near Odessa, the exploitation of a winegrower hit by a rocket attack

When the war in Ukraine began, Georgiy Molchanov, winemaker, did not imagine that it would strike his rows of vines. Two weeks ago, a rocket landed in front of his Merlot vines, which he planted in 2021. “You must not touch, because under the ground, there may still be explosive charges”he warns.

A wine-growing region since antiquity, southern Ukraine produces wines with fruity aromas. The quality terroir, which is located on a strategic axis, is today threatened by the fighting. The front line of Mykolaiv (Ukraine) is in fact less than 50 km from the vineyard. “Russian troops want to attack our army all the time. (…) I am afraid that they will occupy our lands”, he said. The Ukrainian vineyard today fears for its survival. Already in 2014, Ukraine lost the country’s largest wine region, when Crimea was annexed by Russia.