russian wines removed from competition in San Francisco

This was reported by the Foreign Ministry, according to Ukrinform.

The ministry noted that russian officials and media called the admission of their wineries to the competition in San Francisco a political ‘breakthrough’ and proof that ‘barriers are falling.’ In particular, several wineries associated, according to open russian sources, with Vladimir Putin's so-called ‘wine empire’ on the Black Sea were admitted to the competition.

However, diplomats from the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco, representatives of the Ukrainian community and partners in the Californian wine community drew the organisers' attention to potential sanctions violations and relevant russian media reports.

"As a result, the organisers of the San Francisco International Wine Competition acknowledged that russian wine had been mistakenly admitted to the 2025 international competition and concluded that they were not eligible to participate due to US sanctions imposed after russia's invasion of Ukraine. russian wineries have been suspended and their samples will not be evaluated,‘ the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry added that russian officials tried to present the competition in San Francisco as proof that there is ’no isolation" for Putin's wines.

‘Instead, this decision demonstrates the opposite: sanctions are working, and authoritative American institutions are not ready to become a showcase for the Kremlin, while Ukrainian cities are being shelled and Ukrainian vineyards are being occupied or destroyed,’ the Foreign Ministry emphasised.

Source: Ukrinform