Russian Agriculture News

The value of the ruble and the amount they harvest means nothing if the ships that are to carry it are western owned and sanctioned from shipping Russian crops, and of course also the problem of insurance for shipping companies mostly being from western insurance companies that also obey western sanctions.

Russia needs to expand its own fleet of ships and use ships from non western aligned countries that are neutral rest of the world countries for shipping its products to the rest of the world.

Some of those rest of the world customers might have their own ships that could deliver Russian grain and other products... this is actually an opportunity for Russia to really cut the west out of its trade because even when they don't own the Russian farms they make money on brokering deals with foreign countries, they made money on the money conversion to US dollars, they shipped the products in their ships insured by their insurance companies... they were making good money on Russian exports of Russian products to third party customers... no wonder they have so much money...

This split will cut them off from a lot of sources of income, but I suspect they might look to dirty tricks like Piracy, so Russia needs to be prepared...

Perhaps a new branch of the Navy for protection in certain areas of the worlds oceans with a dozen naval infantry on board, perhaps with drones and small helicopters based on the ANSAT (the armed one) or the Ka-226... and of course small arms, grenade launchers, and heavy calibre machine guns or light cannon.

Russia estimates harvest potential of new regions

Russia's grain harvest will increase by about 5 million tons a year due to the accession of former Ukrainian territories, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev told reporters last week.

“You know, there is really a lot of arable land there. It is important to organize a normal production process. Taking into account all that arable land, I think we will be able to harvest about 5 million tons of grain. I also think that we will introduce other crops,” Patrushev was cited as saying.

He noted that authorities have successfully established logistics chains to and from the newly joined Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, and certain products from the area are already supplied to Russia, including vegetables. Meanwhile, some of the products that are grown for processing are supplied to these territories.

“The agro-industrial complex is strongly developed there; I think it will continue to develop… We are going to improve the ways of interaction with the new subjects,” the minister noted.

According to data from Russia’s statistics agency Rosstat, the grain harvest in 2021 amounted to roughly 121 million tons. This year’s grain production is expected to reach a record 150 million tons, President Vladimir Putin said last week, citing preliminary data on crops.

Russia has become the world’s biggest exporter of grain in recent years. The country has already delivered about 8.3 million tons of grain to foreign markets in 2022, and expects to supply around 50 million tons in total.

https://www.rt.com/business/564035-russia-harvest-potential-new-regions/

Domestic wine is preferred by almost 50 percent of Russians, 10.12.2022.

Head of Roskachestvo Protasov: almost 50 percent of Russians prefer domestic wine.

MOSCOW, October 12 - RIA Novosti. The number of people who prefer Russian wines in the presence of foreign brands on the shelves has grown to almost 50%, while the growth in demand allows increasing the production of these wines, said Maxim Protasov, head of Roskachestvo.

"Not 40%, but 49% of Russian consumers, other things being equal, are ready to buy only Russian wine. Russian wine is becoming fashionable, interesting," he said at the opening of the All-Russian campaign "Days of Russian Wines."

According to him, following the demand, the production of domestic wine is also growing. "We note positive statistics in the production of Russian wine. I think that this year the production of Russian wine will increase by about 25 million. These are the figures that we expect, because the harvest is good, the demand is good," Protasov concluded.

The action "Days of Russian wines" is organized by Roskachestvo and is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry and Trade . Its goal is to acquaint consumers with high-quality domestic wines, highlight them on the shelf and support Russian producers.

https://ria.ru/20221012/vino-1823457700.html

Never had a Russian or Soviet wine, but a plenty of "champagne" and cognacs.

It has NEVER been substandard.
Untill the "new, great age" of course.
The Soviet standards of spirits created a top class product.
It was always a science combined with the huge potential.

Nothing unusual that Russkie chooses their own brands and products.

Finally a strong month of wheat exports. Need to keep it up and grow to 5 mln tons.

SovEcon: Russian #wheat exports in October estimated at 4.4 mmt, +33% vs 2021...+13% vs 5-years average. For the first time in the current season, monthly shipments are to exceed 21/22.

ALAMO wrote:

The Soviet standards of spirits created a top class product.

Latvian Champaign was superb. Especially for such a mass product.  Unfortunately that didn't survive the 90's and the current revived brand offers a substandard product.  I would kill to have a bottle of the Soviet stuff.

Same with Armenian Cognac.  Under the French control it's simply not of the same quality.  As it was during the Soviet days.  Although, I know some that beg to differ.

Great analysis regarding weak grain exports this year and potential risk of running out of storage:

https://zerno.ru/node/20831

Since the beginning of the agricultural year, the Russian Federation has reduced grain exports by 13% and expects a record harvest - Russian Grain Union

Since the beginning of the current agricultural year (started in July), the Russian Federation has reduced grain exports by 13%, to 16.8 million tons, Arkady Zlochevsky, president of the Russian Grain Union (RGU), said, Finmarket writes .

"In total, from the beginning of the season, from July 1 to October 15, 16.8 million tons were shipped - this is almost 13% less than a year earlier, 2.3 million tons less than a year ago. A serious backlog, and at the same time resources such a huge amount has formed on the territory of the country that the need for export is quite obvious, at a much higher rate," Zlochevsky said at a press conference on Monday.

According to him, the pace of exports began to accelerate in October: 2.45 million tons were shipped in the first half of the month. "This gives hope that in the region of 5 million tons in October we will pull out, but we need to load 6 million tons every month," the head of the RGU said.

Further, according to him, there will come a difficult time for shipments from the point of view of the weather: traditionally, the weather deteriorates in December-January, there are traffic jams in ports, and low water freezes. So, in October, shipments "from the depths of the water" by river-sea vessels "rather intensified", "but further rivers will freeze, and this will be impossible," the expert noted.

"Based on the amount of resources - we have high carry-over stocks this season and plus a record harvest - we actually need to export at least 60 million tons in a good way. At such a pace, of course, such indicators are unattainable. And this ultimately leads to a fortune market to very low domestic prices - now the prices for wheat of the fourth class in the Volga region, in the Urals, I'm not talking about Siberia, are falling below the cost, and it is about 10 thousand rubles per ton, "said the head of the union.

He added that this economic condition is already affecting the pace of winter sowing, and it is lagging behind 2021. According to him, a similar picture is emerging in the oilseeds industry, which also experienced a decrease in value. "The economic situation does not look optimistic. It is a matter of time when this will affect and backfire on our production potential and crops," he said.

He also said that this season the number of countries where the Russian Federation supplies grain has decreased to 39 from 70 a year earlier. Deliveries to Nigeria, Cameroon, and Congo have completely "dropped out". Deliveries to Turkey decreased by 1.5 million tons due to switching its demand to Ukrainian suppliers. At the same time, there was a positive trend in deliveries to Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Pakistan, Zlochevsky noted.

According to him, the Russian Federation this season is "catastrophically lucky with the weather," and a record grain harvest awaits it - even taking into account possible "additions" of 7-8 million tons, the harvest will exceed 140 million tons.

He recalled that the forecasts for the grain harvest in Russia in 2022 are about 150 million tons in weight after completion, including 100 million tons of wheat. The barley harvest, he said, could reach 24 million tons.

Zlochevsky also said that the amount of grain storage capacity in Russia is about 150 million tons. "Of these, only a third are long-term storage elevators that ensure the safety of more than a year. The rest of the temporary storage tanks, up to six months, they ensure the safety in quantity, but not always in quality," he added.

In addition, the so-called polyethylene sleeves, which are special areas for short-term storage on the side of the field, can store about 30 million tons of grain. According to Zlochevsky, thus, the total capacity of 180 million tons corresponds to the level of resources, taking into account carry-over reserves.

“But if there shouldn’t be a problem with crop storage on a macro scale, it arises because the distribution of containers is uneven across the territory, and in some regions there is a shortage. Previously, these containers were built in places of consumption, and not in places of production. And in regions where there are records in terms of production - especially the Rostov region, Kuban, Stavropol Territory - there is not enough, although the proximity to the export gate helps," the head of the Russian Grain Union concluded.

Grain purchases for the intervention fund

The Russian Grain Union estimates the potential for grain purchases to the state intervention fund in Russia in 2022 at 1 million tons.

"Based on the amount of money - more than six billion (roubles) for these purchases - it is quite obvious that they will not be enough to fulfill this season. There was a discussion about buying 3 million tons - this money is simply not enough, for this it is necessary more additional funds. It will be enough for 1 million tons. I think the state will buy 1 million tons this season, this is normal," Zlochevsky said.

According to Zlochevsky, the placement of 1 million tons in the warehouses of the intervention fund should not cause problems either. "The main thing is to support the market. Now the mechanism of purchases to the intervention fund is not actively removing surpluses from the market in order to support the market situation and somehow influence the price situation, and the mechanism itself was conceived and used precisely for this purpose. It is necessary to intensify, to support the market," he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation previously announced plans to purchase up to 3 million tons of grain to the state intervention fund.

"Grain Deal"

Russian grain exporters are still experiencing difficulties with freight, payments and insurance, so in order to extend the "grain deal" it is necessary to make sure that all participants fulfill their obligations, Arkady Zlochevsky believes.

"De facto, the second side of the transaction does not work exactly. We still have difficulties with freight, with payments, with insurance for our shipments, as a result, this all greatly undermines our competitiveness. It seems to me that the fulfillment of the second side of the transaction should be set as the main condition for renewal. If it is not fulfilled, it is not necessary to renew it. Why do we create advantages for competitors with our own hands and harm ourselves?" - he said.

According to Zlochevsky, the implementation of the "grain deal" has significantly lowered world prices. “And the threat to its extension will automatically raise these prices. This number is a psychological factor: not because something will not be enough somewhere, but simply because the market works this way,” the head of the union emphasized.

On the whole, in his opinion, the "grain deal" did not bode well for Russian suppliers. "For example, Turkey has moved its purchases to Ukraine. But still, Ukraine does not have eternal opportunities for the supply of Russian grains to the world market, and, now actively exporting, it is "eating up" its capabilities. Therefore, it is only a matter of time. Inevitably, demand will return to Russia, it's only a matter of time - when," Zlochevsky is sure.

Russia has achieved a historical record for grain harvesting.

This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev at a meeting of the operational headquarters, which was held today (19/10/2022) in the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia.

Currently, the harvest is being completed. In particular, grain was harvested from 93% of the area, 147.5 million tons in bunker weight were obtained, which is an absolute historical record. In general, it is planned to reach a maximum of 150 million tons by the end of the year. According to Dmitry Patrushev, this is an unconditional success of farmers and Russian agriculture in general.

At the same time, such volumes, as well as a number of other factors, may affect the profitability of grain producers. Therefore, the Government is taking a special set of measures to support plant growers. This includes purchases of grain to the intervention fund – in 2022 it is planned to purchase up to 3 million tons. Stocks will be available to flour and bread producers.

In addition, part of the costs to grain producers is compensated. 20 billion rubles have been allocated for these purposes in 2022. Half of the funds were sent to the regions in the spring, and the second half – in October. Moreover, for the second tranche, the subsidy rate has been significantly increased – up to two thousand rubles per ton.

In addition to additional funds for cereals, another 4.8 billion rubles were distributed to subjects to stimulate the production of oilseeds. The Minister urged representatives of the regions to bring funds to farmers as quickly as possible.

Currently, more than 7 million tons of sunflower have been harvested in the country, and 25 million tons of sugar beet. For these crops, due to weather conditions, there is still a lag in the pace of harvesting. At the same time, a higher yield is recorded than a year ago. Vegetable harvesting is also continuing – at the moment the volume exceeds 3.6 million tons, which is at the level of last year. In addition, 5.7 million tons of potatoes have been accumulated – this is higher than in 2021. There is also a good increase in yield – more than 10%.

More than 75% of the planned area is sown with winter crops. In general, everything is going normally, but in some subjects of the Central Federal District there is a certain lag. At the meeting, representatives of the Belgorod, Lipetsk, Kursk, Tula and Amur regions reported on the situation on the ground and the progress of seasonal field work.

In conclusion, Dmitry Patrushev stressed the need to complete the harvesting without crop losses. It is necessary to use 100% of the capacity for drying, primary part-time work, as well as storage of grain and oilseeds. In addition, the regions should monitor the provision of farmers with the necessary resources for seasonal field work in 2023, as well as the adequacy of labor resources.

https://mcx.gov.ru/press-service/news/v-rossii-dostignut-istoricheskiy-rekord-po-sboru-zerna/

Encouraging trend in wheat exports:

In Russia, 152.2 million tons of grain were harvested

As of November 9, 152.2 million tons of grain (in bunker weight) were harvested, which is 30 million tons more than on the same date last year. Grain and leguminous crops were threshed from 45.3 million hectares, the yield was 33.6 kg/ha.

105 million tons of wheat were harvested with a yield of 35.9 c/ha. 29.2 million hectares were harvested.

24.4 million tons of barley were harvested with a yield of 30.9 c/ha. The harvesting area was 7.9 million hectares.

Corn was threshed from 1.3 million hectares, 7.7 million tons were harvested with a yield of 57.7 c/ha.

Rice was harvested from 152 thousand hectares, 869.2 thousand tons were harvested, the yield was 57.2 c/ha.

Sunflower was threshed from 6.3 million hectares, 11.5 million tons were harvested with a yield of 18.2 c/ha.

https://zerno.ru/node/21103

I still wonder how it is possible to go up 30 million tons in just one year. It would take a superhuman effort.
Machines, new planting areas, labor, inputs, logistics... and so on. An effort that theoretically would not be plausible, given the limitation of the mentioned production factors. I highly suspect that Russia hides real data in this area.

ludovicense wrote:I still wonder how it is possible to go up 30 million tons in just one year. It would take a superhuman effort.
Machines, new planting areas, labor, inputs, logistics... and so on. An effort that theoretically would not be plausible, given the limitation of the mentioned production factors. I highly suspect that Russia hides real data in this area.

Do you have any proof to back up your claims that Russia is lying by omission?

ludovicense wrote:I still wonder how it is possible to go up 30 million tons in just one year. It would take a superhuman effort.
Machines, new planting areas, labor, inputs, logistics... and so on. An effort that theoretically would not be plausible, given the limitation of the mentioned production factors. I highly suspect that Russia hides real data in this area.

Last year was pretty bad due to the drought in South and Central regions. Number 1 and 2 Russian grain regions.They  are still increasing amount of land under cultivation, as well.

Broski wrote:

ludovicense wrote:I still wonder how it is possible to go up 30 million tons in just one year. It would take a superhuman effort.
Machines, new planting areas, labor, inputs, logistics... and so on. An effort that theoretically would not be plausible, given the limitation of the mentioned production factors. I highly suspect that Russia hides real data in this area.

Do you have any proof to back up your claims that Russia is lying by omission?

Everyone is a total expert in everything.   I suggest all the "critics" look up the impact of weather alone on annual harvests.   The variation is
very high and not some few percent.   This year has been very good in terms of weather.

Broski wrote:

ludovicense wrote:I still wonder how it is possible to go up 30 million tons in just one year. It would take a superhuman effort.
Machines, new planting areas, labor, inputs, logistics... and so on. An effort that theoretically would not be plausible, given the limitation of the mentioned production factors. I highly suspect that Russia hides real data in this area.

Do you have any proof to back up your claims that Russia is lying by omission?

This is not a criticism. Russia is at war with the west. Remember? Hiding or distorting numbers is not surprising at all. It is even expected, since food is a strategic resource for the country. I just think the difference is too high. But the crop failure, along with the increase in the crop, is a plausible explanation.

BTW, the tropics and extra-tropics have totally different weather. They introduced weather forecasts in Indonesia a while ago and then
stopped them. The Hadley circulation dominated regime has the primary variability mode on seasonal timescales (monsoon vs. dry).
In middle and high latitudes, the weather is dominated by the baroclinic eddy formation regime (so-called low-pressure systems). These
eddies have a lifecycle of several days and spawn continuously feeding off the available potential energy produced by the low latitude
temperature gradient at the outer edges of the Hadley circulation. Sometimes the flow configures itself into a locked state which gives
us blocking events. A particularly persistent one was in 2010 over Asia and resulted in flooding in Pakistan and dry conditions in Russia
that resulted in extensive forest fires.

I still wonder how it is possible to go up 30 million tons in just one year. It would take a superhuman effort.

Well that depends on how many farms and how many farmers we are talking about... if there are 20 million farms with 20 million farmers then increasing production in one year could be as simple as planting out a couple of extra fields each... with an extra one or two tons per farm, but obviously some farms might grow a lot more and some might grow less for various reasons.

I highly suspect that Russia hides real data in this area.

Highly suspect Russia of lying... why?

High production yields would reduce the price they got for their products, even if production had plummeted to zero excess food and they could no longer afford to export any food so they could meet domestic need then lying about it would make no sense... how would they explain banning all food exports, or if they exported food having food shortages in Russia would be more devastating to Russia than the western world thinking there was a problem with their food production.

Russia is now past trying to impress or please the west... the west are sending money and weapons and ammo to Kiev to try to kill Russian soldiers and civilians... the west can go screw itself... let them freeze and starve.... that was the intent of western sanctions on Russia... to destroy the Russian economy and make Russians suffer and starve... lets see how the west enjoys this winter.

ludovicense wrote:This is not a criticism. Russia is at war with the west. Remember? Hiding or distorting numbers is not surprising at all. It is even expected, since food is a strategic resource for the country. I just think the difference is too high. But the crop failure, along with the increase in the crop, is a plausible explanation.

So then you've answered your own question

flamming_python wrote:

ludovicense wrote:This is not a criticism. Russia is at war with the west. Remember? Hiding or distorting numbers is not surprising at all. It is even expected, since food is a strategic resource for the country. I just think the difference is too high. But the crop failure, along with the increase in the crop, is a plausible explanation.

So then you've answered your own question

Actually the one who answered was Caveat Emptor. I just cited the explanation as plausible for so much growth.

ludovicense wrote:

flamming_python wrote:

ludovicense wrote:This is not a criticism. Russia is at war with the west. Remember? Hiding or distorting numbers is not surprising at all. It is even expected, since food is a strategic resource for the country. I just think the difference is too high. But the crop failure, along with the increase in the crop, is a plausible explanation.

So then you've answered your own question

Actually the one who answered was Caveat Emptor. I just cited the explanation as plausible for so much growth.

To be completely precise about last year's crop harvest, reason number one was drought in Central and Southern regions and reason number two was a winter crop (mostly wheat) die off, due to icing in Volga, and northern chernozem regions. Only part of those fields were replanted in the spring.

GarryB wrote:

I still wonder how it is possible to go up 30 million tons in just one year. It would take a superhuman effort.

Well that depends on how many farms and how many farmers we are talking about... if there are 20 million farms with 20 million farmers then increasing production in one year could be as simple as planting out a couple of extra fields each... with an extra one or two tons per farm, but obviously some farms might grow a lot more and some might grow less for various reasons.

Bulk of Russian agricultural production is controlled by big producers and landowners.
For example, Agrosila, Bars,Miratorg, Resurs, Stefan Duerr's EkoNiva or French commodity broker Sucden.

Large land owners actually make it easier because they have more money and resources to boost production capacity.

20 million little farms would likely be mostly owned by the bank and not have much loose change to buy extra fertiliser or seed or be able to organise extra storage capacity while bringing the crops in waiting for trucks to come and haul it all away...

Far fewer big farm conglomerates would be able to invest in planting out more area to compensate for previous drought or flood or other situations that reduced yields or production capacity...

Wouldn't it be marvellous if the west seized Russias overseas assets worth up to 300 billion (or probably actually much less) so Russia could then seize all the foreign assets in Russia associated with food or pharmacueticals or other useful areas of actual value.

About three weeks to go before the western caps on Russia energy exports come in to effect... this is going to get interesting... not just winter coming.

Not half: domestic wine occupied 55% of the Russian market, by Evgenia Pertseva for Izvestia. 11.24.2022.

What role did the scientific approach play in this and what does the biological security of the country have to do with it.

More than half of the wine market in our country today falls on domestic products, and the capacity of the entire industry is about 900 million liters per year. This was announced at the First Russian Wine Forum, which started on November 24 in Moscow. Leading producers and experts discussed agriculture, industry and science - the three main components of the modern wine industry. On the opening day of the forum, the focus was on the quality of drinks. Russian producers are sure that domestic wine has already reached the world level in the aged category. This is confirmed by the scientific approach. For example, data from the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" show that out of 100 bottles of imported wine, most do not correspond to what is stated on their label. While drinks from the Russian Federation in recent years show the opposite trend.

About what other changes await in the wine industry - in the material of Izvestia.

New level

The key topic of the Russian Wine Forum was bringing the industry to a new level. This will require not only agricultural resources and government support, but also a scientific approach. And also - an updated system of quality standards. Already now in Russia 55% of the market falls on domestic drinks, Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko, who oversees the wine industry in the government, said at the plenary session. The market capacity, according to her estimates, is 900 million liters.

“Of course, the industry’s entry into a new orbit is associated with the adoption of the basic law “On viticulture and winemaking” (the document was adopted in 2019), she added. — Despite the anti-Russian sanctions, the industry shows steady growth. Grape production in 2021 increased by more than 10% compared to last year (+752 thousand tons). This year we have improved the forecast - up to 760 thousand tons.

In addition, the government also records an increase in wine production by more than 9% compared to 2021. According to Victoria Abramchenko, the geography of Russian viticulture and winemaking is constantly expanding.

- If 10 years ago everyone knew about the Kuban and a little about the Rostov region, then five years ago they began to celebrate the success of the winemakers of the Crimea and Sevastopol. Now we are discussing the development of winemaking in Dagestan, the Stavropol Territory, the development of the regions of the Lower Volga and North Ossetia, we are trying the first wines from Samara and are waiting for the harvest of vineyards in the Voronezh and Saratov regions, she said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade confirms that the ratio between imported and our drinks is gradually increasing in favor of Russian products, Viktor Yevtukhov, deputy head of the department, said at the forum. He is sure that Russia will outstrip foreign drinks in sales this year.

Import substitution today is indeed one of the priorities of domestic production, said Arsen Karapetyan, general director of the My Wine company. There are currently 1.6 billion bottles of wine on the market, both domestic and imported. Today the area of ​​vineyards in Russia is 100 thousand hectares. And as soon as it grows to 150 thousand hectares, the country will be able to produce 1.4 billion bottles.

“That is, we can close most of the wine with our own efforts,” he noted.

Moreover, the quality of domestic aged already corresponds to the world level, according to manufacturers. In Russia, for example, there is the freedom to create your own terroir (a set of soil-climatic and other characteristics of the area that determine the quality of wine), Alexander Muruzi, an oenologist at the Krinitsa winery, said in an interview with Izvestia.

“We have 12 varieties of grapes, while the winery in France had a maximum of four or five,” he added.

wine standard

Winemaking is one of the most rapidly developing sectors of the economy in Russia. In terms of consumption, wine is gradually outstripping strong drinks, said Dmitry Kiselyov, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia, speaking at the plenary session. After the adoption of the law “On viticulture and winemaking” in 2019, he recalled, the so-called shmurdyak, a low-quality imported raw material that was previously actively used by winemakers in the Russian Federation, left Russia.

The next step is new quality standards, noted Dmitry Kiselev. GOSTs for wine products will be formed by the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute". Work on the standards has already begun, Mikhail Kovalchuk, president of the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute, told Izvestia. A mechanism has already been created that allows you to thoroughly analyze the wine and evaluate its quality.

“Each wine has its own imprint, a genome that allows you to evaluate the composition of the product: for example, to determine which grape varieties the manufacturer used, what quality it was, in what terroir the vine developed, and so on. On behalf of the President, we have created a national grape genetic database, which already contains fully decoded genomes of more than 200 grape varieties,” Mikhail Kovalchuk explained during the plenary session.

We are talking about the results of deep scientific work, he added. It was this approach that allowed scientists to determine the composition of imported wine and compare it with domestic ones. In 2022, 100 bottles of foreign wine (produced in France, Italy, New Zealand, etc.) were analyzed. As a result, it turned out that the contents of 82 of them did not match the composition that was stated on the label. But the indicators of domestic products were consistently high, Mikhail Kovalchuk emphasized.

Today, scientists have focused on wine, but all branches of agriculture will be next, Mikhail Kovalchuk assured: such a tool is extremely important for the biological safety of the country. In modern realities, it is gradually coming to the fore, while the focus on the "nuclear shield" is deteriorating, he concluded.

Now in Russia one can observe a serious development dynamics, including in winemaking, Matteo Coletti, an enologist at the Divnomorskoye Estate, told Izvestia.

“This is very pleasing, it gives an understanding that there will be movement in the future,” he noted. — Look at how different enterprises are growing in terms of quality.

This, according to the expert, allows the consumer to return to Russian wine. And this, noted Matteo Coletti, is very important to be proud of.

https://iz.ru/1430823/evgeniia-pertceva/malo-poloviny-otechestvennoe-vino-zanialo-55-rossiiskogo-rynka

Mass judicious wine consumption in Russia during meals will slowly but steadily replace ordinary vodka drinking, which will be restricted to high quality brands for tasteful drinking on special occasions.

Mass judicious wine consumption in Russia during meals will slowly but steadily replace ordinary vodka drinking, which will be restricted to high quality brands for tasteful drinking on special occasions.

It already has over the last 20 years. Beer and wine.
Although wine has always been consumed in Russia to some degree. Beer in particular has eclipsed vodka.
Vodka as you say, is mostly reserved for birthdays, new year's and the assorted revelries at dachas and such