The 4th century BCE was a busy time around the globe: Plato and Aristotle hung around, sharing their thoughts; Carthaginians invented the first donkey-powered mill; Romans built the first aqueduct; and winemaking emerged in Ukraine.
Monks really got the winemaking ball rolling in Ukraine in the 11th century, cultivating, growing and producing wine with intention in the northern part of the country. Under Soviet rule, Ukraine was one of the main sources of wine for the USSR, but the roughly 370,000 acres in vines were primarily used to produce industrial plonk.
In recent decades, winemaking in Ukraine has returned to its terroir-driven roots, but Russia, once again, is threatening not only the country’s wine culture but the country’s ability to function and exist as a civilized society.
The first hit came in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea – the biggest seizure of land in Europe since World War II. The illegal land grab immediately threatened the world’s post-Cold War order, and initiated a series of political chess moves that are still playing out today. It also resulted in the loss of about one-third of Ukraine’s vineyard space – much of it considered to be the best.
That annexation coincided with – or perhaps partially inspired – a doubling down on Ukraine’s production of Western-style dry wines, especially in the southern regions of Odessa and Kherson. Since the annexation, production of dry wines increased by 7-9 percent annually, according to Wines of Ukraine. In 2021, 100 million liters plus of wine were produced from almost 100,000 acres of vineyards, where 180 primarily indigenous grape varieties thrived.
Then the second hit came in February of 2022, when Russia invaded the country, actively destroying civilian infrastructure across the country, killing tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers, plunging the economy into freefall (unemployment is at 30 percent, inflation is hovering around 28 percent and hundreds of businesses and industries have been decimated) and turning an estimated 10 million people into refugees. Sales of many locally produced goods are down, but alcohol has been particularly hard-hit. Alcohol has been banned entirely during certain periods and restricted across the board. Year-over-year, sales of domestic wine are down by an estimated two-thirds.
Russia has staged a multi-pronged assault against Ukraine, sending rockets overhead, and, consequently, also sowing hidden, unexploded mines into the land. While rockets have immediate, devastating consequences, the unseen mines dotting the landscape threaten civilians and the many agricultural workers who make their living tending to that land. At this point, an estimated 30 percent of Ukraine’s farmland is riddled with mines.
“Landmines are hidden killers waiting for the foot of a child or farmer,” says Heidi Kuhn, who founded Roots of Peace, a nonprofit dedicated to the removal of landmines, in 1997. That same year, she witnessed the signing of the Ottawa Treaty that banned anti-personnel mines that same year. Ukraine is among the 164 signatories. Russia is not. (While the US supported, the treaty, it has also not signed it).
During the invasion, several wineries have been destroyed, vineyards have been mercilessly shelled and major wine-producing regions – including Kherson, Mykoliav and Zaoprizhzhia – have had to essentially stop production.
Before the invasion, there were about 180 wineries in Ukraine. Some have still managed to carry on. Svetlana Tsybak, the chief executive of Beykush Winery, and president of the Ukrainian association of craft winemakers, accepted a gold award from Decanter World Wines in recognition of its bravery and continued operation even as war wages just beyond the borders of its vineyards.
But the unexploded mines must be dealt with immediately if the heroic work of Beykush and other wineries are to continue safely, and, indeed, if more than a handful of those 180 wineries are to have any future at all.
Roots of Peace is preparing to head in.
“I’m a fifth-generation descendent of pioneers, and their respect for the land is in my DNA,” Kuhn says, adding that she grew up in the peace movement, attending University of California, Berkeley in the 1970s, and then going on to cover international politics for CNN as a reporter and producer.
“That all changed when I was diagnosed with stage 4 malignant cancer when I was 30 years old,” she says. “I had a 1, 3 and 5-year-old. My days of running around the globe were over I thought. It was a defining moment. I said, ‘Dear God, grant me the gift of life, and I will do something with it.'”
Kuhn emerged from cancer with a sense of purpose, and a passion for peace, and life. After managing to have another child, “without a cervix,” she turned toward the nonprofit sector.
“I remember watching [Princess] Diana walk through the minefields of Angola just a few weeks before she died, and it was such a profound experience for me,” she says. A few weeks after that, Kuhn was asked to host a reception to benefit, of all things, the removal of landmines.
“I made an impromptu toast at the reception, and out of nowhere, said ‘May the world go from mines to vines,'” she recalls. “That was it. I realized this was what I had to do.”
And she has, ever since.
“Land mines are an abomination, a cancer waiting in the earth,” Kuhn says. “The only solution is removal. And from there, if we want a country’s economy to grow, we have to replace those mines with things that will grow. Vineyards, fruit trees and crops that will help rebuild the economy.”
She began, in reporter form, “knocking on the doors of legends and hoping they’d answer.”
Thankfully, they did: Robert Mondavi, the Wentes, Tor Kenwood, et all, agreed to donate, get involved and share their knowledge and insights in lands that had been decimated by war.
“They responded as farmers,” she says. “I have been gratified by the response of not just vintners, but also politicians like Nancy Pelosi who saw the potential impact of the devastation of the mines across the world in war-torn regions, and the potential positive impact of replacing those mines with working farmland.”
In 2000, she teamed up with Miljenko “Mike” Grgich (of Judgment of Paris, and then Grgich Hills Estate fame) to transform Croatia‘s minefields into vineyards, and since then, they have worked together to facilitate the removal of landmines over 500,000 square meters of land, helping to reestablish vineyards in eight wine regions. Today, Croatia is one of the world’s top tourist destinations, due, in part, to their initiative.
Roots of Peace has also gone into Cambodia, Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Iraq, Israel and Zimbabwe and other countries, replacing minefields with farmland.
“We work on raising funds and awareness,” Kuhn explains of Roots of Peace’s role in the demining process. “We then partner with mine-removal organizations, NGOs and governmental organizations that do the work of demining and replanting.”
So far, Roots of Peace has – with the help of $85 million in grants and donations – facilitated the removal of more than 100,000 landmines, and the replanting of 7 million fruit, vines and trees that provide food security and economic sustenance to war-ravaged countries.
In December, Roots of Peace, in partnership with longtime partner Grgich and the Rotary E-Club of Ukraine, announced a plan to go into the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine and initiate demining. Yes, even as the war wages on.
“We need to get in there now and help farmers,” says Sally Camm, who handles communication for Grgich Hills Estate. “That region has been peppered with mines, but right now it is removed from the front lines. We can go in there safely and ensure that farmers can safely return to the land and resume farming and winemaking. We, and Mike in particular, who turns 100 years old in April, sees this as essential to the future of the country, and its economy.”
The war in Ukraine has consequences well beyond its borders. Russia’s war has created economic effects across the globe, from soaring energy costs, spiking inflation to the threat of a worldwide recession.
Will turning mines into vines change that overnight?
Of course not. But it is a positive step in the right direction: one that will not only ensure the wine growers and their children can safely resume walking their land without fear of death or maiming, and one that will fuel the country’s economic engine, giving essential jobs to growers and vintners – and the people who bottle, label, sell and transport their wines. It’s about building an economic framework for a nation’s recovery.
“We aren’t just turning mines into vines,” Kuhn says. “We are providing a business model for peace. Peace is the hardest aspiration, but it’s also the most rewarding. We cannot give up.”
To donate to the mission, go here.
Meeting Napa's Mr Fix-it
Andy Erickson has been called a "rock star" winemaker, but he's too busy to listen to the flattery.
Top Chef Turns his Hand to Wine
Turning out spectacular dishes for the prestigious French laundry restaurant is a good launch-pad for winemaking, it seems.
Whiskey World Keeps Growing
While wine is still big business, whiskey was the star performer on Wine-Searcher last year.
Wine Blogger Fined for Sexist Post
Gosh! Sexism in the wine media? Who would have thought it?
Luca and Elena Currado Leave Vietti
The couple behind the historic Barolo producer explain why they felt is was time to leave their heritage behind.
Burgundy has more Wine than Buyers
Burgundy's soaring prices are coming back to bite the region as many are simply too expensive to sell.
Price the Key for US Wine Sales
Some wine prices might be rising in the US, but it's a very small category that is successful.
Direct Wine Sales Fall but Prices Rise
The Covid boom was good for direct-to-consumer sales, but the market changed significantly in 2022.
2021 Rhônes Snatch Triumph from Disaster
Despite a woeful growing season, the wines are good – and you get them without paying a fortune.
Selling a Younger Generation on Wine
The wine industry is failing to engage younger consumers, but what can it do to change that?
Stay tuned with our weekly newsletter
To give you the best search experience, we use cookies for remembering your search filters, personalizing content, and analyzing how the website is used.
Manage Cookies Accept & Continue