"Massandra" - tasting room in the famous cellars

As you know, Russian viticulture, as well as winemaking, originated in the Crimea. It happened in the late 19th century thanks to the efforts of the famous Russian philanthropist Lev Golitsyn. In 1894 in Massandra was laid the first wine cellar.

Not touched by time

The plant of Massandra Wines is a domestic enterprise that has not affected the historical vicissitudes and even war. The plant looks like today on the opening day.

Crimean Massandra is a place with a unique microclimate. It is warm and humid as much as the grapevine is needed. And the wine material needs low stable temperatures. For this, a huge wine cellar was laid in the rocks. The galleries were cut by hand. They still amaze today with their dimensions: 150 m in length, and 5 m in height. The work was carried out tremendously: in the cellars for more than a century, even in the very heat of about +15 ° C.

Massandra today

The modern production delicacy of Massandra is open to tourists, a world famous enterprise.

The most visited part of FSUE "Massandra" is the tasting room. Guides talk about the difficult history of creating a plant and a cellar, grape bushes brought from abroad and gently planted in valleys, about the first wine and samples, about the eulogies of the emperor and about five years , As the wines of the Crimea pushed many European producers, including French ones.

Popular Crimean excursion route

Tourists of many countries of the world are attracted by the Crimean urban-type settlement of Massandra. Excursion to the famous factory does not leave anyone indifferent. It begins with the yard of the plant. It has two buildings: an old factory and a new one. Then the tour moves to the Museum of Winemaking. In its halls there is a unique exposition. It allows you to trace the history of the plant and the production of wine from deep antiquity to the present. Most of the exposition is dedicated to the construction of a wine cellar.

In the basement buildings of the plant there are galleries for the noble aging of wine and a tasting complex. It consists of four halls. The first for 72 guests is made in the Greek style. The second for 35 people is called Maderny. The third hall is sherry, and the fourth - VIP (can accommodate only 20 guests). Always happy to meet its guests FSUE "Massandra".

The tasting room, decorated in Greek style, takes to the era of ancient Greece. On the walls there are frescoes depicting Greeks enjoying wine and playing musicians.

The Madern Hall is the deck of a medieval ship that carried barrels from Madera to the island of Java across the Atlantic. There they lay on hot sand under the scorching sun, which made the spicy notes appear in the taste.

The end of the 19th century - the middle of the 20th century - is the period of wine making in the village of Massandra. Tasting room today can be visited by anyone. There are a lot of pictures of Crimea and the grape plantations of Massandra, and grape brushes can also be seen on the walls. This is a tribute to the hard work of planting the first vines brought from Europe.

Excursion programs

Several tourist routes have been developed for the "Massandra" plant. Small excursion lasts 45-50 minutes. Guests get acquainted with the exposition of the museum, then move to the middle basement. They inspect the shop where the collection wines are kept . The big excursion lasts almost an hour. It begins as a small excursion, and ends with a visit to the royal cellar. In it, guests are shown the pride of Massandra - the gallery of collection wines.

There are excursions made according to individual orders, end with the obligatory tasting of nine kinds of vintage wines. The sample is offered the best samples from port and dry wines to Muscat.

In the production association "Massandra" the tasting room works according to a certain schedule. VIP tours are only in the tasting complex and agreed in advance.

Tasting after the tour starts with "Saperavi". This red dry wine is served on an aperitif. Then the men are treated to "Sherry". After four years of noble aging, he leaves a note of roasted walnut and grated almonds in his tongue. Women's half of the guests are served "Madera". Because of the aftertaste of vanilla sugar and dried fruit, this wine was once used as a perfume.

Then the guests are treated to the red port of Massandra, certified pint-gris "Massandra" and other branded wines.

Legendary cellars of Count Vorontsov

It is possible to taste famous Massandra beverages not only in Massandra. For more than 30 years, a modern tasting room "Massandra" in Alupka has been opened. He is in the former cellars for wine storage, laid by Count Vorontsov.

Here, on sample, guests are offered samples of ten branded drinks: dry wines, fortified (famous port of Crimea), brandy wines, liqueur and dessert.

In the tasting room, in addition to the guide, which tells a lot of interesting facts about the production and the drinks themselves, there is always a taster with great experience. He will tell you how to properly hold a glass and take the first sip, will teach you to evaluate the taste and aftertaste of wine. There is a tasting room in Alupka, Dvortsovoye shosse, 26.