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Trappist the monk: /* History */

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[[File:Kazakhstan-CIA WFB Map.png|right|thumb|350px|Location of Kazakhstan]]
'''Kazakh wine''' is [[wine]] made in [[Kazakhstan]]. The roots of the Kazakh wine industry can be traced to the 7th century AD when [[grapevines]] were brought to the region from neighboring [[Uzbekistan]] and [[China]]. While only around 4% of the land in Kazakhstan is ideally situated for [[viticulture]], the country does manage to produce over 6.2 million [[gallon]]s (236,000 [[hectolitres|hl]]) of wine annually from {{convert|32,120|acre|ha}}.<ref name="Oxford pg 380-381">J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 380-381 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0-19-860990-6</ref> Buoyed by its mineral wealth, the country is an enthusiastic consumer of wine but must import 80% of the 30 m bottles it drinks.<ref name="Reuters"/>

==History==
{{See also|History of Kazakhstan}}
[[File:Kazakh wine bottle.jpg|right|200px|thumb|An early Kazakh wine bottle.]]
The earliest evidence of viticulture in Kazakhstan appear during the 7th century AD around [[Shymkent]] and in the foot hills of [[Tian Shan]] in [[Almaty Province]] near the Kazakh-[[Kyrgyzstan]] border. Vines were believed to have been introduced to the area by traders from the [[Xinjiang]] province of China and the [[Fergana Province|Fergana]] and [[Samarqand Province|Samarqand]] regions of Uzbekistan. Throughout most of Kazakhstan's history, commercial [[winemaking]] was conducted on a small scale. In the early 20th century, [[government|state-run]] vineyards in [[Almaty]], Shymkent and [[Taraz]] were the largest producers. Following the [[History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991)|dissolution of the Soviet Union]], there has been renewed interest in the Kazakhstan wine industry with [[Russia]] becoming a leading trading partner in Kazakh wine.<ref name="Oxford pg 380-381"/>

In general the emphasis will be on inexpensive table wine, although the UN thinks that the [[continental climate (wine)|continental climate]] may allow the production of high-value [[ice wine]].<ref name="GEF">{{cite web |author=United Nations Development Programme |author2=Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan |title=''In situ'' Conservation of Kazakhstan's Mountain Agro-biodiversity |publisher=Global Environment Facility |date=2005-02-23 |url=http://www.gefweb.org/Documents/Project_Proposals_for_Endorsem/Kazakhstan_-_In-Situ_Conservation_Mountain_AgroBD.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609120314/http://www.gefweb.org/Documents/Project_Proposals_for_Endorsem/Kazakhstan_-_In-Situ_Conservation_Mountain_AgroBD.pdf |archive-date=2007-06-09 |format=PDF |accessdate=2007-06-21}}</ref>

==Climate and geography==
{{See also|Geography of Kazakhstan}}
As an inland country, Kazakhstan has a very typical [[continental climate]]. Most of the region's vineyards are located in the southern half of the country near the borders of China, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan with a few smaller regions along the [[Caspian Sea]] in the west. Average annual rainfall varies throughout the country ranging from 4-6 inches (100–150 mm) in the wine regions around [[Atyrau]] and [[Aktobe]] to 27-39 inches (700–1000 mm) in the regions around the [[Talas River]].<ref name="Oxford pg 380-381"/>

==Grape varieties==
Currently the Kazakhstan winemaking has largely focused on [[dessert wine]] production. More than 40 [[List of grape varieties|grape varieties]] are grown in the country though more than half are currently used for [[table grape]] production rather than winemaking. Popular wine grape varieties include [[Aligote]], [[Aleatico]], [[Cabernet Franc]], [[Cabernet Sauvignon]], [[Pinot noir]], [[Riesling]], [[Rkatsiteli]], [[Saperavi]], [[Muscat Ottonel]], [[Bayan Shirey]], [[Kuljinski]], [[Maiski Cherny]] and [[Rubinovy Magaracha]].<ref name="Oxford pg 380-381"/> In general the grapes are the [[Georgian wine|Georgian]] ones, such as Rkatsiteli and Saperavi, found in other parts of the former Soviet Union. More recently there has been interest in planting international varieties such as [[Sauvignon blanc]]. However local tastes would appear to prefer the traditional sweet red wines.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | title = Kazakh wines seek place in the sun | work = | publisher = Reuters | date = 1998-03-31 | url = http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/archives.php?id=6606 | doi = | accessdate = 2007-06-21 }}</ref>

==Classification==
At present there is no [[appellation]] system in Kazakhstan.

==Wine regions==
About 80% of the country's wines are produced at the Issyk Winery in [[Esik|Issyk]], some {{convert|25|mi|km}} east of [[Almaty]].> Bought by the Swiss-based Consulting Group in 1996 and recently sold back to local company Dostar, it has gone under considerable changes with the help of Italian based winery Marcato Vini and an Australian consultant. Major reconstruction has been undertaken, with the importation of "New World" technologies including sweeping arm fermenters, air bag presses, cross flow filtration and nitrogen production. It benefits from being 850 m up in the [[Tian Shan]] mountains of the southeast of the country.<ref name="Reuters"/> Other wineries include Bakhus and the Turgen Winery. There are 210 hectares of vineyards in the Zailiyskiy region of the Almaty Oblast. In Soviet times there were vineyards and wineries in the Sarkand and Alakol regions of Dzhungar Alatau, in the Almaty Oblast, but these were hit hard by the breakup of the Soviet Union.<ref name="GEF"/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Wine}}
* [[Georgian wine]]
* [[Ukrainian wine]]
* [[Russian wine]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Wine by country}}

[[Category:Agriculture in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Kazakhstani cuisine]]
[[Category:Kazakh wine]]

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