Putin And Berlusconi In 240-Year-Old Wine Row

The pair visited an Italian war cemetery near the Black Sea port of Sevastopol during the trip, while also squeezing in a tour of the prized Massandra winery, where they reportedly supped the vintage Spanish tipple.

Ukrainian prosecutors are preparing charges against the director of a winery in Russia-occupied Crimea for uncorking a 240-year-old bottle for Vladimir Putin and former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Massandra was Ukrainian government property before being nationalized by Russian Federation, following its annexation of Crimea in March 2014. It has rare wine and sherry dating back more than 200 years in its collection; one bottle fetched almost £32,000 British pounds in 2001. “The funds went to the state coffers and supported the development of Massandra and wine-making in Crimea”.

While there Berlusconi asked to sample a bottle of 1775 Jerez de la Frontera, which the winery’s new pro-Russian director cracked open for the pair to taste, Russian media reported.

When Massandra was owned by the Ukrainians, two presidential decrees were required before any of its wine could be sold. So under Ukrainian law, gifting a bottle without that permission amounts to theft. It is unlikely that the director, Yanina Pavlenko, will find herself in a Ukrainian court anytime soon, as Russian Federation has full control of Crimea.

Ukraine on Monday banned Berlusconi from entering the country for three years over the Crimea visit, arguing that it broke the norms on entry to “temporarily occupied territory” and that it “contradicted European Union policy”. The director said “yes”.

Ms Pavlenko, who gave the tour last week, confirmed that she showed the wines to Mr Putin and Mr Berlusconi but she would not comment on whether any wine was consumed.