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Russians told to swap vodka for wine to boost health
The head of the Russian Agriculture Ministry, Alexander Tkachyov, has encouraged the country’s citizens to swap spirits for wine in a bid to boost their health.
Speaking to a reporter from Russian television channel NTV, he said: “We are a country which generally drinks strong alcohol like vodka or moonshine. This not only robs people of their health, but also of their lives.”
“By drinking more wine, Russians could see the country’s health and demographic problems change for the better”.
Tkachyov also added that the Russian state was planning to increase its financial support of domestically-produced wines.
“The Russian market is shifting in favour of wine. People are beginning to understand and be interested in quality wine,” he added. “Of course, everything has to be in moderation: you can die from drinking a bucket of water. Wine must also be taken in moderation, even though the majority of Russians don’t understand that”.
Although Tkachyov has vowed to help fund domestic wine production, Russians are also drinking considerable volumes of neighbouring Georgia’s wine. Last year, Russia snapped up as many as 2,559,795 bottles of Georgian wine in January and February alone, over half of the 4,531,556 bottles that Georgia exported.
While vodka may remain the national drink, Russian vodka and liquor exports fell by 40.2% to US$111.9m (£77.4m) in 2015. According to World’s Top Exports, the 2016 figure increased to $121.6 million.