In sunny Uzbekistan, viticulture has always been one of the main sectors of the national economy, along with the cultivation of cotton and melons. Samarkand winery is the patriarch of Central Asian winemaking, and the best wines of Uzbekistan are obtained from the most ancient grape variety, Taifi.
Legends and realities
The Uzbek people pass on from mouth to mouth an ancient legend. In it, it was near modern Samarkand that once a vine grew, whose pink berries gave the world a wine of amazing strength. During the Soviet era, Uzbek wines competed quite adequately with Crimean and even Georgian wines. Local cheap ports were not stale on the shelves of grocery stores, and dry wines were especially popular with the fair half of buyers. They contained more sugar than drinks in other countries, because the huge amount of Uzbek sun allowed the fruits to ripen to ideal conditioning parameters.
Regional features of winemaking
Wines of Uzbekistan are made throughout the republic, but depending on the region, the sugar content, strength and other parameters may differ significantly:
- The Tashkent region offers the consumer dessert wines from Yangi-Yul and Parkent districts and table wines from the Chinaz region, where the share of sugar in fruits is much lower than in the first case.
- Andijan winemakers cultivate raisin and table varieties. Winemaking is poorly developed here, and wines have the character of Muscat.
- Dzhambay district of Samarkand region is the birthplace of wines of Uzbekistan, which are characterized by high strength. Local varieties of Cabernet, Saperavi and Rkatsiteli have a special sugar content.
- Bukhara region supplies table wines from the Bishty variety to the local market.
In general, the produced assortment of a particular region of winemaking is significantly influenced by the terrain and the associated climatic features and weather conditions. Vineyards in the valleys grow in warm conditions, and therefore dessert and fortified wines are obtained from their fruits. The mountain vine gives table wine and sparkling material.
Rain of medals
The wines of Uzbekistan have been highly appreciated at many international exhibitions. Gold and silver cups were brought home by Samarkand winemakers from Antwerp and Paris even before the revolution. Today, there is a slight decline in wine production in the country, but having gone on a trip to Uzbekistan, tourists have every chance to taste drinks that did not hit the shelves of world capitals.
