Napa Valley activists rally to disqualify Russian wines from San Francisco competition

[Auggie]

Napa Valley Register / 12-26-2025

Napa, despite its importance as an economic powerhouse in the global viticulture industry, might seem an unlikely player in the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.

But on Dec. 11, the interception of a Russian-language article by Ukrainian consulate officials exposed an attempt by sanctioned Russian winemakers to enter their wines — and those they appropriated from Ukrainian wineries — into a prestigious San Francisco wine competition, ultimately bringing Napa-based pro-Ukraine activists in the wine industry into the fold.

Fifteen Russian-based wineries, representing 95 bottles of wine, were disqualified from the 2025 San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC), organized by The Tasting Alliance, before the judging session that occurred on Dec. 16.

Under current U.S. sanctions imposed following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian wines — along with other commercial assets — are ineligible to be sold or entered in competitions in the U.S.

Link (paywall): https://napavalleyregister.com/news/napa-valley-activists-rally-to-disqualify-russian-wines-from-san-francisco-competition/article_4a142aa4-29bb-480d-ba30-c989703fac82.html



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Quote (from the link), Dmytro Kushneruk, Consul General of Ukraine in San Francisco, in a Consulate of Ukraine in San Francisco:

“Russian officials tried to present San Francisco as proof that there is ‘no isolation’ for Putin’s wines. Instead, this decision shows the opposite: sanctions work and respected American institutions are not prepared to become a showcase for the Kremlin while Ukrainian cities are bombed and Ukrainian vineyards are occupied or destroyed.”

How was the ploy uncovered?

According to the link, an executive with the Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia openly boasted in a Russian Trade Journal that they had managed to “fool” American competition and state authorities to smuggle wine into the U.S. using the following methods:

1) Transporting them through the Mexican border

2) Hand-carrying them on a commercial flight as part of their supposed personal collection

3) Mixing the wines with bottles from Georgia and Israel and adding multilingual “not for sale” labels to mask their Russian origin and make it seem like they were not meant for commercial distribution or competition

4) Using third-country passports

[Ritabert]

1. Seriously would you want to drink Russian wine??

No!

[Auggie]

2. Well ...

as an amateur oneophile I'd be intrigued about it. Taste it, maybe (and in tasting wine, remember, it's okay to spit it out).

[Ritabert]

3. I'd be worried about Polonium knowing how they operate

[niyad]

4. They think everybody outside ruzzia is stupid and gullible.

[Chemical Bill]

5. I've had Russian River wines...

They don't come from Napa Valley.

[haele]

6. I see what you did...

I've heard Temecula Valley wines are pretty decent though; even though they do tend to taste like wines from NSW (Australia) from the wine aficionados I know say.
One of the older homes we rented back in the day had a grape vine from Champaign region growing in the back, they apparently brought it back from France in the late 1940's, early 50's. I managed to coax it back to fruiting after 10 years of previous renters and the last year we lived there, we were able to make an interesting pink grape juice. The original owner's heir then decided to downsize and we had to move, but he did thank us for saving the vine because he wanted to start making wine.
It won't be Champagne, but it was probably pretty decent.

[Xolodno]

7. Whole bunch of bullshit over nothing.

Very unlikely they win any category. And the best Russian wines come from Valle de Guadulupe, Mexico. Some even still have the Russian last names. And as a result of duties, I have to smuggle those in, for my own consumption of course.

Russian wines will are unlikely to sold here commercially, let alone win any awards. I do miss some of the vodka we used to get however...