RUSSIA: Greece to step into wine void?

By just-drinks.com editorial team | 5 October 2006

Greece could benefit from Russia's ban on Georgian and Moldovan wine, a Russian minister said yesterday (4 October).

Following a meeting with the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stylianidis, Russia's Agriculture Minister, Alexei Gordeyev said he believes Greece is well-placed to fill the void created by the bans introduced earlier this year.

"Given the current campaign against poor wines from Georgia and Moldova, the Greeks, with their quality wine, have a realistic chance of entering the Russian market," Gordeyev told local reporters.

"We propose expanding that cooperation with a view to considering the possibility of Greek winemakers investing in the Krasnodar Region and Daghestan," he added.

Greece is poised to hold a wine show in Moscow later this year which will promote around 25 major suppliers.

Imports of wine from Georgia and Moldova were banned in late-March on the grounds that they contained pesticides and were of poor quality. The bans have come amid worsening relations between the two countries and Russia since Georgia's Rose Revolution in 2003 and pro-Western moves by Moldova in early-2005.

Relations with Georgia soured further earlier this year when Russia's natural gas monopoly raised the price of its gas supplies to the country.

Sectors: Wine