The Russian wine Forum has cracked the code

The plenary session "Wine of Russia. Global Context and National Code" became the central event on October 21, the first day of the Russian Wine Forum.

Global viticulture and winemaking are going through a difficult era of transformation. Climate change creates huge challenges for winemakers in different parts of the world, sanctions policy makes it difficult to exchange technologies and ideas, and changes logistics routes. A new generation of consumers is increasingly abandoning wine in favor of other beverages. In such a global context, the Russian wine industry has demonstrated impressive rates of development and strengthening of scientific potential over the past five years. Russian wines have expanded their presence on the shelves of retail chains and on restaurant maps, and have become part of the country's cultural code. Viticulture and winemaking have become important areas of scientific research, make a significant contribution to the development of regional infrastructure, and stimulate related sectors of the economy, from engineering to tourism. Wine is becoming an element of "soft power" and an ambassador of Russian culture in friendly countries. The cultural code of Russian wine is reflected in the opening of new large-scale projects in the tourism industry, in museum exhibitions, on cinema screens, and in new media.

The Russian Wine Forum reflects these most important trends for the country. For five years, the industry's current agenda has been formed at the site of the main event, and pressing issues of concern to winegrowers and winemakers in different regions of the country have been raised and resolved.

The main results of the five-year work of the Forum site were summed up at the plenary session. It was moderated by Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of the Kurchatov Institute Research Center, who in his welcoming speech identified the main areas of the Forum's work, and also congratulated the audience on the new location of the main annual industry event.

"It is very important that the Forum takes place in a city like Gelendzhik, the pearl of the Russian Black Sea region. Thanks to the Bely Mys wine town, we got a wine house, we got a place to gather, and we are all the owners of this place."

Mikhail Kovalchuk also announced the plans of the Kurchatov Institute and the professional community in connection with the unification of the most important branch scientific institutes under the auspices of the Kurchatov Institute Research Center, including the Magarach Research Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking, the Potapenko Research Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking, the Anapa Zonal Experimental Station of Viticulture and Winemaking, and others.

In his greeting to the Forum participants, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin noted that the impressive successes of domestic winemaking and viticulture became possible thanks to the adoption of Federal Law No. 468-FZ "On Viticulture and Winemaking in the Russian Federation."

"In Russia, winemaking demonstrates the amazing speed of its changes, and this is its uniqueness. The starting point for the new chapter can be considered our fundamental law on winemaking. Before him, there was no such large-scale act at the federal level that would systematically cover the entire chain of professional issues. At the same time, we have not just a set of rules, but a law that defines the global trajectory for the further development of the industry. As a result, a completely different philosophy of its perception has been formed in the eyes of the state, investors, manufacturers, the scientific community, trade enterprises and consumers. Step by step, we are building an industry with our own principles and our own strong product," said Dmitry Patrushev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

In support of his words, Dmitry Patrushev cited data according to which, by the beginning of 2026, the mark of 113 thousand hectares of vineyard area had been overcome, and by the end of the year this value would reach 116 thousand hectares. Dmitry Patrushev estimated the expected harvest volume at 950 thousand tons, which should yield 64 million decaliters of wine by the end of the year.

Among the relevant solutions that have made it possible to maintain the growth rate of the industry is the provision by the Government of the Russian Federation of a range of support tools, including preferential loans, grants for tourism development, leasing, crop failure insurance. Among the priorities for the further development of the industry, he noted the issues of the sale and promotion of Russian wine, systematic work on changing the structure of consumption in its favor. Having estimated the presence of Russian wines at 60% for quiet and 70% for sparkling.

"The Russian wine industry has deep historical roots. Prince Golitsyn once laid the foundations of the industry and proved that international wines can be produced on Russian lands. Today, we are forming our own wine culture together, and I am sure that everyone at their level will do everything for this," he summed up his speech.

In her speech, Zhanna Belovol, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia, noted that the year turned out to be difficult, and not only in terms of climate. According to her, the industry faced challenges, and the support of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as effective intra-industry cooperation, which actively involved all market participants, including small farms, played a role in overcoming them. "We will have something to be proud of when we present the wines of the 2026 harvest at the competitions," Zhanna Belovol assessed the results of the wine season. Among the priorities for the development of the industry, she named constructive work with science at the request of production, and the issue of personnel training. Support for marketing initiatives, enotourism, interaction with ferrets, retail and other market segments, and most importantly, the creation of synergies aimed at the future achievements of Russian winemaking.

Boris Listov, Chairman of the Management Board of JSC Rosselkhoznadzor, noted the importance of developing financial instruments in the viticulture and wine industry.: "Over the past five years, wine production has grown by a third, and this is in the context of a global recession, when vineyard areas are shrinking and wine production is falling. But we are going against global trends, and the RSHB accompanies the growth of the industry at every stage."

According to Boris Listov, over the entire period of its operation, the RSHB has given out 52 billion rubles to winemakers and winegrowers. These funds were used for the purchase of seedlings, the laying of vineyards, and the technical re-equipment of enterprises. In 2026, the bank issued 5.7 billion rubles, of which 5.3 billion rubles were provided to wineries. Also important areas of work with the industry remain infrastructure projects, the inclusion of a nomination for winemakers in the Salt of the Earth agro-industrial Complex managers rating, which is compiled annually by the Association of Managers, the work of the consumer platform Svoi Vino, and much more.

Veniamin Kondratiev, Governor of the Krasnodar Territory, and Boris Titov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Cooperation with international organizations to achieve sustainable Development Goals, also addressed the audience.