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Last week Fanagoria's Master Cooper Vladimir Prisiazhniuk visited four Armenian wineries/brandy distilleries.

The Taste of Moscow Fair held on Nov 22 - 24 witnessed a real breakthrough it the metropolitan restaurateurs and someliers' attitude to the Russian wine: for the first time, the chefs and owners of Moscow's poshest restaurants (Novikov Group, Bontempi, Ragout, and others) would willingly come to the stands of Russian winemakers to taste their wine.

In October 2013, Fanagoria Estate Winery released its first young sparklilng - the Fanagoria Muscat Ottonel White Demi-Sec Wine. Its first night took place in Krasnodar on October 26 - 27, during the annual Festival of Young Wines.

In the framework of a 5-year-long contract, Fanagoria shipped this week the second lot of its barrels and staves to Ukraine’s state-governed Massandra Winery (Yalta, Crimea).

In September, the first lot of Fanagoria wines was exported to Sweden, as a result of the successful negotiations held with Systembolaget, the Swedish alcohol monopoly.

On May 16th, 2013 the first delivery of oak barrels and oak staves (the trade name of the product is "Old Russian Oak" ) manufactured with OAO APF "Fanagoria" is carried out to the State concern "The national production and agrarian association "Massandra" (the Ukraine). Within the five-year contract signed at the end of last year, 60 barrels with a capacity of 600 liters and oak stave for quarrystones (barrels of 20 tons volume).

My visit last week was concentrating predominately on the 2012 reds. As suspected they are far softer and more generous than the 2011s with an elegance and finesse which is quite admirable. The NR cabernet 2012 is particularly exciting being both large in volume and high in quality.

Apart from the heavy winds in Anapa of March 15th which meant I missed my connecting flight from Moscow to London and thereby missing my flight London to Mexico my last visit to Fanagoria was very rewarding.

Although often freezing cold, the January visit is one I always look forward to as it is the first real chance to look clearly at the young red wines from the season. This years reds are a treat. Great colour yet with a softness and richness that shows the quality of the season and the hard work done by the whole team and especially Roman Tkatchuk the newly appointed chief red winemaker.

Winemaking has a long and checkered history in Russia, from being a source of sparkling wine for the tsar’s family, to providing Soviet champagne for the masses. Now, finds Felicity Carter, new investment is taking it into a new era.