Taras Vynohradnyi: 'Ukrainian wines in 2026 deserve their own brand'
The 18-year-experience sommelier on the breakthrough of Ukrainian winemaking and why it is time to speak of a 'Ukrainian school of wine' as a separate category.
Taras Vynohradnyi — head sommelier of Goodwine and consultant to six other Kyiv venues — receives me in the wine room with 1,200 bottles, 380 of them Ukrainian producers. 'Ten years ago Ukrainian wines were a synonym for „inexpensive and bad“,' he says. 'In 2026 the situation has changed cardinally. Shabo, Kolonist, Beykush, Trubetskoy, Mountain Magic — that is world-class.'
Vynohradnyi explains that Ukraine has formed its own wine school with three main regions: Bessarabia-Shabo (maritime influence), Transcarpathia (Central-European tradition), and Southern Ukraine (continental character). The sommelier runs a blog on Ukrainian wines where he publishes monthly tasting reports. 'It is time to speak of a Ukrainian school of wine as a separate category in the European context,' he is confident. 'Not as an annex to the French or Italian one, but as an authentic school with its own quality codes.' In 2026 Vynohradnyi will become the first Ukrainian admitted to the Court of Master Sommeliers — the highest international sommelier brotherhood.
