The wines of Abrau Durso: Visiting Russia's Vineyards on the Black Sea Coast

(WineAnorak) - The last visit on my Black Sea Coast itinerary was something a little bit different. Abrau-Durso is Russia’s most famous sparkling wine producer, and this recently expanded winery looks like a grand Champagne house transplanted to Russia. I visited on a bright September morning with deputy director Andrey Koboyan and one of the winemaking team, Armen Danielyan. The winery is located on the shores of lake Abrau, a short distance west of Novorossiysk on Russia’s black sea coast, in the Krasnodar Krai region. It dates back to 1870 when it was founded with a view to providing wine for the Tsar. In 1896, Prince Lev Golitsyn—an important figure in Russian wine—brought in a team of French specialists to help make sparkling wine, and by the turn of the 20th century the newly dug underground tunnels were full of the Russian version of Champagne. The French assistance continued until the revolution in 1917, but the Russians they had trained carried on making sparkling wine, which until very recently was known as Sovetskoye Shampanskoye.

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