Russia's market share of domestic wine in trade, restaurants exceeds 60% - Agriculture Ministry

MOSCOW. Aug 28 (Interfax) - Consumer interest in Russian wine is rising amid systematic operations to develop the industry and improve product quality, the Agriculture Ministry said.

"Over 60% of wine on store shelves and in restaurants are domestically produced today, and consumers are increasingly choosing Russian wine," the ministry said.

Wine production is also growing, with output of sparkling wine jumping 15.8% year-on-year to 8.7 million decaliters (dal) and still wine 12.6% to 20.9 million dal in the first seven months of this year.

"Developing viticulture, including through the sustainable expansion of vineyard areas, is facilitating growth in production. Vineyards currently occupy over 110,000 hectares, of which 86,400 hectares are in the fruit-bearing age. There are plans to plant about 6,000 hectares of new vineyards this year," the Agriculture Ministry said.

"Most of them are in the Krasnodar Territory, Dagestan, Crimea, and the Chechen Republic. Winegrowers are also beginning to work more actively with autochthonous varieties," the ministry said.

Preliminary estimates indicate that Russia's overall grape harvest should total about 900,000 tonnes this year.

The Agriculture Ministry previously reported that the harvest totaled 908,000 tonnes in 2024, the highest figure in modern Russia versus 882,000 tonnes in 2023.

The Agriculture Ministry said that wine tourism is also actively developing in tandem with production, with 800,000 tourists visiting Russian wineries in 2024, and over 900,000 tourists expected in 2025.