Abrau-Dyurso is perhaps one of the most famous names in the south of Russia. Its fame began to grow from the end of the 19th century with the establishment of vineyards and the creation of a wine-making enterprise.
Where is the village of Abrau-Dyurso
Abrau-Dyurso is a settlement in the Krasnodar Territory near the Black Sea Novorossiysk. A good, albeit narrow, road leads to the west from it to the village, which smoothly winds through the beautiful mountainous area. The distance of 14 km can be covered by car or public transport: minibus N102 departs from the bus station (Chaikovskogo, 15), and bus N102a - from the central market (Sovetov, 24).
The village is located on the shores of the largest freshwater lake in the region - Abrau. This is what one of the Adyghe legends tells about its origin: where the lake is now, there was once an aul. Its inhabitants were so rich that they decided to cover the road to the sea with gold coins. However, the Almighty did not like their pride, and by his order a deep lake arose on the site of a mountain village.
The history of the creation of the Abrau-Dyurso plant
Now there is a village on the shore of the lake, which has turned into an attractive point for wine tourism. And all because there is a factory that creates sparkling wines under the most famous wine brand in Russia "Abrau-Dyurso".
Alexander II, by his imperial decree, ordered the creation of a royal wine estate in the area of Lake Abrau. The name of the specific estate was made up of the names of two nearby settlements Abrau and Dyurso. In 1872, the agronomist of the estate F. Heyduk bought from abroad about 8,000 vines of selected grapes and laid grape plantations. The experiment with planting vineyards was a success, because this place has a very suitable climate, here out of 365 days a year, about 320 are sunny. In 1877, the first harvest was harvested, and by 1882 the first vintage wines were produced on the estate.
The idea of producing champagne here belongs to Prince Lev Golitsyn, who was sent to the estate as chief winemaker in 1891. He competently set about setting up production. By that time, he had already organized a wine business in the Crimea. Golitsyn repeatedly visited France to study the experience of the best connoisseurs of winemaking. Lev Sergeevich began to prepare the soil in Abrau-Dyurso for the production of sparkling wine using the champenoise technology. He began the construction of an underground tunnel-type winery with cellars inside and extended the road from Novorossiysk. In 1893, the estate switched to the cultivation of special champagne grapes, and in 1896 a small number of bottles with domestic sparkling wine were already produced.
Experienced champagnists from France were invited to Abrau-Dyurso to work on improving the quality of wines. In 1905, the French winemaker Victor Dravigny became the head of the master winemakers of the Udelny royal estate. He managed to bring the properties of Russian wine to an excellent level. This allowed the Abrau-Dyurso estate to become a supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty.
After the revolution, the Soviet economy was organized on the foundations of the tsarist estate, leaving the former name "Abrau-Dyurso". Since 1919, it was managed by the scientist Anton Mikhailovich Frolov-Bagreev.
The government instructed the masters of Soviet winemaking to create such a sparkling wine, the purchase of which could afford the broad masses of the working people. Those. it should be affordable and have a short lead time. Frolov-Bagreev came up with the reservoir technology of production. The first batch of wine produced in this way was released in 1928 in the amount of about 36 thousand bottles.
In 1336, at the Politburo with the participation of Stalin himself, it was decided to introduce the reservoir method of making "Soviet champagne" at the country's wineries, incl. in "Abrau-Dyurso".
Wine Abrau-Durso
Now the factory produces a smaller part of sparkling wines in the classic almost manual way using the champenoise method (fr. Méthode champenoise) - the wine is aged in cellars directly in bottles for three years. Most of the wines are prepared by the accelerated method using the Charmat tank technology, when the wort is aged in huge stainless steel containers.
The first method is used to create sparkling wines at the distillery: Imperial, Brut d'or, Victor Dravigny, and Specific Office. The popular "Russian Champagne" is produced according to the accelerated method.
Imperial is the most expensive Russian sparkling wine of excellent quality. To create it, cuvée is used - the juice of the first extraction and only from selected grapes.
"Blanc de Blancs" ("white from white") is a premium wine made from white Chardonnay grapes.
Victor Dravigny is a personalized series. It is named so in memory and recognition of the merits of the French winemaker Victor Dravigny.
"Abrau-Dyurso Office of the Department" - the zest is that it is created according to the recreated historical recipe of champagne, which was served on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty at an official dinner in the Winter Palace. The bottle labels are also reproduced for their historical appearance.
“Russian champagne” is produced using charm technology, therefore it has the most democratic price and mass production. Its bottle bears the famous black diamond-shaped label.
Millesims are very special wines. They are made from the cuvée of grapes of the best harvest years, which happen once every five years.
In 2010, under the brand name "Abrau-Dyurso" began to produce organic champagne "Foliage". The grapes for its production are specially grown in French Champagne. First, this wine is aged for some time in oak, and then for 36 months in a bottle.
Since the construction of the first royal winery, about 5.5 km of two-story tunnels have been laid underground at a depth of 60 meters for making sparkling wine in the classical way. It can store 8 million bottles at a time.
Guided tours and tasting rooms are organized within the ancient walls of the tunnels. The complex of factory buildings is surrounded by a well-kept park area. There is a champagne museum. The Center for Contemporary Art was opened in May 2016. Welcome to Abrau-Durso!
