created, which will harmoniously fit into the existing urban environment, using local elements and natural resources.
The wine city will be located on a slope next to the Gelendzhik embankment, perpendicular to it, said Marina Shpilko at the presentation. All its structures will be wave-shaped, repeating the mountains and neatly blended into the landscape.
- We made our street in the form of a bunch of grapes so that everyone could find something new for themselves," she continues.
According to Marina Shpilko, it will be possible to spend not only weekends here, and the White Cape itself should become all-season.
Promotion of Russian winemaking, increase of wine culture and formation of a cluster of professional community of winemakers are the main goals of the project's creators, the Group of Joint-Stock Bank "RUSSIA".
- On the one hand, it is an exquisite art space, on the other hand - support of people who annually work on the land and support this annual, noble cycle, which has never been interrupted - said in a conversation with "Izvestia" chairman of the board of the association "Federal Self-Regulatory Organization of Winegrowers and Winemakers of the Russian Federation" Dmitry Kiselev.
Participants of the presentation of theWine Cityproject at the Museum of Russian Impressionism
"White Cape" strikes the imagination, here we can confidently say that our winemaking is developing rapidly, said the president of the Sommelier Union Artur Sargsyan.
- We often encounter in Russia that we have decent wine, but wineries lack concept and strategy, while "White Cape" is that rare case when everything is thought out in detail. Here we talk about the inspirers of the project as people who really push our winemaking forward," he said.
Both tourists and professionals
The heart of the project should be several restaurants that will launch domestic wine brands "Novy Svet", "Massandra", "Inkerman", "Divnomorskoye" and "Krinitsa".
- We wanted people to try the wine bought in the city not from the shelves of stores, but to fully experience it while sitting in a restaurant, - said at the presentation of the project partner, restaurateur Georgy Karpenko.
That is why several establishments with different concept will be opened in the city at once, which will take into account the peculiarities of drinks.
- For example, for "Novy Svet" champagne we will create establishments with light cuisine and parties, for "Massandra" - an art residence for creative people, it will be a kind of wine bistro in French style with Black Sea cuisine. The Inkerman restaurant will be imbued with a near-Soviet atmosphere, it will be suitable for noisy companies," he added.
It is a great honor to be represented in the wine city "White Cape", the general director of the company "Moye vino" (manages the brands "Novy Svet", "Massandra", "Inkerman", "Divnomorskoye" and "Krinitsa") Arsen Karapetyan told "Izvestia".
- We hope that not only tourists will come to us, but also market professionals, i.e. everyone who is in love with wine, and people will not only rest in this place, but also improve their skills, - he noted. - I must say that when this project was first conceived, it was not about money, it was important to create a center of attraction for people. We hope that this project will pay off, but no one will tell you specific figures. We believe that it should be all-season, become a kind of center of attraction for the entire Black Sea coast and be a good competition to other wine houses.
Also in the wine city will open two establishments, which Dmitry Levitsky and his team did together with restaurateur Arkady Novikov - the flagship "White Cape" and the cafe "Seagull Screaming". According to Novikov, the authors managed to create a grandiose project that will allow people to get into a completely different world with great drinks, food and leisure.
"White Cape" is evidence that viticulture and winemaking are becoming one of the promising branches of agriculture. By the results of this year alone, 6 thousand hectares of new vineyards will be planted in Russia, and as a result their total area will amount to about 107 thousand hectares. The country will produce 70 million decaliters of wine - 10 million more than a year earlier. According to expert estimates, the share of domestic wine in the Russian market will exceed 60%.
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