ANAPA, Russia: Russians are increasingly turning to homegrown wines as Western sanctions reshape consumer habits and limit access to imports. Once dominated by bottles from France and Italy, supermarket shelves across Russia now feature domestic vintages from the country's southern vineyards.

Sanctions imposed after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 have sharply driven up prices of imported wines and narrowed the selection available to consumers. As a result, Russian producers have captured about 60 percent of the local wine market, up from just 25 percent a decade ago.

"Russian wine has gained a very high share of the Russian market," said Yury Yudich, head of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers' committee on Russian winemaking. He said the shift was helped by higher taxes on imports from "unfriendly countries."

"Gradually, the market began to change, and wine prices began to rise. Imported wines have probably increased (in price) by 30–40 percent," Yudich said, noting that consumers were still "getting used to" local flavors.

In Moscow supermarkets, bottles from Russia, Georgia, and Armenia now fill the shelves where French, Italian, and South American wines once dominated. Western countries have imposed more than 25,000 sanctions on Russia since 2014, with most coming after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Though grape growing has deep roots in the Black Sea region, Russia's winemaking tradition suffered during the Soviet era, particularly under Mikhail Gorbachev's 1985 anti-alcohol campaign, which led to the destruction of many vineyards. After the Soviet collapse, investors began rebuilding the industry, buying land in southern Russia and hiring expert vintners from France and Italy to revive production.

At the Côte Rocheuse winery near the Black Sea, the impact of that revival is evident.

"We began selling wines in 2022, and that same year we opened to tourists. Since then, we have been increasing production volumes every year, and sales are still increasing," said chief vintner Irina Yakovenko. She said the winery produces about 500,000 bottles annually, its maximum capacity.

The vineyard cultivates both classic European grapes — Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay — and Krasnostop Zolotovsky, a native Russian variety from the Rostov region. Despite using mostly French and Italian equipment, Yakovenko said the wines have a distinctly Russian character shaped by local soil and climate.

Putin has often cited domestic industries, such as winemaking, as evidence that Russia can withstand sanctions. He has encouraged consumers to favor Russian-made products and praised companies that localize production.

At the Côte Rocheuse estate, visitors echoed that sentiment. "I want other people, mainly our children, to see this, so they don't buy Italian or German wines, but ours," said Galina Romanova, a tourist. "Our wines are the best."