The "White Cape" in Gelendzhik has become a symbol of the sovereignty of Russian winemaking

A large-scale complex has been created in Gelendzhik, which unites several important areas at once: tourism, culture, education and gastronomy. The basis of this unique cluster is winemaking. Experts note that it can be called one of the most important indicators of the real state of affairs in the economy. Firstly, the industry is based on tradition, but it is also high-tech. Secondly, its development requires long-term investments, which is possible only in conditions of stable development of the whole country. Thirdly, winemaking is an infrastructural industry, as related areas are developing along with it, new jobs are emerging, and private business is growing. The Bely Cape wine town in Gelendzhik confirms this in practice. Such projects become drivers for the development of the whole region. Izvestia correspondent Viktor Sineok told about this in more detail for the Final Program with Pyotr Marchenko.

The bronze monument to Lev Golitsyn was entrusted to open to those who gave decades to the industry. The founder of Russian industrial winemaking is now looking at the entrance to one of the museum's halls. The entire wall is occupied by his famous quotes — the exhibition is called "The Tablets of Golitsyn", that is, the unshakable rules formulated by the famous winemaker and which are now guided by professionals. Such as Alexander Zhukov, a leading specialist at PJSC Massandra, who came to the tourist center in the 1960s and has remained to this day.

"When we accept new guides, we start with this: "Take books, we already have a lot of material about Golitsyn." And they read," Zhukov said.

Lev Golitsyn Wine Museum is the heart of the wine city. At the entrance, guests are greeted by an 18-meter sculpture made of sparkling wine bubbles. In a separate room, an exhibition about Golitsyn's life has been created, showing his personal belongings, and below it tells everything about the history of Russian winemaking — from the origins to the victories.

The replica of the New World Gate is so accurate that even the Crimean stone was brought specially from the peninsula. The exhibition also has a collection of tasting glasses — Lev Golitsyn believed that wine should be drunk only from very beautiful dishes. He knew that winemaking is an indicator of the country's level of development, and brought Russia to the lead. The traditions he laid down were preserved in the USSR. A bottle with the number 512, which survived the evacuation from Crimea in 1941, is placed on the stand about the period of the Great Patriotic War. The collector's wine was then exported, risking their lives, and in 1945 it was put on the table during the Yalta conference.

The White Cape wine city is proof that Russia has not lost continuity, although there have been difficult moments in history. First, Gorbachev's campaign was carried out, then came perestroika and the collapse of the USSR. Before the adoption of the law on Viticulture and Winemaking, the industry almost lost its sovereignty, but quickly recovered.

"The proof that we have our industry is our shelf, where Russian wines are currently represented. If you remember earlier, you can see anything but Russian wines. The situation has changed a lot now," said Dmitry Patrushev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

The opening of the Bely Cape wine city is part of a great renaissance. A beautiful, large—scale innovative project on more than four hectares has brought together 28 locations that can accommodate 5,000 guests, including restaurants and recreation areas. The ambitious project was completed in just five years.

"Our task is to make people fall in love with wine, so that even those who have never looked at wine, getting into this atmosphere, this service, this environment, this architecture, this music, could not help but be interested," said Dmitry Levitsky, entrepreneur, restaurateur, head and co—author of the project.

Until recently, it was difficult to even imagine a project of this scale — the Russian market was dominated by foreign producers, and now the domestic wine has its own city with tasting rooms, a wine academy and an enoteca. On three floors, everything you need to get acquainted with Russian wine and its special aesthetics is collected. The most complete collection of Russian wine is presented in the wine city. The point is not the number of bottles, but the fact that the entire geography is reflected — every corner of the country, where even a small production is established. You can get to these shelves only after a blind tasting.

Bely Mys unites 15 cafes and restaurants, its own registry office, a cinema and even a theater: in the event hall of the wine city, you can also see the projects of the famous Leningrad Center. In addition, they are engaged in science here — in the testing and laboratory center, expert tasters are carefully studied.

"There will be neural ligaments. There will be 16 indicators — we will observe the level of stress, excitement, and generally see everything that is happening. In addition to what is indicated in his digital questionnaire, we will see what is in his brain," said Alexey Solovyov, head of the wine department and director of the testing and laboratory center.

Russian winemaking has become a powerful driver of the economy of the south — only Crimea, Adygea and Krasnodar Krai produced almost 70% of the total volume of wine in the country in 2025. New jobs are being created and investments are underway.

"1.8 thousand different names of exclusively Russian wine are represented, which is also a matter of pride, because six years ago, or even five, we couldn't even dream about it, let alone dream about it," said Veniamin Kondratiev, Governor of the Krasnodar Territory.

This is another landmark project — they are constantly appearing in Gelendzhik. Gelendzhik Marina, Russia's largest complex with 300 vessels of various sizes, is currently under construction. In addition, an ultra-modern, ultra-convenient and ultra-sophisticated airport has been operating here for a year. Its "floating" roof weighing 1 thousand tons does not put pressure on the facade, but is supported by 13 columns and can withstand an earthquake of up to eight points. Flights from Tyumen, Surgut, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Moscow, Samara and St. Petersburg are already being serviced, and Ufa, Norilsk and Krasnoyarsk will be added soon.

In Gelendzhik, it is now possible to take off not only towards the sea. Previously, if an unsuitable wind suddenly rose, it was necessary to postpone takeoff.

"The planes were parked on the platform until the wind calmed down. Or passengers were moving to other airports," said Sergey Dyaykin, Executive Director of Gelendzhik Airport, adding that now it is possible to simply change the direction of takeoff and towards the mountains.

Large-scale projects do not appear if there are no prerequisites. For example, the heyday of winemaking in Russia at the end of the 19th century was closely linked to the economic and social rise in the country. In recent history, a breakthrough occurred after the adoption of the law in 2019. Once again, economic success has been achieved, despite unprecedented Western pressure on Russia.

"We are developing further. The task for winegrowers, let's say this: our seedlings must be of high quality, that is, the direction of viticulture is nursery, development of new lands, issues related to clone breeding," said Zhanna Belovol, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Winegrowers and winemakers of Russia, director of the Kuban Wine winery.

Bely Mys was created by the ROSSIYA Group of Joint-Stock Bank. This is an example of how large investment projects transform a territory, but without sovereignty, ideas of this magnitude cannot be realized.

Russian winemaking is a complex point of growth in the south of the country. The grape harvest in 2025 reached a record 955 thousand tons, the highest figure in the modern history of Russia. Since the adoption of the law on viticulture and winemaking, the number of vineyards has already increased by 15%. Production is growing, helping the economy.

"White Cape" is a logical consequence of the state of the industry. It does not depend on sanctions or on outside influence. It was built according to the design of the English bureau, but modified by Russian architects, who retained a representative of the local flora. Anatoly poplar has its own territory — a small courtyard right in the middle of the building, because the hundred-year-old tree is treated with respect.

Recreation, festivals, gastronomy and art are harmoniously intertwined here, and everything is united by Russian winemaking. Now Russia is setting trends and producing its own world-class wine. A new era has arrived, and the Bely Cape wine city is a symbol of the industry's revival and proof that the country is able to defend its sovereignty.

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The launch of the project in Gelendzhik is able to double the volume of enotourism – why is it important for the domestic wine industry

On June 13, Gelendzhik hosted the opening of the Lev Golitsyn Wine Museum and the Bely Mys Wine City, a project of the ROSSIYA Bank Group. The event was attended by representatives of the professional community and project partners. In terms of scale and thematic coverage, this is one of the largest expositions in the world. It is based on authentic objects and archival documents, a significant part of which has not been exhibited before.