Big Russian Wine

Yachts, azure sea water, golden sand, and rocks form scenic views of Balaklava bay in Crimea. For its mild climate, Balaklava could be compared with Champagne, France and is associated with premium sparkling wines recognized all over the world owing to Zolotaya Balka winery.
The farm dates back to the Russian Empire era, but several years ago, the winery was reinvented: following the large-scale investment and reconstruction, it significantly increased its production of premium-quality sparkling wines.
Zolotaya Balka’s signature still wines came as a result of a collaboration with Oleg Repin, the guru of Crimean wine-making. Together they launched the Loco Cimbali boutique project. This name means «Locality of Cembalo», which is a reference to the 15th century when the Genoese lived in the Cembalo fortress nearby. As a result of cooperation with Oleg Repin, the farm invented elegant wines based on local varieties while experimenting with aging in oak barrels of different origins and levels of roasting.

Alexey Tolstoy is one of the most respected winemakers in Russia. Wines from Markotkh Estate were the first in the Simple’s Russian portfolio. Tolstoy named his project after the Markotkh Ridge («markotkh» means «blackberry» or «berry» in the Circassian language). Vineyards are located near the village of Vinogradnoe, 10 kilometers off the Black Sea coast. A fan of Tuscany and Bordeaux, Alexey Tolstoy highly appreciated the local terroir that combines soils similar to the Tuscan galestro (mixture of shale, limestone, sand, and clay). Summers in this region is hot and windy and winters are snowy.

Alexey Tolstoy is a guest winemaker in the project by the Galitsky businessmen. The vineyards were planted in 2010 in Krasnaya Gorka, a unique nature reserve 30 kilometers off the Black Sea coast. Hilly slopes with southern and western exposure (250–300 meters above sea level) and rocky soils with high content of limestone and marl make the zone comparable to Piedmont. The number of sunny days is the highest across the Black Sea coast, the sea breeze aerates vineyards, while the air from the mountain gorges properly cools each vine, giving future wines a powerful fruity charge. Here, both local (Krasnostop and Tsimlyansky Chorny) and international grape varieties (Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay) feel comfortable.

The Galitsky & Galitsky winery was built in 2016. Its first vintage was released in November 2019 and immediately created a sensation.

Members of the Nikolaev family are the pioneers in Russian wine-making. Their vineyards are located in the Krasnodar Territory in the foothills of the Caucasus. The Nikolaevs engaged world-class experts: agronomist Gilles Rais (15 years of experience with Château Mouton Rothschild) and the great wine consultant and winemaker Patrick Leon (one of the creators of Opus One and Almaviva). Temelion, the bombshell sparkling product line, was created by Rudolf Peters, Récoltant from Champagne.

Since 2005, the Lefkadia Valley team made tremendous work: constructed a new winery implementing gravity-flow technology, developed new land plots, and created new highly-rated wines. As a result, Lefkadia Valley got qualified as an appellation: all wines are now labeled ZNMP Lefkadia Valley (protected single-yard appellation).

The Shumrinka winery is located in the village of Gai-Kodzor (Anapa District, Krasnodar Territory). The unique local terroir enjoys the combination of sea breeze and cool air from mountaintops.

Vlado Juricic is the winery’s chief agronomist (Vinarija Aleksandrovic) and enologist Roman Logunov, the author of the Maistra project, has the role of the chief winemaker.

Simple’s collection includes the Semisam and Petrikor lines, as well as Shumrinka’s specialties such as Rosé Mellow Rose and the Czech variety Palava.