Mykola Boyko speaks of «Massandra» the way one remembers a great love: with admiration, pride, and pain all at once.
He managed the legendary winemaking enterprise for over three decades, witnessing its peaks, international acclaim, and state awards, only to lose his life's work after the occupation of Crimea. Today, he is 79. Mykola Kostyantynovych runs a blog about wines and remembers the smallest details of stories that have long become archival dust to others.
An hour and a half spent in memories of presidents, collectible wines, and diplomatic receptions. Time and again, another theme surfaced — «Massandra». His «Massandra», because that is where his wines, his vineyards, and his success remain; a time that will never return.
Perhaps that is why, at the end of the interview, he was in no hurry to say goodbye.
«Ask me more,» Mykola Kostyantynovych said.
In truth, it was not so much that he wanted to talk about wine, but rather that he wished to linger just a little longer beside his own history.
On great wines, politics, and the losses that stay with a person forever — in a conversation with the former Director General of «Massandra», Mykola Boyko.
What Hurts a Winemaker's Soul
«Massandra» is not just the main plant, as many are accustomed to thinking. It comprises nine state farms stretched along the coast from Meganom to Foros. The Black Sea washes over our lands for 186 kilometers, and scattered along this shore are individual patches of land — a total of 4,000 unique plots. All of this together, this living organism, is the true «Massandra»: the vine, the people, and the production.
My attitude toward everything that happened is extremely painful. I simply cannot and do not want to separate «Massandra» from Crimea. This land and this enterprise could have been made into a true world pearl. Even back in my day, people yearned to come to us just to see this miracle with their own eyes. Even the French — the recognized leaders and trendsetters in winemaking — sincerely admired what they saw in our cellars. Therefore, it is incredibly frustrating that we were not allowed to realize this grand potential to its absolute end.
I worked at «Massandra» for 39 years, 28 of which were spent as Director General. What does a Director General mean in our case? In relation to all nine state farms, I was the General Director, and directly at the main plant, I was the Director. Absolutely all 3,200 plots are dear to me, as are all the people who worked there, all the workshops, and all the departments. Everything is dear to me, so I could not single out just one specific place right now.
Winemaking simply does not exist without viticulture, because you will never get a good wine without high-quality grapes. If I had the opportunity to return, it would be fascinating for me to visit absolutely every corner of our vineyards. That would take an entire month, not just a single day. As for the main plant, wherever I were to step today — whether onto the bottling line, into the souvenir workshop, or down into the collection cellar — it all stirs an incredible tremor deep inside me.
The Secret of the Old Oak
A special place in my heart is occupied by the cooperage production, about which ordinary people usually know very little. And that is a shame, because in our craft, it is believed that it is the oak barrel that actually creates the wine. In this regard, «Massandra» was always a world classic and a unique school. Specialists came to us specifically to see how large and small barrels were crafted. It is an extremely difficult, delicate, and specialized labor.
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko used to visit frequently. During one of his visits, we strayed a bit from the official protocol and the agreed program, and he suddenly asked: «And where do you make the barrels?». It was close by, so we went into the workshop. Our masters were just assembling huge barrels, which in winemaking are called buts. At the initial stage of assembly, such a barrel lies horizontally, and it is so colossal in size that an adult can easily walk through it without even bending their head. Viktor Andriyovych looked at this magic of wood, turned to me, and said: «Mykola Kostyantynovych, you know, in my life I wanted to be a potter, a beekeeper, a cooper, but anything but a president».
In total, «Massandra» had approximately 10,000 barrels of various capacities undergoing aging. In addition to creating new ones, the old ones had to be cared for daily. Today, the world's leading winemakers agree that it is the old barrel that holds colossal, irreplaceable value. Although until recently it was fashionable to claim that high-quality wine must be aged exclusively in new wood. This is not true. An old barrel gives wine a unique character, but it requires meticulous, almost jewelry-like care. Sometimes a staff cracks, sometimes the wood dries out or begins to leak. In such cases, the barrel must be delicately repaired. Therefore, the enterprise must have unique specialists capable of hearing and healing the wood. And such masters are, unfortunately, catastrophically scarce in the world today.
When Wine Dies
If it happens that a wine from, say, the year 1800-something is already in the bottle, where the sediment has settled and everything seems as it should be, but a person tastes it and says it tastes like vinegar... it was simply unlucky. Wine is a living organism. It can live for a very long time (not every wine, of course, but it is capable of it), and with each passing year, it only multiplies its best qualities. These virtues reach their peak, then a decline begins, and unfortunately, sooner or later, the wine dies.
For example, homemade wines in places like Abkhazia or Moldova usually have a strength of 9–11% and are not intended for long-term storage. Though exceptions happen everywhere. It would seem that dry wine should not live long, yet in the Massandra collection lies a «White Muscat» from 1894. This is a dry wine, and there are still particles of something living inside it — it is a true phenomenon! Typically, white dry wines live for 10–15 years, and they should be drunk as quickly as possible. Red wines hold up better in this regard, while wines with a high alcohol and sugar content are capable of living for an exceptionally long time.
In our collection, we have a unique «Jerez de la Frontera» from 1775. Leaving aside the visit of Putin and Berlusconi in 2015, we uncorked it in 2001, before sending it to a Sotheby's auction. The wine was simply magnificent; it was 226 years old at the time, and it was still continuing to develop! The history of winemaking even describes 300-year-old wines that have been perfectly preserved. Perhaps crossing the 300-year threshold is no longer worth it, but it is a striking indicator.
There is a clear pattern: for a long life, a wine needs so-called preservative substances. As soon as their total amount reaches the threshold of 80 preservative units, the wine gains the ability to live for centuries. The calculation is simple: each 1% of sugar in wine equals 1 preservative unit, and 1% of alcohol, by its stability, equals 4.5 units. Thus, if a wine has, say, 18% sugar and 15% alcohol, then after multiplying and adding, we arrive at an indicator of over 80 units. With proper care, this is an almost 100% guarantee that the wine will live for a very long time.
Once bottled, wine will keep only if it is sealed with a high-quality cork and the bottle lies in a horizontal position so that the sediment can rest. There should be no sources of warm air nearby, and the humidity must be strictly controlled. We, winemakers, are a bit crazy in this regard. We even say that where wine is being aged, one must not speak loudly, and God forbid, one must not argue!
But to the average buyer, this is uninteresting. In my opinion, they should have a simple principle: «like it or don't like it».
Listen to Your Own Cosmos
To speak more prosaically, the wine market is overcrowded and ruthless. Despite all the poetry, romance, verses, and songs surrounding wine, the reality is harsh. The world typically produces 20–25% more wine than humanity is capable of drinking. Therefore, a fierce competition rages: how do I make sure people buy my wine and not my neighbor's?
One way is to make your product at least a little cheaper than your competitor's. But a glass bottle costs money, and a genuine, high-quality cork costs a euro, or even two or three. Conversely, a tetra pak is the cheapest option. And so, an inexperienced buyer comes to the shop: beautiful labels and bottles flash before their eyes, but the financial means in their pocket are not limitless. A person often chooses what is cheaper. However, even in cardboard boxes, one can sometimes find a quite decent wine.
As the saying goes: «experience is the son of difficult mistakes». Experiment, taste, listen to no one but yourself. You are a piece of the cosmos; you are absolutely individual and unique in this world with your own inner tastes. It may happen that a wine is to your liking, while your neighbor laments: «My God, what are you drinking, this is impossible!». Listen exclusively to yourself, do not listen to others. And do not listen to me either in this regard — because if you like it, just take it and drink it.
The Myth of Powdered Wine
You know, «powdered wine» is one of the biggest myths. So many legends and prejudices hover around wine in general — one can recall at least the story of how Jesus Christ made wine from water at a wedding. As for powdered wine, frankly speaking, I do not think such a technology even exists in the form people imagine. To dry wine to a powdered state, one would have to expend a colossal amount of energy and money. There is no powdered wine as such because it is simply economically unprofitable — one would have to create far too complex and expensive equipment for such production.
Most likely, when people speak of «powdered wine», they mean something completely different: they take water, add alcohol, dyes, and flavorings, and combine these components. And this is done, mind you, not somewhere in a semi-basement or a garage. This is created at completely official wineries where there are good laboratories, where degreed specialists sit and work their magic to ensure this mixture turns out more or less decent to the taste. Although to call this wine, of course, is impossible. Therefore, the term «powdered» is a heavy exaggeration. The real problem is the artificial combinations of alcohol, water, and chemical additives; that is what is worth talking about.
What the Liver Says
What irritates me most in our business is ordinary counterfeiting, when a well-known product is emulated using some accelerated, primitive methods. The simplest element of such a fake is when a label reading «Massandra» is simply glued onto an ordinary surrogate bottle. There were times when the share of counterfeit «Massandra» on the market reached 75–80%. How to tell it apart? Again, I return to my favorite thesis: experience is the son of difficult mistakes. You need to try, compare, and learn to feel the difference. Believe me, this is an extraordinarily fascinating pursuit to which one can dedicate a lifetime. And to avoid «killing» your liver, wine must be drunk very slowly, in small amounts, in small doses. The generally accepted norm is one, two, or three glasses. The main thing is to do it unhurriedly, so that the alcohol has time to break down and the liver does not suffer a shock.
«Artek» Without Wine and the Iron Curtain
I will recall a story that has roots deep in the past. In 1937, a steamship arrived in Crimea carrying orphan children from Spain. When I started working on the peninsula in 1970, I still caught living witnesses of that event. They told amazing things: the children were brought in, washed, given haircuts, changed into clean clothes, and brought to the dining hall in «Artek». But they sat before their plates and would not start eating. Why? Because there was no wine on the table!
And this is the absolute truth: in France, Spain, Italy, and many other countries, children are accustomed to wine culture from an early age. Wine is perceived there as an inseparable part of the meal, as an ordinary food product.
The culture of wine drinking began to penetrate our society from Europe as well. This is noticeable at least in the fact that in Ukraine, they began to produce significantly more dry wine than before. However, we are still catastrophically behind. In winemaking countries, children are instilled with wine culture from childhood. We, in this regard, are only taking our first steps. Surely, the Iron Curtain took its toll. Far from everyone here even knew what high-quality dry wine was. On the other hand, what moonshine was — practically everyone knew.
Axes Against the Vine
The party decrees of 1985 regarding the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism materialized into the mass destruction of unique vineyards. At the origins of this campaign stood the famous surgeon Fyodor Grigoryevich Uglov, an academician, an authoritative figure, and an ardent advocate for a healthy lifestyle. He managed to reach the highest echelons of power. He had ironclad statistics in his hands. Uglov analyzed the birth rate and the mental capabilities of children and concluded that in certain Soviet regions, a virtual degeneration of the nation was occurring due to alcohol. Relying on these data, he was able to lobby for radical decisions at the very top of the contemporary government.
However, the execution of these decrees took on an absolutely hideous character. People rushed zealously to fulfill what was not in the texts of the documents at all — to chop down vineyards. Yet in those three decrees, there is not a single word about destroying the vine.
Those were terrible, horrific times. In Moldova, out of 200,000 hectares of vineyards, 80,000 were simply put to the ax.
Hard Labor
We at «Massandra» for a long time did not even understand what madness was happening around us. Fortunately, we managed to protect and preserve our lands down to the very last bush. And restoration is a colossal labor. To preserve or revive a certain grape variety, one must find a reference bush. On it, one must locate the healthiest, most ideal vine, take a single bud from it, then graft it onto a rootstock, nurse it, grow it... This is a filigree, jewelry-like work, which at the same time is heavy, grueling labor.
I can only imagine what was happening in the souls of those unfortunate people who were armed with axes and forced to cut down with their own hands what they had created and cherished throughout their entire lives. It was truly a horrific sight.
The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions
There were several similar campaigns in our history. But the most grand scale proved to be this campaign of 1985. As they say in the Bible: «The road to hell is paved with good intentions». So it was here: the intentions were noble — to heal the nation. At first, it even looked not bad, but later it turned into the flowering of underground moonshining, poisonings, a surge in drug addiction, and a catastrophic blow to the economy. The alcohol market provided about 30–40% of the country's budget, and all of this collapsed in an instant. In the end, these decrees brought nothing good.
It reached the point of absurdity: specialized educational institutions were closed, the production of wine bottles and packaging materials was stopped, and a whole complex of artificial problems arose. Even the name of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Viticulture and Wine «Magarach» in Yalta was bashfully changed to something like the «Institute of Grape Processing Products». Science had its funding cut off.
The Secret Backstage of Saving «Massandra»
I was just starting to manage in 1987, and these decrees were being fiercely implemented into life. Working was incredibly difficult. If before this we were respected people — high guests came to our factory and said: «If you give me at least one case of "White Muscat of Red Stone", I will get you anything you want — whether black caviar or "Bird's Milk" chocolates,» — then after the law was passed, we instantly became outcasts in society.
And so, in that same year of 1987, Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov unexpectedly came to our plant. At that moment, he was a secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, later became Gorbachev's deputy and the last chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He arrived strangely — without any accompaniment from local party or Soviet organs: just him, his wife, and a doctor. What struck me was that he was amazingly well-versed in wines. Without any linguistic errors, he pronounced names like «Khvanchkara», «Napareuli», «Kindzmarauli», and so on. We managed to acquaint him with our difficult situation in such detail that I said bluntly: «We are being squeezed, we are allowed to release products amounting to no more than 0.1% of the norm, we have huge problems with distribution».
After this visit, I went to Moscow, delivered a report, and returned with an official letter which stated clearly: «Massandra shall be. Massandra shall preserve its vineyards. But Massandra is strictly forbidden from over-fulfilling plans». Thanks to this compromise, we survived.
You are probably the first people to whom I have told this backstage story; almost no one knows this.
Devilry and Magomayev's Piano
As for the unusual, I often cite an example that happened even before I took office. The legendary baritone Muslim Magomayev. In 1965, after returning from an internship at Milan's «La Scala», he was quite literally carried in people's arms. He came on tour to Yalta, all tickets to the summer theater were sold out, and his grand concert was to take place in the evening.
And so during the day, before the performance, he somehow wound up at our place in «Massandra». He was met there by our entire collective. People were in such delight that a piano was brought out right onto the central square of the plant! Magomayev played and sang under the open sky for a long time. Then he was given a tour, a tasting was arranged... In the end, it all finished with it getting dark outside, and the piano had to be carried inside, into the tasting hall. There he continued to play for the Massandra workers. The concert in the city, of course, fell through; at the theater everyone was crying from despair, while our workers were in seventh heaven.
The real devilry began the next day. When the workers tried to carry that piano back out of the tasting hall, it... would not fit through the door! How they had managed to carry it in there the evening before remained a mystery. Apparently, under the influence of emotions and Massandra wine, people developed some supernatural strength. In the end, to return the instrument, they had to completely remove the doorframes and dismantle the side wing. Such was a funny moment.
Port for Bogatikov
I remember Yuri Yosypovych Bogatikov, he performed «Spyat kurgany tyomnye». We were close friends, met often, and he gladly sang at our factory.
Once I was working in my office, when suddenly he came to visit. Nearby was an empty conference hall. I said: «Yuri Yosypovych, wait literally five minutes, I will be free in a moment. And so you don't get bored, here, taste our "Red Port South Coast" of 1987».
At that time, he no longer consumed alcohol at all, although there had been difficult periods in his life when he drank too much. But at that moment — he was holding out. He took this glass, went out into the hall, and from there his signature «la-la-la» was heard — he began to warm up his voice. A few minutes later, he walks into my office stunned and says: «Mykola, this is some kind of miracle! Your port works wonders. I could never take this top note in my life until I sipped your wine!»
How to Surprise a Monarch
There were countless unusual incidents. For example, in August 2008, we hosted the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, and his wife, Queen Silvia. He still rules, God grant him health, and presents Nobel Prizes. Now I remember this calmly, but in reality, when guests of this level arrive, your back is wet with tension. You are constantly in stress: what can be said, what cannot... Incredibly difficult.
We knew the protocol: when the king flew to Kyiv, the president presented him with a wine from the year of his birth. When the monarch arrived in Symferopol, the leadership of Crimea again presented him with a bottle of that same year of birth. We thought: if he comes to «Massandra» and we present the same thing again — it will be banal and unoriginal.
The tour of the cellars is underway, followed by a tasting. It must be said that Carl XVI Gustaf is a true aristocrat, the embodiment of majesty, a kind of celestial being. And he was extraordinarily silent. During the entire visit, he uttered literally a few sentences. He was accompanied by a sizable retinue, but he himself stood out for his stature and monumental composure.
During the tasting, we approach one of the samples. I turn to him: «Your Majesty, and now especially for you — a wine from 1976. It is very memorable for your family». The king and queen looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders in surprise, as if to say, what is so special about that? And then we explained with a smile: «It was in this exact year that your royal wedding took place». They had completely forgotten about this coincidence, and it was incredibly pleasant for them.
A March of Birth Years: The Minsk Summit
In general, all the high guests at the plant behaved in an extremely polite, correct, and intelligent manner. Sometimes I was even surprised: when you see them on television screens or political tribunes — they are one kind of people, but in the relaxed atmosphere of wine cellars — they are completely different. I saw things that I have told no one about until now.
In 2000, a summit of CIS presidents was hosted in Minsk. Eleven leaders gathered then. Lukashenko consulted with Leonid Kuchma on how to make this meeting memorable. He was the one who suggested: «Turn to Massandra». When they called us from Minsk, I proposed: «Let's open a collectible wine from exactly his birth year before each president during the official dinner».
From my own experience, I already knew: not a single person will remain indifferent when they see a bottle of wine that was born in the same year as them, laid down in the cellars when the leader was taking his first steps. It is very symbolic, and it can be beautifully played up and presented.
The official part of the summit concluded, and the presidents were invited to a small hall where our samples were displayed. The organizers tell me: «You have exactly five minutes. The motorcades are already lined up, everything is scheduled by the second, we need to fly to the airport». I lament: «How will I make it? Eleven presidents, eleven different wines!».
The first sample we opened was for Putin — a «Table Red Alushta» of 1952. Everything went smoothly. At that moment, he had been in power for only a few months. He liked everything, people were constantly crowding around him, everyone wanted to clink glasses. Because of this hustle, he did not even fully listen to what I was telling him about the wine.
The «Noble Gray» of Heydar Aliyev
Suddenly, Heydar Aliyev — the President of Azerbaijan, an extraordinarily wise, deep man — approaches me. He smiles so slyly and nods toward Putin: «Listen, he's still a kid, what do you want from him? You'd better find my wine». And our next sample was a «Red Port Livadia» of 1923.
Aliyev simply froze: «How?! Is that really my birth year? This wine is already almost 80 years old, that simply cannot be!». Then he tasted it. And I explain to him: «A red collectible wine with age, during many years of aging in the bottle, gradually changes its color and becomes golden-amber. This happens because the coloring substances precipitate over the years. That is why the bottle in the collection must be kept strictly in one horizontal position. If you start to turn it or shake it, the sediment will rise, the wine will become cloudy, and its taste will be distorted».
I then ventured a joke, saying: «Heydar Aliyevich, in your youth you too, probably, were a burning, dark-haired brunette, and now you are a venerable, gray-haired sage. Just so with this wine — over the years, it has acquired a noble gray». He laughed so sincerely!
After that, everything went like clockwork; for each president, his year was opened. But what I want to emphasize: in that hall, without ties, these people turned out to be wonderfully simple in communication. You know, hearing to your face that a sitting head of state is still a «kid» compared to the axakals of politics — that is worth a lot. You don't see that often.
Instead of Wine — a Piece of Sausage
The second moment was connected, again, with Heydar Aliyev. There was once such an international program — GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova). The brainchild of Leonid Kuchma, he very much wanted to build such multi-vector relations.
And so, within the framework of this summit, we meet with the leaders of the countries again. This time it was an outdoor tasting right in the forest. We set out the best wines and waited. A minibus approaches, in which they were all traveling together, and Heydar Aliyev is the first to step out of the door. He walks straight up to me, recognizes me, and laughs: «Oh, you again with your wine! You'd better have left us a piece of sausage, we've been driving around hungry all day».
That is how they are in real life. This is, perhaps, a question for psychologists: what happens to them at all when politicians ascend to the tribunes and become those official «celestial beings».
Depardieu «Wept»
This happened approximately in May 2005. Our president, Viktor Yushchenko, calls me and says: «Gérard Depardieu is coming to visit us. He is such a bore, such a braggart. He constantly boasts that he knows absolutely everything in the world about winemaking. Let's host him at your place in "Massandra", but in such a way that his perception of our wines completely changes. Or even better — make it so that he gets emotional, even falls to his knees».
What can you do, a president's assignment is serious, so we began to prepare meticulously. True, Viktor Andriyovych himself, by his old habit, was late by as much as five hours. Finally, the guests arrived: Viktor Andriyovych with his wife, and with them Gérard Depardieu, who was accompanied by an enologist professor, a translator, and for some reason, two leggy, very beautiful girls — I don't know what their role was, but they were present in the company.
They inspected our cellars, the production, and moved to the tasting hall. We began, as is proper by the rules, with white dry wines. At first, Depardieu behaved very condescendingly, looking down at me quite literally, despite the fact that we are approximately of the same height. When the turn reached the red dry wines, he reluctantly admitted: «Well yes, there are not bad fruit notes here, this here, that there... But you understand, we in France are used to something else».
And right then, completely unexpectedly for him, we opened a collectible wine from the year of his birth — 1948 — as a contrast. And here the Frenchman's face began to change noticeably. He looks at me already completely differently, as an equal. As a winemaker himself, he understands perfectly well that before him is a unique rarity, an aged old wine, which has a completely different price, a different philosophy, and status. He instantly grasped the full weight of the moment. At that tasting — and I deliberately selected five similar exclusive samples for him — we opened bottle after bottle.
When we reached the finale, Gérard Depardieu was so moved and impressed that he could not resist and wrote incredibly warm, memorable words in our guest book, which are preserved to this day. I was sincerely glad that we fulfilled the delicate request of the president and slightly brought down the pride of this respected French comrade. After that incident, it seems, none of the foreign guests tried to lecture us on how to make wine.
The Pearl of the Collection: «Jerez de la Frontera» 1775
The pearl of the «Massandra» collection and the oldest wine stored there (and I sincerely hope it is still in the museum section) is the legendary «Jerez de la Frontera» of 1775. The history of our bottle is very interesting. In his time, the King of Spain handed over several bottles of this wine to the Russian Empress Catherine the Second — simply as a gesture of respect. However, at that moment there were no direct diplomatic relations between Spain and Russia, so the gift was handed over through the Spanish ambassador in London. And the contemporary ambassador of Russia to Great Britain was Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov. Why do I emphasize this detail? Because this wine never actually reached Catherine herself.
Instead, from Semyon Romanovich, it was later inherited by his son — Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov. This is a man who did an extraordinary amount for the development of Crimea; it is in Alupka that his famous Vorontsov Palace is located. And already from there, from the Vorontsov cellars, this sherry in its time found its way into our Massandra collection.
This is a rarity of world significance. There was a moment when a professor came to us specially from Madrid, from one of the Spanish universities. He arrived with one purpose — to check whether it was true that «Jerez de la Frontera» of 1775 was stored in «Massandra», since in Spain itself this wine had long since ceased to exist. I don't know what his secret intentions were, but he saw with his own eyes that the wine exists, and that it is an absolute world rarity.
Sherry at Sotheby's for 50 Thousand Dollars
«Massandra» is probably the only winemaking enterprise in the post-Soviet space that was put up on world platforms on a large scale: we held four auctions at Sotheby's, two at Christie's, two at Bonhams, and cooperated with the New York auction house Morrell & Company. This was done in order to make it easier to enter new markets and build serious exports. And this bore fruit: in certain years, we sent up to 60–65% of all our products for export.
During preparations for the third auction in 2001, a leading expert from Sotheby's, Stephen Mould, descended into our cellars. He saw this sherry of 1775 with his own eyes and rejoiced like a little child. He asked to hold it in his hands and take a picture. And then he says: «Listen, why don't we put up one such bottle at Sotheby's?».
Our collection is arranged very wisely. There is an inviolable museum part — it must remain unchanged, without any encroachments or the possibility of uncorking. And there is a certain number of so-called commercial bottles: they are used for professional tastings so that winemakers can learn, and they can also be sold to earn money for the enterprise. We had commercial sherry, but making such a decision solely was difficult for me. Therefore, I turned directly to the president, explained the situation, and asked whether we had the right to put up one bottle for sale. He listened and gave the go-ahead.
We delivered this bottle to London very accurately, incredibly carefully, and sold it at the auction for 50 thousand dollars. 50 thousand dollars for a single bottle!
Uncorking History for 35 Rubles
And suddenly in 2015, when I no longer worked there, I learn from the news that they took and just like that opened a bottle of this sherry of 1775 at the plant for Silvio Berlusconi and Putin.
I was simply stunned. Real blasphemy and sacrilege! Fine, the Russian president knows nothing about these matters, but Berlusconi — he is an Italian, a delicate connoisseur, an expert, an aesthete. Italians are genetically perfectly well-versed in such things! How could they even go for such a thing? It is hard for me to say. In my understanding, this is some kind of wild, barbaric, purely masterly arbitrariness. The new management of the plant decided to show off: «Why, I am the king here, I can do anything!». But this is state property, this is a heritage of history! You have no moral or legal right to solely take and destroy such a rarity.
This is the first side of the issue. And there is also a second — purely professional. During any official tastings of the highest level, a sanitary doctor must absolutely be present. He is obliged to personally try absolutely all the wines that will be served to the guests on the table. This is an ironclad guarantee of safety: the doctor tried it, everything is fine, you can pour. And what if suddenly something happens to a guest of such rank? What if he gets, excuse me, an elementary stomach ache or some kind of reaction begins? Who will be responsible for this? My teachers, who worked their whole lives in «Massandra», told me that in their time, one had to answer with their head for such things.
Therefore, it is absolutely incomprehensible to me: protocol was standing right there nearby, the state security, the accompaniment... How could you take and offer the leaders of states an ancient wine, without previously even testing it in a laboratory? This is complete irresponsibility.
Well, and if we return to finances. On the one hand, we sell such a bottle at a world auction for 50 thousand dollars, and on the other hand — after the visit of these figures, if I am not mistaken, it was written off according to the accounting balance sheet for some 35 rubles!
I do not understand a single actor in this shame: neither the so-called hosts, who flatteringly offered to uncork a unique bottle, nor those guests, who calmly drank it. This bottle of Sherry belongs not just to «Massandra», but to the whole world. Savages who committed a crime of a global scale.
The Secret of «Church Wine»: Safety and Sterility
«Massandra» did not simply produce Cahors — it produced the finest Cahors in the world. Our legendary «Cahors South Coast» was crafted from 100% Saperavi grapes. And I say this quite deliberately and without false modesty: it is the best in the wide world.
As a wine, Cahors was born in France, in the Cahors province. Historically, it is a dry, very thick, extractive, and deeply colored red wine. Interestingly, it never enjoyed wild popularity in France itself. But how did it reach us and transform into a classic dessert, sweet fortified wine?
The specialists at «Massandra» began to study this question deeply a century ago. Back during the Tsarist era in the Russian Empire, when they tried to replicate this wine for the needs of the clergy, it turned out that artisanal craftsmen made it out of just about anything — blueberries, elderberries, even beetroot juice — as long as the color was a rich red. Sugar was generously poured into it. In professional winemaking, however, there is no such official term as «church wine». Yet, historically, it happened that the clergy played a major hand in this.
In church rituals, particularly during the sacrament of the Eucharist (Communion), they began using specifically Cahors. Up to a certain point, it could have even been a dry wine. But later, the format permanently shifted toward a red, sweet, and strong drink. And behind this lies a very prosaic, purely practical reason.
For a long queue of parishioners, the priest uses a single silver spoon, giving everyone a drop of wine. The drink in the chalice had to be absolutely sterile to avoid spreading infections. And the best natural preservative and guarantor of sterility is alcohol and sugar. Therefore, the evolution of Cahors from a dry French wine to a sweet dessert wine is, first and foremost, a matter of banal safety and the health of the parishioners.
How the French Bought Wine in «God-Forsaken» Massandra
Another incredible episode is connected with this wine. Once, a delegation of French winemakers visited us at «Massandra». They could not believe their ears that we actually made Cahors. They tasted our «Cahors South Coast» and were absolutely delighted.
And these were serious specialists from the association of dry Cahors producers. Imagine this: the French come to what is, from their perspective, some «God-forsaken» Crimean «Massandra» and buy a batch of 3,000 bottles of dessert Cahors from us! It sounds like a fairy tale, but it is a real fact.
Later, they invited us to France so we could teach them our technologies. They even produced an experimental batch according to our recommendations. Back then, a unique souvenir set went on sale: a beautiful box with two windows — in one stood our Massandra Cahors, and in the other stood their French one. Remarkably, our drink cost twice as much as theirs! In this way, they used our authority to boost their own sales.
But how subtly Europeans know how to protect the interests of their domestic producer. When that first experimental batch sold out instantly, the French winemakers turned to their state authorities for permission to buy the next batch from «Massandra». And they were... categorically refused. Do you know how they argued it? «Yes, you will make great money, and "Massandra" will also receive funds. But somewhere out there, beyond the hill, an imaginary Jean or Pierre will not be able to sell as much of his native French wine because of this. Our market is already clearly divided down to the very last bottle». That is how they closed the loophole to protect their farmer.
The Visit of the Head of the House of Cartier: «Your Cahors Is Much Better»
In April 2010, the head of the House of Cartier, Alain Dominique Perrin, visited our winery. He flew in personally on his private jet to Symferopol, and from there he made his way to us.
Prior to that, at a Sotheby's auction in 1990, Alain had purchased 400 bottles of the «Massandra» Cahors «Ayu-Dag» (the previous name of «Cahors South Coast»). The wine impressed him so much that by the time of our meeting, he had already drunk half of the collection. When he became the owner of a chateau in the Cahors province and grew disappointed with the local wine, Perrin came to us and said: «All my life I dreamed of living in a chateau, and finally I bought myself an ancient castle, Château de Lagrézette, specifically in the Cahors province. I heard that you in "Massandra" make an incredible Cahors. And I have this life credo: whatever I take on, I must do it best in the world. I came personally to verify the quality of your wine».
Two great French enologists flew in with him — Marcel Guigal and Michel Rolland (the latter, sadly, is no longer with us). For two days straight, we sat in the cellars without stepping out, tasting and discussing the subtleties. The French admitted: «Your Cahors is much better than ours; there is nothing to even compare. Teach us to do the same, and we are ready to supply you with any of the best European equipment in exchange for the technology». Unfortunately, due to the bureaucratic restrictions of that time, we could not formalize this officially, but the meeting itself was extremely telling. It clearly demonstrated the difference between their dry wine and our dessert masterpiece.
The Main Lesson: Respect Yourself
Why am I telling this in such detail? For some reason, this slavish, blind worship of everything «foreign» still lives on in Ukraine. We must not do this. Brilliant wines, excellent brandies, and wonderful champagne are produced in Ukraine. At international meetings and competitions, I saw with my own eyes how top experts evaluated our products.
We simply lost these positions due to the chaos in the economy. Our task now is to bring everything back together and return to our former level. But under no circumstances should we bow before foreign countries. We must respect ourselves.
Poetry and Routine Prose
Countless stories have accumulated over the years of my work; one could talk about this endlessly. But I want to confess. All these meetings, presidents, prime ministers, kings — they are just the bright tip of the iceberg, a kind of beautiful poetry. In reality, they occupied barely 0.1% of my working time. Everything else was the heavy, daily, routine prose of life.
Thoughts about where to find a high-quality glass bottle, where to purchase a reliable cork, how to print the label beautifully and on time. How to calculate everything so that the enterprise stayed afloat, so that people received a decent salary on time, so that the factory canteen operated smoothly, and our kindergarten functioned...
These down-to-earth everyday issues were always the most important for me in my position as director. So please do not think that hosting VIP delegations was my main job. My primary responsibilities lay in something completely different.
The Absence of Forbidden Fruit Syndrome
Therefore, all those layman tales that winemakers heal from some imaginary dependency with age and stop drinking altogether are complete nonsense. About 450 people worked at our main plant, and their health was meticulously monitored; they were regularly taken for examinations to the Sechenov Institute. We studied this phenomenon in detail: we had no alcoholics at our production facility whatsoever. Everyone drank wine, but there was no alcoholism.
This is the so-called absence of forbidden fruit syndrome. Any winemaker or ordinary worker at the plant knows: «I can calmly walk up to a barrel and have a drink». We even had specially opened barrels of wine standing in the production areas so that people could quench their thirst without disrupting the general technology or the airtight seal of other containers. When there is no prohibition, that sickly, animalistic urge to drink as much as possible for future use disappears.
True, when the season of mass grape processing began, we brought in many seasonal workers from the fields — tractor drivers, general laborers — and I often observed an interesting picture. A person saw a huge open barrel of wine with thousands of liters in it for the first time in their life. A completely different approach instantly switched on in them: they would go up once, twice, a third time, a tenth time... and within an hour, they were falling off their feet. Meanwhile, a core Massandra operator would drink one glass before their shift, and well, perhaps one more in the evening before heading home. For them, it is simply a part of the culture.
A Recipe for Insomnia and the Monument to Egorov
Of course, I enjoy wine too. With age, however, our taste perceptions and receptors change, often even against our will. There was a time when I could easily drink sweet dessert wines. For example, our legendary «White Muscat of Red Stone» contains as much as 23% sugar. Today, drinking something like that is already difficult. Therefore, I now choose white dry wines. By the way, let me share a small secret: a couple of glasses of good white dry wine two hours before bed perfectly replace any pharmacy sleeping pills. This is a proven and very pleasant benefit.
And if we are talking about wine and longevity, let me share one unique case. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Egorov worked at «Massandra» for a long time — an outstanding winemaker who in his time did a colossal amount for the development of Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Crimean winemaking. He lived to be nearly 95 years old. And at the age of 90, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich managed to catch a severe cold. Despite this, he still sipped wine little by little every day. His worried family invited an equally experienced, venerable doctor to the house, who had been treating Aleksandr Aleksandrovich for the last forty years. They began to complain to the doctor: «Just look at him, he keeps drinking wine even during his illness». The doctor listened carefully to his lungs, turned to the family, and said sternly: «Under no circumstances...». Everyone froze. And the doctor, after a theatrical pause, added: «...under no circumstances stop it!».
Calvados Versus Wine: What the Statistics Say
Today, you can find so much contradictory information on the internet that it sometimes brings nothing but a smile. Recently, I read a blogger writing: «In the morning on an empty stomach, you must drink a glass of warm water — this is the key to longevity and health». I scroll down the feed further, and there another «expert» writes: «God forbid you drink warm water in the morning, it is fatally dangerous for the stomach!».
Therefore, it is better to answer questions about wine not with internet articles, but with real statistics from winemaking regions. Look at France, especially during those times when transport connections were poor — there were no airplanes, trains, or buses, and people lived locally within their provinces for generations.
Medics conducted a large-scale study and discovered a striking thing: in areas where people traditionally drink dry wine, they live an average of 10 years longer than in neighboring regions where they historically prefer strong Calvados. Moreover, in winemaking families, 5–6 healthy children were born, whereas enthusiasts of strong alcohol barely had one or two.
These facts clearly prove that for an older age, a moderate consumption of good wine is very beneficial. Of course, there are staunch opponents of alcohol who principles-wise never sipped a single drop in their whole lives and also lived to old age — that happens too. But the average global statistics are relentless: residents of winemaking regions who possess this culture from their very childhood live longer, are much happier, more open, and full of life. This is an undeniable benefit of wine.
Who Cherishes the Ukrainian Vine
Today, we are witnessing a gradual but confident revival of Ukrainian winemaking. And God grant that we climb higher and higher with each passing year, because we need to at least return to that high level we once possessed. If we speak of modern, large, and high-quality domestic producers, I would definitely highlight the «Shabo» company in the Odesa region, as well as the unique «Kolonist» winery in the same Odesa region, which was founded and is led by Ivan Vasyliovych Plachkov, a man incredibly dedicated to his craft. There are good wineries in Zakarpattia as well.
To our great regret, as of today, we do not see a clear and systemic state policy declaring that winemaking is needed by Ukraine. There is none of that financial and legislative support that is so necessary for the industry in these cruel times. Therefore, our primary task today is to at least preserve the unique potential that still remains. And, of course, to sincerely thank those people who, out of pure fanaticism and boundless dedication, continue to cherish the Ukrainian vine. We have excellent examples of wines, and God grant that this positive trend does not break. Thank you
The Secret of «Church Wine»: Safety and Sterility
«Massandra» did not simply produce Cahors — it produced the finest Cahors in the world. Our legendary «Cahors South Coast» was crafted from 100% Saperavi grapes. And I say this quite deliberately and without false modesty: it is the best in the wide world.
As a wine, Cahors was born in France, in the Cahors province. Historically, it is a dry, very thick, extractive, and deeply colored red wine. Interestingly, it never enjoyed wild popularity in France itself. But how did it reach us and transform into a classic dessert, sweet fortified wine?
The specialists at «Massandra» began to study this question deeply a century ago. Back during the Tsarist era in the Russian Empire, when they tried to replicate this wine for the needs of the clergy, it turned out that artisanal craftsmen made it out of just about anything — blueberries, elderberries, even beetroot juice — as long as the color was a rich red. Sugar was generously poured into it. In professional winemaking, however, there is no such official term as «church wine». Yet, historically, it happened that the clergy played a major hand in this.
In church rituals, particularly during the sacrament of the Eucharist (Communion), they began using specifically Cahors. Up to a certain point, it could have even been a dry wine. But later, the format permanently shifted toward a red, sweet, and strong drink. And behind this lies a very prosaic, purely practical reason.
For a long queue of parishioners, the priest uses a single silver spoon, giving everyone a drop of wine. The drink in the chalice had to be absolutely sterile to avoid spreading infections. And the best natural preservative and guarantor of sterility is alcohol and sugar. Therefore, the evolution of Cahors from a dry French wine to a sweet dessert wine is, first and foremost, a matter of banal safety and the health of the parishioners.
How the French Bought Wine in «God-Forsaken» Massandra
Another incredible episode is connected with this wine. Once, a delegation of French winemakers visited us at «Massandra». They could not believe their ears that we actually made Cahors. They tasted our «Cahors South Coast» and were absolutely delighted.
And these were serious specialists from the association of dry Cahors producers. Imagine this: the French come to what is, from their perspective, some «God-forsaken» Crimean «Massandra» and buy a batch of 3,000 bottles of dessert Cahors from us! It sounds like a fairy tale, but it is a real fact.
Later, they invited us to France so we could teach them our technologies. They even produced an experimental batch according to our recommendations. Back then, a unique souvenir set went on sale: a beautiful box with two windows — in one stood our Massandra Cahors, and in the other stood their French one. Remarkably, our drink cost twice as much as theirs! In this way, they used our authority to boost their own sales.
But how subtly Europeans know how to protect the interests of their domestic producer. When that first experimental batch sold out instantly, the French winemakers turned to their state authorities for permission to buy the next batch from «Massandra». And they were... categorically refused. Do you know how they argued it? «Yes, you will make great money, and "Massandra" will also receive funds. But somewhere out there, beyond the hill, an imaginary Jean or Pierre will not be able to sell as much of his native French wine because of this. Our market is already clearly divided down to the very last bottle». That is how they closed the loophole to protect their farmer.
The Visit of the Head of the House of Cartier: «Your Cahors Is Much Better»
In April 2010, the head of the House of Cartier, Alain Dominique Perrin, visited our winery. He flew in personally on his private jet to Symferopol, and from there he made his way to us.
Prior to that, at a Sotheby's auction in 1990, Alain had purchased 400 bottles of the «Massandra» Cahors «Ayu-Dag» (the previous name of «Cahors South Coast»). The wine impressed him so much that by the time of our meeting, he had already drunk half of the collection. When he became the owner of a chateau in the Cahors province and grew disappointed with the local wine, Perrin came to us and said: «All my life I dreamed of living in a chateau, and finally I bought myself an ancient castle, Château de Lagrézette, specifically in the Cahors province. I heard that you in "Massandra" make an incredible Cahors. And I have this life credo: whatever I take on, I must do it best in the world. I came personally to verify the quality of your wine».
Two great French enologists flew in with him — Marcel Guigal and Michel Rolland (the latter, sadly, is no longer with us). For two days straight, we sat in the cellars without stepping out, tasting and discussing the subtleties. The French admitted: «Your Cahors is much better than ours; there is nothing to even compare. Teach us to do the same, and we are ready to supply you with any of the best European equipment in exchange for the technology». Unfortunately, due to the bureaucratic restrictions of that time, we could not formalize this officially, but the meeting itself was extremely telling. It clearly demonstrated the difference between their dry wine and our dessert masterpiece.
Part VII: Respect and the Routine Prose of Leadership
The Main Lesson: Respect Yourself
Why am I telling this in such detail? For some reason, this slavish, blind worship of everything «foreign» still lives on in Ukraine. We must not do this. Brilliant wines, excellent brandies, and wonderful champagne are produced in Ukraine. At international meetings and competitions, I saw with my own eyes how top experts evaluated our products.
We simply lost these positions due to the chaos in the economy. Our task now is to bring everything back together and return to our former level. But under no circumstances should we bow before foreign countries. We must respect ourselves.
Poetry and Routine Prose
Countless stories have accumulated over the years of my work; one could talk about this endlessly. But I want to confess. All these meetings, presidents, prime ministers, kings — they are just the bright tip of the iceberg, a kind of beautiful poetry. In reality, they occupied barely 0.1% of my working time. Everything else was the heavy, daily, routine prose of life.
Thoughts about where to find a high-quality glass bottle, where to purchase a reliable cork, how to print the label beautifully and on time. How to calculate everything so that the enterprise stayed afloat, so that people received a decent salary on time, so that the factory canteen operated smoothly, and our kindergarten functioned...
These down-to-earth everyday issues were always the most important for me in my position as director. So please do not think that hosting VIP delegations was my main job. My primary responsibilities lay in something completely different.
Part VIII: The Lifespan of Winemakers and the Truth About Wine
The Absence of Forbidden Fruit Syndrome
Therefore, all those layman tales that winemakers heal from some imaginary dependency with age and stop drinking altogether are complete nonsense. About 450 people worked at our main plant, and their health was meticulously monitored; they were regularly taken for examinations to the Sechenov Institute. We studied this phenomenon in detail: we had no alcoholics at our production facility whatsoever. Everyone drank wine, but there was no alcoholism.
This is the so-called absence of forbidden fruit syndrome. Any winemaker or ordinary worker at the plant knows: «I can calmly walk up to a barrel and have a drink». We even had specially opened barrels of wine standing in the production areas so that people could quench their thirst without disrupting the general technology or the airtight seal of other containers. When there is no prohibition, that sickly, animalistic urge to drink as much as possible for future use disappears.
True, when the season of mass grape processing began, we brought in many seasonal workers from the fields — tractor drivers, general laborers — and I often observed an interesting picture. A person saw a huge open barrel of wine with thousands of liters in it for the first time in their life. A completely different approach instantly switched on in them: they would go up once, twice, a third time, a tenth time... and within an hour, they were falling off their feet. Meanwhile, a core Massandra operator would drink one glass before their shift, and well, perhaps one more in the evening before heading home. For them, it is simply a part of the culture.
A Recipe for Insomnia and the Monument to Egorov
Of course, I enjoy wine too. With age, however, our taste perceptions and receptors change, often even against our will. There was a time when I could easily drink sweet dessert wines. For example, our legendary «White Muscat of Red Stone» contains as much as 23% sugar. Today, drinking something like that is already difficult. Therefore, I now choose white dry wines. By the way, let me share a small secret: a couple of glasses of good white dry wine two hours before bed perfectly replace any pharmacy sleeping pills. This is a proven and very pleasant benefit.
And if we are talking about wine and longevity, let me share one unique case. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Egorov worked at «Massandra» for a long time — an outstanding winemaker who in his time did a colossal amount for the development of Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Crimean winemaking. He lived to be nearly 95 years old. And at the age of 90, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich managed to catch a severe cold. Despite this, he still sipped wine little by little every day. His worried family invited an equally experienced, venerable doctor to the house, who had been treating Aleksandr Aleksandrovich for the last forty years. They began to complain to the doctor: «Just look at him, he keeps drinking wine even during his illness». The doctor listened carefully to his lungs, turned to the family, and said sternly: «Under no circumstances...». Everyone froze. And the doctor, after a theatrical pause, added: «...under no circumstances stop it!».
Calvados Versus Wine: What the Statistics Say
Today, you can find so much contradictory information on the internet that it sometimes brings nothing but a smile. Recently, I read a blogger writing: «In the morning on an empty stomach, you must drink a glass of warm water — this is the key to longevity and health». I scroll down the feed further, and there another «expert» writes: «God forbid you drink warm water in the morning, it is fatally dangerous for the stomach!».
Therefore, it is better to answer questions about wine not with internet articles, but with real statistics from winemaking regions. Look at France, especially during those times when transport connections were poor — there were no airplanes, trains, or buses, and people lived locally within their provinces for generations.
Medics conducted a large-scale study and discovered a striking thing: in areas where people traditionally drink dry wine, they live an average of 10 years longer than in neighboring regions where they historically prefer strong Calvados. Moreover, in winemaking families, 5–6 healthy children were born, whereas enthusiasts of strong alcohol barely had one or two.
These facts clearly prove that for an older age, a moderate consumption of good wine is very beneficial. Of course, there are staunch opponents of alcohol who principles-wise never sipped a single drop in their whole lives and also lived to old age — that happens too. But the average global statistics are relentless: residents of winemaking regions who possess this culture from their very childhood live longer, are much happier, more open, and full of life. This is an undeniable benefit of wine.
Who Cherishes the Ukrainian Vine
Today, we are witnessing a gradual but confident revival of Ukrainian winemaking. And God grant that we climb higher and higher with each passing year, because we need to at least return to that high level we once possessed. If we speak of modern, large, and high-quality domestic producers, I would definitely highlight the «Shabo» company in the Odesa region, as well as the unique «Kolonist» winery in the same Odesa region, which was founded and is led by Ivan Vasyliovych Plachkov, a man incredibly dedicated to his craft. There are good wineries in Zakarpattia as well.
To our great regret, as of today, we do not see a clear and systemic state policy declaring that winemaking is needed by Ukraine. There is none of that financial and legislative support that is so necessary for the industry in these cruel times. Therefore, our primary task today is to at least preserve the unique potential that still remains. And, of course, to sincerely thank those people who, out of pure fanaticism and boundless dedication, continue to cherish the Ukrainian vine. We have excellent examples of wines, and God grant that this positive trend does not break. Thank you.
