On a warm early-summer day, winemaker Mykhailo Molchanov trimmed foliage from his organic vines in southern Ukraine, his dog Direktor at his heels.
The scene was idyllic—bees buzzed, birds sang—but an unexploded Russian rocket lay half-buried between rows of Chardonnay grapes.
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The Molchanovs have chosen to work around it rather than risk damaging their vines with heavy removal machinery.
When Russia's full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022, Mykhailo and his wife Svitlana fled their home in Mykolaiv to their winery across the Southern Buh River.
By early March, they found themselves between the lines, under artillery fire from both armies.
“You could see the rockets going directly up towards space,” said their son Heorhii, who is central to the business.
The family's wine cellar served as a bomb shelter. “We used to have a pretty decent 2017 Cabernet down there.
Not any more,” Mykhailo noted.
The capture of Mykolaiv was a key Russian objective, which would have opened the way to Odesa.
The Molchanovs were dangerously close to the battle, with Russian troops on the opposite bank trying to encircle the city.
“We are lucky they could have crossed the river,” Heorhii said.
Despite the war, the family has expanded their vineyard acreage and plans to increase production from 10,000 bottles a year to 30,000–50,000 over the next decade.
They grow both international varieties and native Ukrainian grapes like telti kuruk and odesa black.
Mykhailo believes Ukrainian wine has huge potential.
