We spent 12 days in Ukraine earlier in the month, mostly to attend a conference. But the first long weekend was in Kiev, the capital city of 4.5 million along the Dniepper River. Kiev is in a deep economic funk, although, as usual, there are some who are doing quite well. Most restaurants that have a wine list have a few Ukrainian wines along with a couple of selections from Italy, France, and/or Spain. Our hosts had laid in a few cases of inexpensive Spanish wine for our stay.

The highlight of our time in Kiev, food and wine-wise, was a visit to the Kanapa Restaurant, on Andreevskiy Spusk, 19. Billed as featuring “molecular” Ukrainian cuisine, it is more about very good food served beautifully – most does not fit the description of molecular. That said, the place was very good. There is both a wine steward and a cheese steward on the premises.

There were five in our party, so we had three bottles of wine, plus digestifs. Two of the bottles were Ukrainian and the middle bottle a Barbera from Italy. Also, when he learned that I was a wine blogger, the steward brought three Ukrainian wines to taste – including a nice rosè – and the great Ukrainian Pinot Noir mentioned below.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Pinot Noir

Barbara D’Alba

The Ukrainian Cabernet was very light and very young. The Barbera D’Alba from Pelissero, was average – nothing special (I have a theory about western European wines shipped to eastern Europe – they rarely are very good). But the Ukrainian Pinot Noir was something special. Smooth, with red fruit, a hint of minerality, and medium tannins, the wine could have been from Burgundy (in the middle of the pack there, but still . . . ). Had we tried this one first, we would have stayed with it.

There are some higher end restaurants in Kiev with good wine lists, but overall it is not a wine destination. Perhaps as their wine making skills improve and the climate warms a bit, that will change.