Crimean winemakers' dream sours after Russian annexation

Sevastopol, Crimea

IN Soviet times, Crimean winemakers did not trouble themselves much with quality. It was all about quantity.

"They had to make a lot of cheap wine to fulfill the demand in a huge country," said Oleg Repin, who owns a vineyard near the port of Sevastopol. These days, though, Mr Repin is one of a small fraternity of pioneers hoping to establish a centre for boutique vineyards producing fine wines.

Pavel Shvets, the founder of Uppa Winery and the driving force behind the idea of developing a Sevastopol appellation, is another.

"There was no history here of producing good quality wine," Mr Shvets said. "We are trying to create a new system, a new philosophy of wine making."

Their prospects were gliding along like a silky cabernet until the Kremlin decided to grab Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, prompting Western economic sanctions designed to isolate the Black Sea peninsula. That forced the nascent industry to navigate new, unforeseen …