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There are conflicting opinions about whether there was a culture of drinking wine in the Soviet Union. But there is no doubt that wine products were present on store shelves.
The assortment satisfied the tastes of different consumers: cheap fortified wines suited the majority in terms of price and quality, while the intelligentsia preferred more expensive vintage wines.
I believe that now the choice is, of course, much wider. But Soviet wine was tastier. Because of the quality or just in youth, everything is better – I don’t know.
Where was wine made in the Soviet Union
Almost every Soviet Republic had at least a few distilleries. The most famous enterprises are from the Azerbaijan, Armenian, Belorussian, Georgian and Moldavian Soviet republics. Wine was also produced in the Crimea and the Romanian SSR.
Technologies and ingredients varied depending on the republic and the specific plant. At some enterprises, grapes were carefully selected, at others spoiled berries could be used.
Since the traditions of distillation on the territory of some republics were either absent or not sufficiently developed, compliance with the technology was controlled practically by a stopwatch.
Also, the final product must necessarily comply with uniform sanitary standards. Therefore, despite the disgusting taste of some “wine drinks”, their moderate consumption was safe.
Natural and tasty table wines were produced in Ukraine, Moldova or Georgia, as well as in the southern regions of the Russian SSR.
What kind of wine was made in the Soviet Union
The famous port wine can be considered the undisputed king of Soviet wines. Exceptional, however, was not the quality, but the volumes of production and consumption – every year throughout the USSR it was drunk much more than all other types of wines combined.
Among the common people were popular cheap “Fruit and Berry”, “777”, “Agdam”, “Alma Valley”, etc. Producers from 11 republics followed a simple recipe: low-quality grapes were mixed with alcohol and bottled. For their taste and quality, they received warm folk names: “ink”, “talk”, “fruitful-profitable”.
In much smaller volumes, high-quality vintage ports, dessert, nutmeg and liqueur wines were produced, which were appreciated by the Soviet intelligentsia.
Produced in the Soviet Union and fortified wines – vermouth. They were almost as popular among lovers of regular feasts as ports.
In stores one could find such drinks as “Solntsedar”, “Algerian”, “Bouquet of Moldova”. Only the latter had decent taste and was really close to vermouth. He, along with the vermouth “Morning Dew” and “Mountain Flower” began to be produced only in the 60s.
During the stagnation in the USSR, about 300 deciliters of wine were produced, more than half of which accounted for port wines and fortified wines.
Semi-sweet table wines were produced mainly in Georgia and Armenia. Dry wines, due to their sour taste, were not very popular with the mass consumer and remained the lot of a few gourmets. We can distinguish such Georgian brands as Vazisubani, Tvishi, Mukuzani, Tsinandali.
How much did wine cost in the Soviet Union
Popular fortified chatter wines were inexpensive. Any working citizen of the country could afford them.
- “Golden Autumn” – 1 p. 15 kop.;
- “Port Wine 777” – 3 rubles 40 kopecks;
- “Vermouth” – 1 p. 50 kop .;
- “Autumn Garden” – 1 p. 70 kopecks;
- “Agdam” – 2 p. 60 copies;
- “Volga Dawns” – 1 p. 15 kop.;
- “Algeria” – 65 kopecks;
- “Solntsedar” – 1 p. 25 kop.
Even more decent Georgian wines were affordable. The popular “Vazisubani” cost only 2 rubles. 30 kop. , white wine “Akhmeta” – 1 p. 70 kop. “Soviet champagne” could be bought for 3,6 rubles. for a bottle.
Was there good wine in the Soviet Union
The abundance of inexpensive alcohol did not mean at all that there were no quality vintage wines for connoisseurs in the Soviet Union. Crimean wines: “Madera”, “Lydia”, “Surozh” – satisfied the tastes of gourmets.
Stalin also preferred Soviet wine; Khvanchkara is usually called his favorite brand. Representatives of the intelligentsia also liked the Ukrainian wine “Oksamyt of Ukraine”, the Moldovan “Cabernet”, the Georgian “Gurjaani”.
Rarely, imported wine from Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria appeared on store shelves. There was no great demand for them, since they cost several times more than domestic wines.
It was occasionally possible to buy Italian or Spanish wine “by pull” and for extra money, but not everyone could afford such joy.
What are your memories of the wines of the USSR? What was your favorite wine?