Temperature changes give freshness. The expert spoke about winemaking in northern conditions

There is an unusual winery in the Volgograd region. It is unusual precisely for its location – in the Lower Volga. This is, as it is called, a zone of covering viticulture, free of grape aphids, and this makes the local grapes an environmentally friendly product. But the cracking frosts in winter and the drying summer heat add complexity. However, according to Sergey Chulkov, director of the Pokrovskaya Winery Dubovsky Vinograd LLC, there are advantages to this.

"The Volga climate is not easy for viticulture, temperatures reach + 50 in summer and -35 in winter, but it has a number of advantages. We have learned to protect the vineyard from severe frosts and icy winds, sheltering it for the winter. The drip irrigation system protects our vines from the summer heat. Autumn on our lands is dry and long. It allows the grapes to ripen well," explained Chulkov.

It also turns out that the difference in daytime and nighttime temperatures in the autumn period makes it possible to preserve the natural acidity, gives the wines freshness and provides the potential for development in the bottle. And grapes are gaining high sugars.

If we talk about the impact of anti-Russian sanctions on this business in Russia, then, according to the director of the winery, it was practically not felt. And foreign equipment will not need to be replaced for a long time.

"Our company uses equipment from BUSHER (France), PIM (Bulgaria) and CLIFOM (Italy). Our equipment is new and requires only planned maintenance. We perform equipment maintenance on our own. All the necessary consumables are available, and there are necessary analogues on the domestic market. There were no drastic changes in the work. At the first stage, logistics chains were disrupted, but in the future, the supply of components was adjusted. There was no decline in production," the expert added.

In addition, the winery uses innovative methods of processing vineyards using drones. According to the owners, this allows to increase its efficiency and reduce costs in comparison with ground equipment.

The company has something to be proud of in terms of wine production – it is carried out without oxygen access at all stages of technological processes, from pressing to bottling, reducing oxidation. Thus, they achieved a reduction in the concentration of sulfur dioxide in our product.

The plans include increasing the vineyard area to 200 hectares and obtaining a license for sparkling wines.