"When I saw my wine in the Royal Albert Hall buffet, it blew my mind." An interview with Ivan Plachkov

In 2007, at the opening of the GoodWine store, former Minister of Energy Ivan Plachkov brought four bottles of his Kolonist wine to the owners of the wine market. "He wished them prosperity and cooperation," Plachkov recalls, "The guys honestly replied that cooperation was not even being considered: there is no such thing as quality Ukrainian wine."In 2026, it's impossible to imagine GoodWine without Kolonist bottles. The same goes for any chain wine store in the country. The winery's revenue in 2024 was UAH 53.2 million, and in the first three quarters of 2025, it was almost UAH 40 million, according to YouControl.How did a former Minister of Energy and head of Kyivenergo manage such a feat – to create one of the best wineries in the country?The secret to the success of "Colonist" is to be in the right place at the right time. Read the interview to find out how to choose such a place and what to do to not miss the right time LIGA.net with Ivan Plachkov, the founder of "Kolonist".From seedling to shelves in four yearsHow did the story with GoodWine develop further?I left my wine with the guys from GoodWine. I told them to do whatever they wanted with it. They could pour it out, but it would be better if they at least tasted it; I'd be grateful for the feedback.After a while, they say, "We've tried it. Let's try to work with it."I proposed a format: let's go together to the Kolonist vineyards and production facility. After that, we'll make a conscious decision about further cooperation.They came and made a counter-demand. The wine will undergo a closed, "blind" tasting every year. If it doesn't pass, then we say goodbye. And so they did.This was our first success – after that, for another six years, Kolonist was the only Ukrainian wine on GoodWine's shelves. We have remained there continuously to this day.How long did it take for the "Kolonist" project to get from its launch to the shelves of GoodWine?In 2003, my wife, Svitlana (who passed away in 2010 – ed.), proposed the idea of creating a modern winery in accordance with existing European standards. This winery, Kolonist, was meant to show any skeptic the potential of Ukrainian winemaking and the capabilities of the Danube Bessarabia region.Why specifically the Pridunaiska Bessarabia?First, it is my homeland. Second, this region – Danube Bessarabia – has been forgotten in Ukraine. This is the former Thrace, the homeland of Eurydice, Spartacus, and the cult of Bacchus – and I constantly prove it.People of 130 nationalities live here, and Ukraine in the 1990s and 2000s didn't know about it. My village, Krynychne, is Bulgarian, next to it is Gagauz, on the other side is Ukrainian, further on are Russian Lipovans, and opposite are Greeks. In another direction are Romanians, and further on are Moldovans.Returning to the winery…Thirdly, it's the 45th parallel. This is really important for wine. It is at these latitudes that the climate forms the optimal flavor triangle of grape berries – sugar, acidity, and tannins. Because it is here in August and September, which are critically important months for grape vegetation, that it's +14-16 degrees at night and up to +36 during the day. This is exactly what's needed! This is what forms the phenomenon of Bordeaux wines in France, Piedmont and Italy, and Krynychne in Ukraine.So, in 2003, we planted our first grapes. In 2005, we obtained our first license and made our first bottle of wine. We were the first in the former USSR to build a modern winery from scratch. Before that, there had never been a winery in the village of Krynychne.From the very beginning, since 2003, have you been calculating the payback period for investments in "Kolonist"?Yes, we planned for the payback period to be in 2019-2020. It was roughly on track, but then the pandemic started, followed by the war.Can you name the amount of the investment? You haven't mentioned it once.And I won't name it. I don't want to get upset.Exports: to London restaurants in six years"""Kolonist" became the first Ukrainian wine to be purchased abroad. How did you bring your wines to the export market?The first step was to establish cooperation with Olivier Dogha (French consultant (from winemaking – Ed.). He visited us several times. He was delighted with the natural potential of the region. We worked with him on quality.The next step was in 2009, when we presented Kolonist wine in the British Parliament.How was this accomplished?His wife, Svitlana, headed the committee on European integration in the Verkhovna Rada's apparatus. She had working relationships with colleagues in Great Britain. In addition, at some meeting, they received an invitation from George Robertson (NATO Secretary General from 1999-2003 – Ed.). Once, during his visit to Kyiv, he tasted "Kolonist" wine and could not believe it was Ukrainian.What wines were presented then, in London?Odeske Chornye, Cabernet Merlot, Riesling. They also brought an incredible 2008 Merlot. The presentation concluded with a catering company that works with the parliament signing a contract with us.A few months later, our wine was being served in four French restaurants in London.Considering that the vineyard was planted in 2003, such a result in 2009 is a vertical take-off. Indeed, the success was striking.That same year, my wife and I went to Eric Clapton's anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall (a concert hall in London – ed.). In the audience were Mick Jagger, Ritchie Blackmore, Carlos Santana, and Mark Knopfler.For me, who held the first legal disco with records by Zeppelin and Parpels (Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple – ed.) in the fifth dormitory of Odesa Polytechnic in 1975, this event was fantastic. I found myself in the same hall with my idols. But when I saw Kolonist wine in the buffet of the Royal Albert Hall, I was blown away.Watching my wine being bought at the Royal Albert Hall buffet, I realized that we couldn't be stopped.Understand that Krynychne is an ordinary village. Our own local technologists, viticulturists, and lab assistants work at Kolonist. And we made wine that is sold in London restaurants.Here's an example, a model that shows that anything is possible if you use natural opportunities and work. The main thing is to produce quality things that are worthy of respect.Switching to sparklingTell LIGA.net readers how many bottles of wine you sell. And at what price?"Kolonist" produces 250,000 bottles a year. We sell between 220,000 and 230,000 bottles of wine. A certain portion is kept for aging – we have wines from 2008, 2009, 2011, and other years. As for the price…We have expensive wines. Bisser Rosé is up to 1500 UAH. There is a fortified wine "Bashta" – up to 4000 UAH. As for the average price of a bottle, I think it's about 400 UAH per bottle.How do you decide what price to sell your wine at?The consumer is very reluctant to spend money. They look at the shelf – here's a wine for 300-400 UAH, and here's one for 1500 UAH. Thoughts creep in, is the 1500 UAH wine really that much better? The wine has to convince them that it's a fair price for a quality product. If they try it and are disappointed – that's it, you've lost the customer.What should be done to avoid disappointment? No compromises on quality. The slightest hint of a problem – we buy back the entire batch of wine.The next thing is constant work with people. Consumers need to be turned into fans. To do this, I held five public tastings in two days – which meant hours of storytelling, communication, and answering questions.This flywheel is difficult to spin up, but once it does, it provides confidence. For example, try to stop Chateau Margaux or Petrus – due to their reputation, they are very stable and withstand market storms. For them, fluctuations in demand and prices are like ripples on the sea for a liner. But for this, they have spent decades, and sometimes hundreds of years.Returning to the wine. After the export success in 2009, what did you do?We have undertaken the promotion of the "Ukrainian Wine" brand. We focused on promoting two varietal, autochthonous wines – Odeske Chornyi and Sukholymanske.We embarked on this path thanks to the recommendations of Oz Clarke, one of the world's top five wine experts. He tasted Odeske Chorne and then found us. "This wine is an individual. It's unlike any other wine in the world. It has great potential," – this description inspired us.Then we decided to expand and develop for the production of sparkling wine. That's how the Bisser project began.To do this, we studied the experience of Champagne and talked to local winemakers. But it didn't work out. I ask them about technology, and they answer me about philosophy.In 2020, I went to Britain. There, at a winery in Kent, where they make classic sparkling wine, I worked as a general laborer for two weeks.Why a handyman specifically?I needed to see and touch the equipment they use. To understand the technology from the ground up.As an energy engineer, I understand all the nuances of a power plant's operation. I needed to acquire similar, in-depth knowledge about sparkling wine production.And why didn't you go to Bakhmut? In those days, the champagne factory was still operating there, with the classic technology: aging in the bottle, riddling, and disgorging.I was at the factory in Bakhmut. I was also at Novyi Svit at one time, before 2014 (another of the four sparkling wine factories of the former USSR where sparkling wine was produced using the classic method – ed.). I wasn't satisfied with the fact that these were mass productions. I don't need equipment designed for hundreds of thousands of bottles.Our sparkling wine project is 25,000 bottles a year. This is, relatively speaking, a small-scale production.In Britain, I worked at a winery that produces up to 30,000 bottles a year. On my third day of work, the winery manager figured out who I was. He came in with printouts from the internet.Then its owner arrived. We chatted and joked. He took me on a two-day tour of British sparkling wine wineries. Over the last 15 years, they have experienced a boom in this particular format – several dozen have already been established in the south of the island.When we returned from this tour, we already had a vision of what the equipment would be like and how the sparkling wine production would work. But a new question arose – what to name it? Sparkling, fluffy, velvety – none of it felt right. Influenced by the atmosphere: the fairytale landscapes of Kent county, blooming fields and the breeze in the passenger seat of a Bentley convertible (the car of the English winery owner – ed.), bubbles in the glass like beads. Suddenly, the word "bead" appeared.That's it, I'm calling home to Krynychne and telling them to patent the name. We added another "s" – "bissier".What for?If it were "бісер" (biser) on export bottles, then according to English rules, it should be read as "baiser". And "біссер" (bisser) is bisser, and in English it's also "bisser". So it sounds the same in different languages.So, from the very beginning, the sparkling wine was aimed at export?Sparkling wines have their own names in each wine-producing country. With France, it's clear. Cava in Spain, spumante in Italy, sekt in German-speaking countries.We have informed all winemakers in Ukraine that we would be delighted if they used the name "bisser" instead of "sparkling". The only condition is that we have to see how such wine is produced, taste it, and give our approval. This is to ensure that the idea of producing high-quality sparkling wine in Ukraine using the classic method, i.e., the production of bisser, is not spoiled.This could turn into a closed club.The production of sparkling wine, in terms of investment volume and time expenditure, is a business for a limited circle. This is what it looks like using the example of the Bisser project.The process begins with planting Chardonnay grapes, which is a classic variety for this type of wine. The vineyard for the project was established in 2018, when the site preparation began. Then, in 2019, the saplings were planted, and their ongoing cultivation and care is a process, which means expenses.The first harvest will be in 2023, but it will be small. A normal harvest is only expected in 2024. After that, dry wine was made from these grapes. In 2025, the tirage was done (dry wine was prepared and bottled – ed.).Now the wine will be aged in the bottle for two years, on the lees. This means that such wine will only appear in stores in 2028. So, it takes ten years of investment – putting in money and work – to start selling real, classic sparkling wine.Did you buy grapes for your wine – the same Bisser?Yes. But I always had one condition for cooperating with partners. I pay 10% more than the market price for grapes. But the vineyard owner can only look at the grapes without me. All operations for their cultivation are carried out only by my specialists. Because I am responsible for the final result – for the wine that will be made from these grapes.Prospects for winemaking in Ukraine Where is the line between winemaking as a hobby and as a business?It's hard to say. Winemakers and artists have a lot in common. But professional artists sell their paintings – some on Andriyivskyy Descent, some in galleries, and some at Sotheby's. Picasso himself was very wealthy; his fortune was measured in hundreds of millions of dollars.Therefore, winemaking is both a creative endeavor and a business.When there was a problem – a license to produce wine cost something equivalent to $30,000 a year, there were almost no winemakers. We were the first to "go crazy" and buy it. And for a while, the winemaking business in Ukraine looked like this: large wineries and one "Kolonist". Then "Beykush" and others appeared.Together, we drafted the law "On Winemaking" to abolish this discriminatory license, which happened in 2016. We pushed it through the tax office, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Economy. "You're an experienced person, do you really think the tax office will support a proposal to reduce taxes?" they told me.So, GR and the promotion of the wine law were on you.Back then, we were promoting the bill together with Viktor Kostenko from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. We fought for about a year. I remember the Verkhovna Rada didn't pass the law on the first try. After that, rumors started circulating in the corridors that if the law on winemaking liberalization wasn't supported, Plachkov would close "Kolonist." Of course, everyone understood how much of that was a joke. So, with smiles, the law was passed on the second attempt.And there is an effect. In the last three years, almost 70 new wineries have been established in Ukraine.Read alsoA path of mistakes. How Ukraine's northernmost winery, "Vinoman," achieved a world-class silver medal.This is a normal process. People tell me, "Look, you've created competitors for yourself." No, on the contrary, it's the opening of new opportunities. We are creating a European structure for the industry, forming connections and culture, not just a market. This is how a unique universe of winemakers, or as they say now, an ecosystem, emerges.

"When I saw my wine in the Royal Albert Hall buffet, it blew my mind." An interview with Ivan Plachkov

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