GWR Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday raises a glass and toasts
the success of a Ukrainian wine maker responsible for the world's
largest flute of sparkling wine.
An adjudication at a vineyard, to measure a giant flute of
sparkling wine? I have to admit I was excited at the thought of
this exotic outing. Where would this sophisticated, glamorous event
be taking place? The beautiful Champagne region of France? Asti in
northern Italy, perhaps, home of the famous "spumante"?
No, Ukraine. In Balaklava.
To be perfectly honest, my heart sank a little when I heard this.
The Ukraine was the last place you'd expect to find a decent
sparkling wine, surely? Oh, how wrong I was going to be proved!
As a Brit, Balaklava existed in my mind as not only a functional
piece of knitwear but as the site of the infamous Charge of the
Light Brigade, a tragic episode in the Crimean War (1853-56) when
British troops were slaughtered during a futile foray against
Russian forces. In more recent years, under Soviet control, the Bay
of Balaklava was the home to a top-secret submarine base - carved
deep into a cliff edge so as to avoid spyplanes - and only
decommissioned in the mid-1990s. (The word Balaklava comes via the
Turkish for "fish nest", as dolphins drive fish into the bay, where
they become trapped and easy prey.)
What is less well known, outside of Eastern Europe at least, is
that the Crimean region boasts the ideal conditions for growing
grapes, and particularly varieties that produce sparkling wine. And
not just any old fizzy plonk, but award-winning Champagne-quality
wines that are exported across Europe. As I was to discover, there
is a lot more to this beautiful, dramatic and historic region than
mere war stories and secret military bases - not least the cooling
breeze from the Black Sea, the sun-soaked valley slopes, and the
soil rich with brown lime carbonate.
Filling the fluteOne company that fully understands the benefits
of these ideal climes is Agrofirm Zolotaia Balka, a wine maker that
has flourished in the valley of Balaklava since 1956, although with
a pedigree dating back to 1921. Indeed, sparkling viniculture in
the Crimea dates back to the late 19th century, when Prince Lev
Sergeyevich of the Golitsin dynasty built Russia's first champagne
factory in the region, and the date of 1889 is known as the
founding of the first wine cellars in Balaklava.
Although the "discovery" of the Champagne-making process by the
Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Pérignon (c.1638-1715) is now
considered an apocryphal tale, Zolotaia Balka celebrate the
anniversary with a street party in Balaklava. It was to this that I
was invited this August to assess their Guinness World Records
attempt at the Largest flute of sparkling wine - a record of 27.5
litres (2.8 gal, 3.3 US gal) held by a winery in Toronto, Canada.
"We were told by the Canadians that it would be impossible to build
a bigger flute," said glassmaker Yuriy Seleznov of ART Glass, who
were commissioned to create the giant glass. "We had to prove them
wrong."
And this ART Glass did, with a team of four headed up by Vladimir
Filipov hand-blowing a 23-kg (50-lb 12-oz) flute capable of
supporting itself when filled with, potentially, 60 litres (13.1
gal, 15.8 US gal) of wine.
"It took us two attempts to make the calcium silicate glass," Yuri
explained over a Balaklava breakfast of eggs, frankfurter and
sparkling wine. "We started back in May, and the first flute was
just too heavy - it was 53 kg (116 lb 13 oz) - and the composition
of the glass was wrong. It ended up being destroyed during the
[1,360°C; 2,480°F] baking process."
For their second attempt, the composition of the glass was
amended, resulting in a successful flute standing 1.34 m (4 ft 5
in) tall and with a thickness of around 8 mm (0.3 in) at the
rim.But, as I was keen to point out, the record is not for the
glass alone - it has to hold a record quantity of sparkling wine.
For this, Zolotaia Balka had bottled a special edition demi-sec
(meaning "half-dry", referring to the wine's sweetness), and
decided to aim for pouring 75 of these 75-cl (0.75-litre; 26.4 fl
oz, 25.2 US fl oz) bottles into the glass.
On the morning of 6 August, the glass was delicately delivered up
a flight of stairs to a stage erected in 1st of May Square in the
centre of Balaklava. The delicate creation was gingerly unwrapped
from its foam padding by ART Glass staff and Zolotaia Balka's
national marketing manager Andrei Shepel before being draped in
silk and artfully spot-lit.
I, in the meantime, decided to have a tour of Balaklava's bay
area. My delightful translator, Anna Feoktistova, walked me around
the town centre before hopping on to a small private boat and
giving me the coastal highlights. It's not surprising that so many
people - Ukrainians mostly, but also many Russians and other
tourists from across Europe - flock to this area. The coastline
along this part of the Black Sea is rugged and dynamic, topped off
with the crumbling remains of a Genoese fortress at the entrance of
the bay. Around the coast are tiny secluded beaches that can only
be reached by boat or a vertiginous clamber down the mountainous
boulders, perfect for naturists willing to risk the dangerous
descent.
Also to be found in the Bay is the remnants of the top-secret
Soviet sub fleet - a base carved 380 metres, or a quarter of a
mile, deep into the cliff edge and designed to withstand a direct
hit from a 100-kiloton atomic bomb, such as the one at Hiroshima.
During the Cold War, the KGB controlled Balaklava, ensuring that
not even the locals fully understood what was going on. If such a
bombing were to have taken place, up to 50,000 people could live
inside the tunnels for three years, taking advantage of the
enormous onsite bakery, food stores and hospital.
Accepting the certificateInland, you discover rolling verdant
valleys to rival anything in Tuscany. The south-facing slopes are
currently covered in grapevines weighed down with this year's crop,
only a few weeks from harvest. It is a truly beautiful part of the
world - indeed, the eighth wonder of the world, according to
locals.
By the time I returned to the square, thousands of visitors had
packed in tightly, keen to sample the champers and hear the
country's top rock group, Ocean Elzy, who were scheduled to perform
after the filling ceremony. Before the bottles were uncorked,
however, there was one other event - the Miss Crimean Champagne
beauty pageant!
As a member of the judging panel, I had front row seats for a
catwalk show of local lovelies, all of whom were dressed as women
from the history of champagne, such as France's Madame de Pompadour
(King Louis XV's mistress, whose breasts provided the inspiration
for the design of the champagne coupette), Russian ballerina Anna
Pavlova (who danced the Champagne Polka) and the German screen
actress Marlena Dietrich (who famously said that Champagne "gives
you the impression that every day is Sunday").
After three rigorous rounds (historical costume, swimwear,
eveningwear), Miss Crimean Champagne was finally crowned and
attention turned to the task at hand: filling the flute. To confirm
the volume of the bottles, I poured one into a measuring jug - 75
cl, as expected. Then five bartenders - two opening, two pouring
and one steadying the gigantic glass in place - got to work
upending bottle after bottle into the chalice. As this was going
on, the expectant audience were treated to a performance by
Ukrainian prima ballerina Elena Filip'eva accompanied, rather
bizarrely, by Timothy Vinkovsky, most famous for playing ballet by
gently rubbing his wet fingers around the rim of wine glasses on
Ukraine's Got Talent!
Finally, after 75 bottles were poured, the bartenders stepped
away, leaving the unsupported glass glittering under the
spotlights. Much to everyone's relief, it held the bubbly and a
roar of cheers accompanied the presentation of the Guinness World
Records certificate to Dmitry Egorchenkov, Director of Zolotaia
Balka's Kiev branch. The total volume - and the metric by which the
record was judged - was 56.25 litres (5.7 gal, 6.9 US gal), which
more than doubled the previous record.
So, what more could be done than settle back and enjoy the music
from Ocean Elzy and enjoy a sip or two of Crimean Champagne? I'd
had a fantastic weekend and made some delightful discoveries - that
Ukraine holds may unexpected treats and beauty spots, and that
Crimean Champagne is absolutely delicious! Cheers to that!
