Vityazevo Winery is located in Vityazevo village, which is about twenty kilometers from Anapa between the airport and the Black Sea. The vineyards and farm are located on approximately 5,000 hectares stretching west from the border of the Anapa International Airport to the Black Sea and then north along the coast. The first vineyards visible upon exiting the Anapa airport are new Cabernet Sauvignon grapes of Vityazevo Winery, one of the more progressive wineries in the region.
Vityazevo is home to many Russians of Greek descent that were forced from the coast of Turkey and northern Greece at the end of the 19th century. Most of the workers at the winery are of Greek descent.
Valery Aslanov, the director of the winery, has been a driving force behind the development of this winery in recent years. Aslanov’s son, Stavro, is now the chief winemaker at Vityazevo. New Italian bottling equipment has been installed, buildings have been remodeled, and new vineyards have been planted. In recent years 160 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon grapevines were imported from Slovenia and planted.
Vityazevo Winery was organized in 1985, when Vinsovkhoz Djemete was divided between two state farms: Vinsovkhoz Djemete and Vinsovkhoz Vityazevo. Vityazevo Winery took over the wine production facilities of Djemete, and Anapasky Winery in the city of Anapa became the producing winery for Djemete. In 1992, Vinsovkhoz Vityazevo became a private enterprise and members for the state farm became shareholders of the new enterprise. It is now known as SPK Vityazevo. As with many of the former state farms, the vineyard operation is operates somewhat independently from the winery, under director Viktor Smaglii.
Vityazevo’s light, dry red wine produced under the label Krasny Pontiskoe is worth sampling. The name is derived from the term used for the Greek refugees forced out of northern Turkey over a century ago. Vityazevo also produces an excellent Pinot Blanc dry white. In addition, dry white Muscat, Chardonney, and Rkatsiteli are bottled.
Vityazevo has one of the best red dessert wines produced in the region, Kagor Vityazevo, which is deep, dark red made from Saperavi and Cabernet grapes. This wine demonstrates the potential for the Saperavi grape. Vityazevo also produces an amber dessert wine from Muscat grapes that is sold under the name Ulybka (smile) and a red dessert wine Kagor 32, both Soviet era wine labels.