Must taste: Wines of Ukraine’s full-scale premiere at ProWein 2023

When: March 19-21, 2023.

Where: Messe Düsseldorf, Stockumer Kirchstraße 61, 40474 Düsseldorf, Germany.

Wines of Ukraine stand: Hall 12 / A03.

ProWein 2023 opening is just a few days away now. On March 19-21, 2023, Düsseldorf will be greeting winemakers, experts and industry professionals from all around the world — including several Ukrainian wineries (half of them are WTA nominees), proudly presenting their products under the Wines of Ukraine umbrella.

This is not the first time that Ukrainian wineries will be participating in ProWein. However, this year Ukrainian Association of Craft Winemakers, which is also the initiator and the founder of Wines of Ukraine, will give a bigger picture of Ukrainian winemaking to the visitors of the fair.

Ukrainian Association of Craft Winemakers was established in 2021 in order to coordinate and develop Ukrainian winemaking industry, as well as to enhance the competitiveness of Ukrainian wines internationally, and to promote the brand of Wines of Ukraine. In times of war, the Association also focuses on helping to rebuild destroyed wineries and on demining the vineyards liberated from russian occupation. Currently, the Association includes 72 manufacturers.

“Our mission is to actively develop the Wines of Ukraine brand,” says Svitlana Tsybak, head of the Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine, Wines of Ukraine representative and Beykush Winery’s Development Director, “The attention that Ukraine is getting all over the world these days is extraordinary. We have to spread the word that, despite the war, life goes on here, we continue to grow grapes and produce our wines that have already been recognized by the world. We are happy to do our job, to work for our Victory.”

The Wines of Ukraine stand at ProWein will present 10 wineries:

Beykush Winery (Mykolayiv region) / WTA 2023 nominee

Father’s Wine VB (Ternopil region)

Prince Trubetskoi Winery (Kherson region) / WTA 2023 nominee

Chateau Chizay (Transcarpathian region)

Stakhovsky Wines (Transcarpathian region) / WTA 2023 nominee

Biologist Craft Winery (Kyiv region)

Kolonist Winery (Odesa region / Southern Bessarabia)

Villa Tinta (Odesa region / Southern Bessarabia) / WTA 2023 nominee

My Wine by Eduard Gorodetsky (Odesa region)

46 Parallel Wine Group (Odessa region) / WTA 2023 nominee.

SHABO Family Winery, Ukraine’s flagship winemaking company, WTA 2023 nominee and the winner of last year’s voting, and Artwinery, the biggest producer of sparkling wines, will also take part in the big Messe. 

More info about the participants can be found here.

Ukrainian winemakers are dealing with the horrors and challenges of russian aggression every day. Some wineries have suffered more than others. Prince Trubetskoy Winery, a historic chateau located in the Kherson region, survived the Russian occupation. The winery’s owners managed to retain their staff, but even now, after the de-occupation, it is not clear what happened to the production facilities, ancient wine cellars, a restaurant and hotel complex. It is still impossible to get there because the chateau is located in the territory suffering from daily shelling and missile attacks. Some of the vineyards have not yet been de-mined. Despite the challenges, Prince Trubetskoy Winery is participating in ProWein 2023.

“We are very happy that Ukraine has this amazing opportunity to present its wines to a selected audience of wine professionals from all over the world”, shares her thoughts Victoria Ahromakova, the Wines of Ukraine representative and founder of Wine&Spirits Ukraine expo. “Ukrainian wines deserve recognition and admiration, and our job is to spread the word and to grow our international business. We do appreciate the worldwide support that Ukraine and its people are getting. Helping Ukraine is a trend, and ProWein is not an exception. We are very grateful to the Ukrainian Consulate in Dusseldorf for their help and attention, and to our partners, the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine, for their valuable input and faith in Ukrainian winemaking.”

“Ukrainian businesses are facing many new challenges these days: they are losing production facilities, their sales are dropping, some of them have to move to safer areas. That is why helping them to restore and develop their business during the war is one of our top priorities. We support the Ukrainian winemakers participating in ProWein because we see our common goal here: to help improve the business environment in Ukraine and stimulate Ukrainian exports,” said Olesya Zaluska, Head of USAID Competitive Economy Program. “We love Ukrainian wines, appreciate the skills and resilience of Ukrainian winemakers, and believe in their successful international future. Let’s make it happen.”

Just a quick reminder: Wine Travel Awards will be doing a special wine tasting and presentation of 6 amazing Ukrainian wines at ProWein 2023 on Tuesday, March 2021, at 16.00 pm / Hall 13 (Forum 13.2). More details here. See you at the Messe!

Auhor: Victoria Makarova