Russia

Terms in the law

Article 3 of Law 468-FZ defines the main terms.²

• Игристое вино (sparkling wine): a wine product obtained by primary or secondary alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, must or wine, with at least 300 kPa of overpressure at 20 °C in a closed container. The total alcohol of the cuvée must be at least 8.5%.^2,1
• Российское шампанское (Russian champagne): sparkling wine made in Russia from grapes grown in Russia, by secondary fermentation of the cuvée in containers that are the retail packaging. In practice this is the traditional method.^2,1

Aged categories

Article 18 sets minimum ageing after the end of the second fermentation:³

Source note: this page follows the consolidated text of 468-FZ dated 29 December 2025, as reproduced by FAOLEX and zakonrf.info. Later changes to labelling terms were not checked against an official publication.

Notable houses

Abrau-Durso (Абрау-Дюрсо), near Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai, was founded as an appanage (udel) estate by decree of Emperor Alexander II on 25 November 1870.^4,5 According to the house, the estate made still wines from 1877, and its first batch of sparkling wine was laid down to age in the mountain tunnels in 1896.⁵ A museum exposition opened in 1974.⁴ According to the company, group sales reached 45.9 million bottles in 2021, and the 2025 harvest of 26,667 tonnes was a record.^5,4

For how the time after the second fermentation compares with other countries, see ageing minimums.