Make wine not war

The project is being developed near the infamous 'Putin's Palace', a 1.3-billion-euro estate complete with a helipad, ice palace, church and an amphitheatre. Meanwhile, Roman Abramovich, former owner of Chelsea Football Club, owns a modest 3.7-million-euro bodega next door. Although originally designed as a commercial investment, the companies managing the two wineries are reportedly losing money at a rate that equals the entire budget of Gelendzhik, a neighbouring city with 80,000 residents.

WINE OF THE WEEK

• Clarión 2020

• Regulars of this column will have come to realise that for interesting wine experiences they can ignore Rioja and Ribera del Duero and try some of the other 60-odd Spanish wine regions

  Somontano is a rising star; this white was recently voted the Best White Wine in the World by the prestigious Wine Searcher, with 95 points. About 19 euros.

Forbes reported in 2020 that Putin owns a gold-plated golf cart in his enormous underground winery in Cricova, Moldova. This winery, built during the Stalinist era and opened in 1952, is now a tourist attraction for world leaders.

As any readers of this saga may recall, Putin is also one of the world's conspicuous teetotalers. Indeed, starting with his humble beginnings as a St Petersburg cop, he has allegedly never let a drop of alcohol pass his lips. So why this interest in something he can never physically enjoy? It says something for wine's appeal and status that it has become a signpost to a person's cultural standing. Rather like an illiterate having a magnificent library he can never appreciate.