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Russia's President Vladimir Putin is known as a friend of heavy, tannin-rich red wines. Now, according to a report by wine-searcher.com, he appears to be entering the wine business with investments totalling millions, despite his war of aggression against Ukraine. One of the most expensive wine complexes in the world is being built in Gelendzhik, a spa town on the Black Sea about 150 kilometres south-east of Crimea. According to the Russian-language expat publication Agentstvo, the "wine city" will include the country's largest wine warehouse, an interactive wine museum, tasting rooms, a school for sommeliers and winemakers, an exhibition centre and even its own beach. Gelendzhik is also the location of the "Putin Palace", the 1.3 billion euro luxury residence of the Russian president. The wine town is being built by the Velesstroy company, which is said to have laundered money from the Russian state oil company Transneft. According to Agentstvo, the main owner is a Croatian named Krešimir Filipović, who is referred to in the Russian media as "Putin's wallet". Official documents refer to the owner of the wine town as "confidential".
The wine city also includes two wineries. One in Italian style with Italian advisors, the other in French style with French advisors. The Insider, another Russian expat publication, reported that the Russian Federal Tax Service estimates the value of the two wineries at 160 million euros. The organisation of dissident Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison, revealed that the toilet brushes in the French-style winery alone are said to have cost 700 euros each.
Another nearby winery in Gelendzhik, owned by Putin's friend Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea FC football club, is said to have a reported value of only around 3.6 million euros. This led The Insider to conclude: "According to a formal valuation based on financial reports, it would have been possible to build 42 ultra-modern world-class wineries instead of two royal ones with golden toilet brushes." The Insider also reports that the companies managing the two wineries lose as much money per year as the annual budget of Gelendzhik, a town of 80,000 inhabitants.
(al / source: wine-searcher)