Russian businesses are plotting ways to get around New Zealand's newly announced ban on wine exports to Russia or replace the Kiwi product altogether, local media report.
The export ban, announced by the Government on Tuesday and which will come into force on November 4, has made waves in Russia as New Zealand is one of the top 10 exporters of wine to the country. Of particular concern appears to be the potential for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to disappear from Russian wine lists.
"The weight of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the white category is significant, it can be found on the wine lists of any restaurant," Leonid Rafailov, the owner of major Russian wine distributor AST, told Russian media outlet RBC, according to an English translation.
Alexander Lipilin, the executive director of the Fort wine distribution company in Russia, is quoted as saying the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc could be found "in almost every Russian wine store" and often appeared on restaurants' wine lists "as a separate category".
But he believes the New Zealand product is somewhat replaceable, saying there are wines in Italy and Dagestan that compare well.
"But there are very few vineyards, so, of course, they won't replace everything."
Dmitry Zhurkin, the import director at the Ladoga distribution company, said the style of wine from Dagestan is "completely New Zealand and even more exaggerated".
RBC said a source in the Russian wine market expects Russians will still be able to get their hands on New Zealand wine that companies could import from intermediaries in other countries.
Rafailov said AST continues to have a small reserve of New Zealand wine from previous harvests, but with supplies dwindling, prices have jumped about 20 percent since the start of the year.
RT, Russian-state controlled media, picked up the RBC's report, headlining its story: "New Zealand anti-Russia sanctions threaten wine supply".
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) spokesperson told Newshub that the prohibition on wine exports to Russia will be a "total export ban".
"Exporters are responsible for undertaking checks to ensure they are not knowingly evading New Zealand’s sanctions, including sending wine to Russia via a third country."
While New Zealand wine may be popular with Russians, Russia isn't one of our top importers.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the year to June 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said exports of wine to Russia were worth $15.2 million. Stats NZ data shows overall wine exports were worth $1.87 billion that year.
Goods exports to Russia have fallen significantly this year from being worth about $27.4 million in January to only about $2 million in August. In April, New Zealand prohibited a large number of items being exported to Russia, while companies have voluntarily chosen to stop trading there for ethical reasons.
The New Zealand Government's been clear that while Russia may be a small market for Aotearoa, introducing sanctions is important to sending a clear message condemning its invasion of Ukraine.
"Since the introduction of our trade measures in April, trade between Russia and Aotearoa New Zealand has already significantly reduced, with a 75 percent drop in imports," said Trade Minister Damien O'Connor this week, upon announcing the new bans.
"Today's additional measures will further reinforce our message to Russia that we will not fund or support the Russian war machine."
"The trade measures include a significant expansion of the range of exports of strategic importance prohibited to Russia and Belarus, and prohibiting certain luxury goods from being traded with Russia.
"Additional measures to limit Russia's energy revenue have also been introduced including prohibiting imports of Russian oil, gas and coal; and banning the export of oil exploration and oil production goods to Russia. The 35 percent import tariff on goods of Russian origin, due to expire in November, has also been extended until 2025."
