DERBENT, August 25 – RIA Dagestan. Results of a comprehensive audit of Dagestani wineries, carried out by experts from Roskachestvo's "Russian Wine Guide" were discussed at a meeting held at Derbent Vino winery.
The event brought together representatives of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, the Republic's Government, the Association of Grape Growers and Winemakers of Russia and heads of the industry's largest enterprises.
According to the meeting, still wine production in Dagestan grew by 9.88% to 1.35 million decaliters in the first seven months of 2026, contrasting with a nationwide decline. Experts attribute this performance to Dagestani producers' success in the sub-600 ruble per bottle segment.
Dagestan maintains its position as Russia's third-largest wine-producing region after Kuban and Crimea, with total vineyards covering 27,500 hectares. The audit confirmed the growing technological capacity of full-cycle enterprises, including Chateau Alvisa, Derbent Vino, Agrolaine and DKK. Despite challenging weather conditions and floods, the industry has not suffered critical losses.
As to Olesya Latysheva, head of the "Russian Wine Guide", Dagestani products are predominantly represented in the key price segment of up to 800 rubles, the most in demand among Russian consumers. However, she warned that "further volume growth is hindered by an imbalance in the varietal structure, which requires an adjustment to the vineyard planting strategy".
The expert underlined that the region demonstrated confident production growth in the still wine category, captured the niche vacated by imports but faced a severe shortage of in-demand grape varieties.
Akhmed Akhmedov, Deputy Chairman of the Republican Committee for Viticulture and Alcohol Regulation, noted that Dagestan accounted for 26% of the country's vineyards and a third of the gross harvest. Viticulture remains a budget-forming industry, providing over 20% of treasury revenues, with tax payments exceeding RUB 8.5 billion last year. The regional government forecasts a harvest of technical grape varieties of at least 226,500 tons.