https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog Tue, 07 April 2026 11:34:06 Tue, 07 April 2026 11:34:06 NEIPA, WCIPA, DIPA…  If you’ve ever looked at a beer list and wondered what any of this actually means, you’re not alone. While ‘IPA beer’ once referred to a fairly defined style, today it has become one of the most diverse and fast-evolving family of beers.  As explored in our APA vs IPA guide, modern IPAs are already a reinterpretation of a historical English style. But over time, brewers have continued to experiment with ingredients and techniques, creating a wide range of expressions that can differ dramatically in flavour, texture and appearance.  This is why two beers labelled ‘IPA’ can taste completely different in the glass.  These acronyms refer to different IPA styles, and help explain what the beer will taste like. So what do they actually mean and why are there so many of them?    Why are there so many IPA styles?  The answer lies in how much the style has evolved.  The original India pale ales of the 19th century were highly hopped pale ales exported from England to India. However, most IPAs you encounter today are based on a modern interpretation that emerged in the United States in the 1970s. These beers used new American hop varieties, bringing pronounced citrus, tropical fruit or resinous hop aromas and the potential for high bitterness.  As brewers pushed the style further, they began creating noticeably different versions. Some emphasised clarity and bitterness, while others focused on fruit character, mouthfeel or alcohol strength. These differences became significant enough that brewers needed a way to signal them clearly.  That’s where the acronyms come in. They act as a form of shorthand, helping you understand what to expect.    IPA styles explained  IPAs today are less a single, fixed style and more a broad family of hop-forward beers. While they share a common focus on hop aroma and flavour, they can vary widely in bitterness, appearance, mouthfeel and alcohol level depending on how they are brewed.  The styles below represent some of the most common expressions of IPA you’re likely to encounter.    WCIPA (West Coast IPA) Clear, dry and firmly bitter, with citrus, pine and resin-led hop character.  The term West Coast IPA is often used to describe the classic American IPA style. These beers are typically clear and range from gold to amber in colour, with high bitterness and a dry finish.  They display prominent hop aromas, commonly from American hop varieties, including citrus, pine and resin. While hop character dominates, there may be subtle malt notes such as bread or biscuit providing balance.    NEIPA (New England IPA / Hazy IPA / Juicy IPA)  Hazy, soft and ‘juicy’, with intense tropical and citrus fruit character and lower bitterness.  Hazy IPA represents a distinct departure from more traditional IPA styles. It is typically straw to gold in colour with a distinctly hazy appearance.  The aroma profile is dominated by hops, showing pronounced notes of tropical fruit, citrus and stone fruit, often described as ‘juicy’. Bitterness is low to medium, and the mouthfeel is smooth and often described as silky.  This texture is often enhanced by the use of wheat or oats. Dry hopping (adding hops later in the brewing process, typically during or after fermentation) is used to intensify hop aroma, and the beer is usually unfiltered, contributing to its hazy appearance.    DIPA (Double IPA / Imperial IPA)  Stronger and more intense, with higher alcohol and amplified hop aroma and bitterness.  Double IPAs are very similar in style to American IPAs but are higher in alcohol, often high to very high. This increased strength can give a slight warming quality.  It also shows even more intense hop aromas and bitterness, typically derived from American hop varieties. These elevated hop levels help to balance the increased alcohol and maintain the overall structure of the beer.    Session IPA  Lower alcohol but still hop-driven, offering a lighter and more approachable take on the style.  The term session IPA is used to describe an IPA-style beer with lower alcohol. These beers retain hop aroma and flavour but are lighter in body and more approachable, making them similar in strength and structure to an American pale ale.    And the rest…  Given the popularity of the IPA, brewers have continued to experiment with the style, resulting in a wide range of variations. These are often defined by a twist in ingredients, colour or brewing technique.  Black IPA is dark in colour due to the use of roasted malts, which give coffee and chocolate notes, but it still retains a strong hop-forward character as well. Red IPA uses darker malts to create a reddish hue and a slightly richer, more caramelised profile alongside the hops. Brown IPA combines hop character with deeper malt notes such as toast, nuts or light chocolate.  Rye IPA includes rye in the grain bill, adding a subtle spice and dryness. Brut IPA is brewed to be extremely dry, with very little residual sugar, giving a light and crisp character. Fruited IPA incorporates fruit additions to enhance or complement hop-derived aromas, while Milkshake IPA uses lactose to create a fuller, sweeter and creamier mouthfeel and is often brewed with the addition of fruit.   Belgian IPA combines hop-forward character with the fruity and spicy notes produced by Belgian yeast strains.  Regardless of the variation, hop aroma remains a key feature of the style.    What these IPA styles actually tell you  These acronyms are essentially shorthand for a few key differences:  Bitterness – from high in West Coast styles to lower in hazy styles   Appearance – from clear to intentionally hazy   Aroma –from resinous and piney to intensely fruity and tropical hop aromas and in some cases additional aromas from a twist on ingredients  Alcohol – from lighter session-strength beers to high-strength double IPAs   Understanding these elements makes it much easier to navigate a beer list or shop shelf, even if you’ve never encountered a particular style before.    Making sense of IPA styles  What started as a single style has become a broad and evolving family of beers shaped by innovation, ingredients and changing tastes. The growing range of IPA styles reflects just how versatile the style has become.  Rather than adding complexity, these terms are there to guide you. Once you understand what they represent, they become a useful shorthand for discovering new styles and finding the flavours you enjoy most.   Explore beer with WSET  If you’d like to explore how hop varieties, brewing techniques and style choices influence beers like these, WSET’s beer qualifications offer a structured way to build your tasting skills and understanding across a wide range of styles.    Content published on this page does not constitute official WSET course material and should not be used as such. For corporate news and our latest press releases, please visit our news page.  https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/ipa-styles-explained-what-neipa-wcipa-and-dipa-actually-mean https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/ipa-styles-explained-what-neipa-wcipa-and-dipa-actually-mean Tue, 07 April 2026 11:34:06 What does it really mean to “have a good palate”? And is it something you’re born with, or something you can build over time?  At WSET, we believe tasting is a skill that can be developed through curiosity, practice and the right framework. Whether you’re just starting your journey or looking to refine your technique, learning how to taste more attentively can unlock a deeper understanding and enjoyment of drinks.  In this article, wine educator and writer Heather Dougherty DipWSET explores how to train your palate, breaking down the sensory skills involved and offering practical ways to develop them in everyday life. With extensive experience in sparkling wine, wine education and judging at an international level, Heather brings both expertise and a clear, accessible approach to one of the most fundamental skills in drinks education.    Does this situation sound familiar? An experienced wine taster cleverly and concisely describes what a wine smells and tastes like, what it feels like in the mouth and sums up how good it is. If you’ve ever wondered “how do they do that?”, this blog post is for you.  Can you train your palate? Emphatically, yes. No-one is born with the innate ability to describe wines or other drinks; it’s a skill, like swimming or driving a car, that we learn - and you can learn it too.    Palate training - what skills are we talking about?  Tasting is in fact more than just taste: attentive tasting includes all our senses.   Sight - the colour of the wine, and bubbles in a sparkling wine  Sound - with sparkling wines, we can tune in to the sound of the bubbles popping. We can even distinguish between the sound of bubbles in traditional method sparkling wines, tank method wines like Prosecco and carbonated water. Try it out, you might be surprised at what you already know how to do  Smell -probably the most important sense here, and how we recognise any complex, real-world aromas and flavours  Taste - our tongues can actually only discern the most basic building blocks of flavour: sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami. Anything more than that is in fact detected by our noses while the drink is in our mouths  Touch - how the wine feels in the mouth  If that all sounds a bit complicated, think of palate training as simply paying full attention when you’re tasting and making use of the information that the wine is giving you.      Why is palate training important?  If you work in drinks, it’s important to be able to assess a wine, to tell colleagues or customers what it tastes like, or to progress in wine qualifications.   For wine enthusiasts, training your palate will help you to be a better taster, to appreciate wines more fully and to make connections between them, helping you find new wines that you will enjoy.     How to develop a palate  The most important principle of palate training is practice – just as you wouldn’t expect to pass a driving test without hours at the wheel under your belt, so you can’t expect to become an expert taster overnight.   How to develop your sense of taste: take opportunities to attend wine tastings, or to find other ways to compare wines side by side in more impromptu ways. Comparing wines with other wines is a sure fire way to sharpen up your tasting skills – how does your glass of Pinot Noir differ from your friend’s glass of Shiraz, for example?   Wine tastings where different wines are available to taste side by side are ideal environments, but they aren’t the only time that you can practice your skills. And what you learn isn’t only applicable to wine, but also to beer, sake and other spirits - even foods.   Treat everyday occasions as opportunities. What does that cup of coffee smell of? How does the sensation of drinking water compare with a cup of tea, or a milky coffee? What do blackberries smell and taste of? Can you identify which spices are included in a particular dish you’re eating? That’s all part of training your palate. Think about all the times in a day that you are faced with aromas and flavours - they are all opportunities to practice.  If you want to understand how pivotal your sense of smell is to “taste”, try this fun exercise. Hold your nose and put a basil leaf in your mouth. Still holding your nose, chew the leaf and notice the flavours: it’s probably just faintly grassy. Let go of your nose while the basil is still in your mouth and voilà – its full aromatic richness is revealed. It’s a great way to underline that it’s your nose which is sensing all those complex aromas.  These exercises will build up what’s known as your flavour memory, a memory bank of aromas and flavours of wines that you add to every time you taste. Think of it as a filing system in your brain: the more often you go to add or retrieve a taste memory, the more familiar the path becomes and the easier and faster it will be to access.  Every day really is a school day when training your palate.    How WSET’s Systematic Approach to Tasting can help  While we all experience tastes individually, the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) gives us a common framework that we can all use, so that we have a common language.  By prompting us to include appearance, nose, palate and conclusions, it reminds us not to forget any part of the wine’s make up. Its lexicon provides handy prompts that help us move from general to specific when identifying core flavour families.  For example, citrus aromas are a common element in many white wines. To begin with, you might be happy with that broad definition. But using the lexicon, there are suggestions for individual fruits (grapefruit, lemon, lime and orange) which can guide you towards something more precise and useful.    Wines also have other elements beyond aromas and flavours that we need to pay attention to:  Texture - how the wine feels in the mouth: is it sleek and silky, velvety, or slightly rough feeling?  Structure - the build of the wine, including acidity for a white wine, acid and tannin for a red wine, as well as the body, or weight, of the wine in the mouth  All these elements then come together in the glass, and they all have a say in how we experience a wine.    Things to consider when training your palate  When you’re thinking about how to develop your sense of taste, the environment can have a big impact. The temperature (of the room, of the wine), lighting, even noise, as well as what you’ve recently eaten can all have an influence. And subtle, delicate wines are hard to fully appreciate in the lee of a smoky barbecue on a hot, sunny day. We can’t necessarily change these things – but understanding that they influence our perceptions is important.  Also think about the size and shape of the glassware you’re using the same wine from a small straight-sided tumbler and a larger, tulip-shaped classic wine glass and see (or taste) the difference.     Bringing it all together  To sum up: compare, compare, compare - compare wines with each other, wines with other drinks. It’s one of the best ways to learn.  We can all become better tasters, by using opportunities to taste whenever they arise. Be curious and you’ll never stop learning.       Content published on these blog pages is intended for general interest only and does not constitute official WSET course material.    About the author  Heather Dougherty is a freelance wine educator, writer and judge based in Surrey. She gained the WSET Diploma in 2005 and has since built a particular specialism in sparkling wines, becoming UK Champagne Ambassador in 2018 and achieving the Wine Scholar Guild Champagne Master Level with Highest Honours.  Heather is an Advanced Cava Educator and a certified Rioja and Rhône educator, with a broad interest spanning regions including Prosecco Superiore DOCG, Franciacorta, the Loire Valley, Languedoc and Roussillon.  A past Chair of the Association of Wine Educators and a member of the Circle of Wine Writers, she is also a senior judge at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Alongside her writing for trade publications such as Harpers and The Buyer, Heather regularly leads tastings and educational events for both consumer and trade audiences.      https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/how-to-train-your-palate https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/how-to-train-your-palate Fri, 27 March 2026 11:35:02 From a gentle warmth to a fiery kick, spice can transform a dish and the way we experience flavour. But when it comes to pairing drinks with spicy food, things can quickly become more complex. A wine that successfully pairs with a rich, savoury dish may feel overwhelming or unbalanced when heat is introduced.  Understanding how spice interacts with the key components of a drink, such as sweetness, acidity, alcohol and tannin, is the first step to creating successful pairings. With a few guiding principles, it becomes much easier to choose combinations that bring balance, contrast or harmony to the table.  In this blog, we explore how different types of spice influence flavour perception, and how to approach pairing drinks with spicy food with confidence.  This piece is written by Aleesha Hansel, a writer, broadcaster and drinks communicator who explores wine and drinks as expressions of culture, identity and place. Her work brings a broader perspective to drinks, connecting flavour with history, people and tradition, and offering a fresh lens through which to understand what we taste.    One of the joys of wine, and other drinks, is pairing them with food. When it works, the harmony between food and drink pulls everything together and makes the whole experience even more pleasurable.  In this context, it may be helpful to think of drinks as additional seasoning for the dish. Use the right one, and the whole meal starts to sing. But choose the wrong one, and it can dull the experience, making flavours feel flat, odd or unappealing.  When it comes to drink pairings with spicy foods, choosing the right drink can be a little more challenging than pairing with other flavours, and there’s good reason for that – with much of it coming down to what spice actually is.  Tastebuds can only detect five things: salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami. Spice sits outside of this system, and that’s because spice, or more specifically spiciness, is sensation rather than a flavour.   When we talk about spiciness, we are referring to the feeling of heat or pain triggered in the tongue’s nerve endings, rather than something being detected by the taste buds themselves. Because of this, spice can dramatically change how both food and drink are perceived.  However, this is not the only element at play. Many of the ingredients that bring heat to a dish also contain aromatic compounds, each contributing their own distinctive flavours and adding further complexity to the overall profile.  As such then spice influences a dish in two ways: through the physical sensation of heat, and through the flavours the spices themselves bring – which is why they interact with drinks in different ways.    Types of spice found in food  Capsaicin can be described as a ‘hot spice’, creating a burning sensation in the mouth. It is the compound found in chilli peppers, and often the intensity of its sensation tends to be more important than any additional flavour nuances.  Then there is the piperine, the compound in black pepper. This gives a sharper, pricklier type of heat often accompanied by a pungent, slightly woody or resinous flavour.  Despite containing different compounds, warming spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are often grouped together, as they share a common sensory profile, bringing a gentle, comforting warmth alongside their sweet, aromatic character.  On the lighter side are fresh spices, such as ginger, lemongrass and galangal. These tend to bring a brighter, more lifted form of heat, alongside citrusy or herbal aromas.    What to drink with spicy food  As you learn within the WSET course content, wines and other drinks are built from a series of core components. Understanding these building blocks, and how they interact with both the type of spice and the level of spiciness in a dish, is what allows us to start thinking more clearly about pairing.  These components include alcohol, sweetness, acidity, tannin, flavour profile (including oak influence) and overall structure. From here, we can use these elements to approach pairing in two main ways: complementing or contrasting the dish.  Complementary pairing means matching similar profiles. Think of it a bit like monochrome dressing - when everything is within the same tonal family, the overall effect feels harmonious.  Contrasting pairing, on the other hand, is about balance. Keeping with the same dressing simile, it would be like pairing a suit jacket with casual jeans – where neither element overpowers the other.  Because of these options, and of course personal preference, there is rarely just one correct answer to the question of what to drink with spicy foods. Therefore, learning how components, which can be found across a wide range of drinks, behave when they interact with spice is key.    Drink components to think about when pairing   Alcohol The perception of alcohol intensifies when it meets spice, and so usually we want to mitigate this. This is particularly noticeable with ‘hot spice’ such as capsaicin. For this reason, dishes are often paired with lower-alcohol drinks, which help avoid amplifying the burn. Sweetness When a drink with sweetness meets spice, it softens the perception of heat, so something with a touch of residual sugar can help calm the intensity. For example, an off-dry Riesling, Gewürztraminer or demi-sec Vouvray can work well with spicy dishes, because the slight sweetness helps balance chilli heat while the wine’s freshness keeps the pairing lively.  It is also worth noting that when paired with warming spices in particular, a drink’s sweetness can echo and enhance their naturally sweet, aromatic character. Acidity Acidity is what brings freshness and lift. This can be especially effective with fresh spices, where bright, zesty flavours are already part of the dish. Here, acidity works in a complementary way, helping to keep everything feeling vibrant and alive.  Tannin Tannins create strong tactile sensations in the mouth, and when paired with ‘hot’ spices in particular can feel quite harsh, exaggerating both dryness and intensity. Therefore wines, and drinks, with lower tannin levels are best paired with these dishes.  Flavour profile The aromatic character of a drink can work to either complement or contrast the spices in a dish, and this often comes down to personal preference. You may want to pair dishes with pepper, clove and coriander with wines that carry similar aromatic profiles, such as Syrah with its peppery notes or an aromatic white like Gewürztraminer. For wines it is worth noting that heavy oak and its associated flavours can sometimes feel bitter or dominant, so more delicately oaked or unoaked styles tend to work better. Good options include unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Gris, which allow fruit and aromatic character to shine without overwhelming the dish.  Structure Overall weight and texture should also not be forgotten. Lighter, fresher drinks tend to work particularly well with dishes that rely on brightness, such as those built around fresh chilli, ginger, or citrusy herbs, and can also help lift richer plates. While heavier drinks, on the other hand, can work well with richer, more deeply spiced dishes, where their weight matches the depth and intensity of flavour.    Other factors to consider   Serving temperature - Lower temperatures can help calm the sensation of heat on the palate and provide a welcome contrast to fiery dishes.   Bubbles - Carbonation helps to cleanse the palate between bites, lifting away some of the oils and spice compounds that cling to the mouth – making the overall experience feel lighter and more balanced.  Ultimately, finding the best drinks for spicy food is about getting a feel for a few simple principles, then having a bit of fun with it. Once you understand how things interact, you can start exploring different styles and drink categories.      About the author  Aleesha Hansel is a writer, speaker and broadcaster who explores wine and drinks as expressions of culture, identity and place. She was the inaugural winner of the Louis Roederer BAME Bursary and has been shortlisted for IWSC Wine Communicator of the Year.  Her work has appeared in publications including Tatler, House & Garden, Decanter and The Independent, and she is a regular presenter on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch. Aleesha also frequently appears on BBC Radio, discussing drinks, culture and sustainability.  Alongside her media work, she serves as a judge for leading industry awards and is a patron of The Drinks Trust and an ambassador for the Fairtrade Foundation.    Additional reading Sherry and food: the perfect match How to pair wine with your favourite takeaway Four rules to masterful food and wine pairing https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/how-to-pair-drinks-with-spice https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/how-to-pair-drinks-with-spice Tue, 24 March 2026 11:24:00 This article is inspired by a WSET webinar exploring the evolution of American beer with journalist and author Jeff Alworth. In the session, Alworth looks at how the United States moved from German immigrant brewing traditions to a modern hop-driven culture that has influenced brewers around the world.  You can watch the full webinar recording via the WSET YouTube channel.   For much of the 20th century, Americans themselves often claimed they had no real beer culture. The country was associated with light, industrial lagers from huge breweries and beers designed more for refreshment than for character. But that’s steadily changing.   Read on to learn more about the evolution of American beer.     Why national brewing traditions matter  Spend time visiting breweries across countries like Belgium, Germany or the UK and patterns quickly emerge. Breweries within a country often share the same technical approaches, ingredients, equipment and philosophical outlook. The beers may differ in style, but they still feel unmistakably part of the same brewing culture.  Even when the style name is similar, the results can be very different. A pale ale brewed in Britain looks and behaves differently from one in Belgium or Germany. In fact, a German Kölsch has more in common with German pilsner than with Belgian pale ale, despite the shared idea of a “pale ale”.  These similarities are not accidents. Brewing traditions are shaped by a web of influences: the ingredients available locally, the brewing methods passed down through generations, the legal frameworks that define what beer can be and the economic pressures that shape production.  American beer eventually developed its own tradition. But the story begins somewhere else.      The German roots of American brewing  The foundation of American beer culture arrived in the mid-19th century with waves of German immigration. These brewers brought with them the techniques and preferences of Central Europe, particularly the relatively new and rapidly spreading technology of lager brewing.  Before their arrival, beer in the United States was often ale, brewed in a looser British tradition. German immigrants introduced colder fermentation, lager yeast and the crisp, pale beers that were transforming brewing in Europe.  Cities across the country soon developed strong brewing centres. Breweries sprang up in places where German communities settled, and lager rapidly became the dominant style of beer in America.  For decades, American brewing looked very much like a transplanted version of the German model. But the country itself would push the beer in a different direction.    Industrialisation and the rise of US national brands  As the United States industrialised in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, brewing changed with it. Scale increased. Distribution expanded. And advancements in technology allowed breweries to reach markets far beyond their original cities.  Beer became a national product rather than a local one.  Large breweries refined lager into a highly consistent, extremely drinkable beverage that could be produced in vast quantities. Adjunct grains such as rice and maize were incorporated, helping create the lighter-bodied beers that eventually defined the American mainstream.  A series of external forces reinforced this shift. Packaging innovations such as the tin can helped beer travel further and last longer. National advertising reshaped the relationship between drinkers and breweries.  But no single event shaped American beer more dramatically than Prohibition.    The impact of prohibition  When the United States banned alcohol production in 1920, the brewing industry collapsed almost overnight. Thousands of breweries disappeared. Those that survived often did so by producing soft drinks, ice cream or other products.  When Prohibition ended in 1933, the industry that returned was far smaller and far more consolidated.  A handful of large breweries emerged with the scale and distribution networks needed to rebuild the market. Over time, companies such as Schlitz, Miller and Coors came to dominate the American landscape.  The beer they produced was not intended to be provocative or distinctive. It was designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience. Clean, crisp and highly drinkable, these lagers became symbols of modern American industry.  For decades, this was the beer most Americans knew.  How craft brewing changed everything for America  In the late 20th century something remarkable began to happen. Small breweries started opening across the country, often founded by people inspired by European beer traditions or by a desire to make something more flavourful than the mainstream lagers available at the time.  The movement gathered momentum in the 1980s and 1990s.  What made American craft brewing different was not just the scale of the breweries, but the mindset behind them. Rather than replicating established European traditions, many brewers treated beer as a space for exploration.  Experimentation became a defining feature of American brewing culture.  Brewers revisited historical styles, borrowed techniques from around the world and began pushing ingredients in bold new directions. They discovered that American-grown hops had extraordinary aromatic potential.    The hop-forward revolution  The modern identity of American beer is inseparable from hops.  New hop varieties developed in the United States produced vivid flavours rarely seen in traditional European brewing. Citrus, tropical fruit, pine and resin began appearing in beers with unprecedented intensity.  Brewers leaned into the expressive power of American hops, gradually increasing both bitterness and aroma. As the movement evolved the focus shifted even more toward aroma, producing the lush, fruit-forward IPAs that now define the style.  Varieties such as Citra helped push this transformation further, delivering huge bursts of grapefruit, mango and lime character. The result was a new kind of IPA that felt distinctly American.  These beers didn’t just change the domestic market. They reshaped brewing culture internationally, inspiring brewers from Europe to Asia to rethink how hops could be used.      The emerging brewing tradition of America  It is rare to watch a national brewing tradition emerge in real time. Yet that is exactly what happened in the United States over the past forty years.  What began with German immigrant lager traditions eventually evolved into something entirely new. The American approach blends technical knowledge from Europe with a spirit of experimentation that encourages brewers to challenge expectations.  The result is a culture that values curiosity, innovation and bold flavour. From crisp lagers to intensely aromatic IPAs, American brewers have created a style of brewing that now influences beer drinkers and producers across the globe.  And it all began with a country that once believed it had no beer culture at all.    Learn more about beer with WSET  Beer professional or enthusiast looking to expand your knowledge of beer?  Expand your learning with a Level 1 Award in Beer or Level 2 Award in Beer from WSET.      Additional reading Classic British beer styles The beer styles shaped by American hops Ten German beer styles you need to know https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/from-german-lagers-to-citra-ipas-the-story-of-american-beer https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/from-german-lagers-to-citra-ipas-the-story-of-american-beer Thu, 19 March 2026 10:37:24 Wine is made in almost every corner of the world, yet some wine cultures remain little known outside their home countries. Ukraine is one of them.  With a history stretching back thousands of years and a modern industry developing under extraordinary circumstances, Ukrainian wine is beginning to attract greater international attention.  In this guest article, Ukrainian wine communicator Natalia Pasichnyk explores the country’s winemaking past, the challenges it has faced, and the producers shaping its future.   For many, wine from Ukraine still feels like a discovery. Yet this European country has more than 2,800 years of winemaking history. A past that Soviet propaganda tried to erase is finally becoming visible, carried forward by winemakers pushing the boundaries of what is possible, even in the midst of war.  Wine was made here before the Greeks  Until recently, the history of Ukrainian wine was little known not only to the world, but even to Ukrainians themselves. Soviet propaganda suppressed any mention that local communities had a long-standing culture of winemaking.  Contrary to the widespread belief that wine was brought to the territory of modern Ukraine by the Greeks in the 7th–6th centuries BC, archaeological discoveries show that cultivated grapes were known here even earlier.  By the second half of the 7th century BC, Scythians in the western part of the country (in today’s Ternopil region) were using bronze strainers to filter wine. Further west in Zakarpattia, Celtic excavations uncovered iron knives used for pruning vines.  After the fall of the ancient civilisations, monasteries became centres of wine consumption and study. Between the 7th and 10th centuries, wine was actively traded in amphorae and leather wineskins in the eastern regions of Ukraine (around present-day Kharkiv).  From the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, Ukrainian winemaking evolved from monastery gardens and princely cellars to international recognition.  Cossack leaders, the hetmans Ivan Mazepa and Kyrylo Rozumovsky, actively developed their own vineyards and wine collections. And it was not exclusively a male domain. Nineteenth-century documents frequently mention women winemakers who owned estates on the Crimean Peninsula.  At the Paris Expo in 1900, a Riesling from the Kherson region produced by the Prince Trubetskoi winery won the Grand Prix. This winery would operate for more than 120 years, before being occupied, looted and ultimately destroyed by Russian troops during the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.  Muscaris harvesting in the Demidi vineyards, Kyiv region. Credit: Demidi  The impact of the Soviet era on Ukrainian vineyards  The following era of wars and dictatorships had a devastating impact on winemaking. In 1921, all wine stocks and wineries in Ukraine were declared state property. The introduction of a "tax on trees and shrubs" forced many peasants to cut down their own vineyards.  Ukraine became the main supplier of wine to the Soviet Union, but industrial policy focused on quantity rather than quality. To mask defects in wine that deteriorated during transportation, sugar and alcohol were often added. As a result, 96% of production is said to have consisted of low quality wines.  The Soviet anti-alcohol campaign of 1985 nearly destroyed the industry. Vast numbers of vines were uprooted across Ukraine. Scientists lost the ability to conduct research and preserve unique varieties. Dr Pavlo Holodryha, the creator of more than 40 grape varieties, was unable to bear the destruction of his life’s work and took his own life.  While vineyards were being destroyed inside the country, Ukrainian scientific expertise received the highest international recognition: in 1988, Dr Mykola Pavlenko was elected President of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).    How Ukrainians began reclaiming history  After Ukraine gained independence in 1991, development was initially slowed by outdated legislation. Trust in local wines began to grow as the gaps in the country’s wine history gradually started to be filled.  The official Soviet narrative claimed that Ukrainians had no tradition of winemaking. Modern research disproves this myth, including the book 29 Centuries: Rediscovered History of Wine in Ukraine by Anna Eugenia Yanchenko, which received an OIV award in 2024.  “Alongside introducing the world to the history of Ukrainian wine, I had another mission,” Yanchenko says. “People now often tell me: ‘Our great-grandmother said wine was made in our area, but no one believed her. Then we went to the archives, and it turned out to be true.’ People are starting to research and reclaim their past.” Yanchenko analysed more than 800 historical sources while working on the book.      Winemaking in wartime  A turning point came in 2018 with the abolition of costly licenses for small producers and the adoption of laws supporting terroir wines. The number of wineries increased significantly, and the process of registering Geographical Indications (GIs) began.  But in 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion. This followed the 2014 annexation of Crimea, a key region that once accounted for nearly a third of Ukraine’s vineyards.  The industry continued to operate under wartime conditions. Growers carried out winter pruning literally under the flight paths of missiles and drones. Wineries in the Kherson region were occupied and looted, hundreds of hectares of vineyards were mined, and wine, glass and production factories were destroyed, along with the country’s largest wine storage complex, covering around 100,000 square metres.  Many winemakers and sommeliers joined the front lines. Wine cellars were used as civilian bomb shelters. Wineries in Zakarpattia hosted tens of thousands of displaced people and colleagues from affected regions.  The war is now in its fifth year, and the challenges have become a daily reality. Producers like Beykush in the Mykolaiv region continue to operate just a few kilometres from the front line. Across the country, the industry contends with persistent shelling, strikes on energy infrastructure, blackouts, and the logistical hurdle of military checkpoints.  Despite these severe conditions, the work has never stopped. In 2022, Ukrainian wines gained a permanent place at La Cité du Vin in Bordeaux and achieved gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Today, the sector continues to grow, with new small-scale wineries opening and Ukrainian bottles reaching more international markets than ever before.  Muscaris harvesting in the Demidi vineyards, Kyiv region. Credit: Demidi  Regional diversity and key grape varieties in Ukraine  Ukraine is the largest country in Europe by area, with approximately 15,000 hectares of vineyards (excluding temporarily occupied territories). The climate is largely continental, moderated in the west by the Carpathian Mountains and influenced by the Black Sea in the south and by numerous rivers and lakes across the country.  A wide range of microclimates, landscapes and soils, including clay, loam, limestone, and the famous humus-rich chornozem, allows for diverse cultivation.  In the largest southern winegrowing zone near the Black Sea, common plantings include Aligoté, Cabernet Sauvignon, Saperavi and Rkatsiteli. This is also where the Piedmontese variety Timorasso produced its first successful harvest outside Europe.  In the west, around the Carpathian Mountains, vineyards on volcanic soils are planted with Pinot varieties, Zweigelt, Traminer, Furmint, Leánka and Bakator. In the northern regions, producers work with Riesling, Cabernet Franc and PIWI varieties. Chardonnay, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc are grown in many parts of the country.  Muscat varieties are also showing promising results, particularly Muscat Ottonel, which won a Platinum medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2023 for a wine produced by the Shabo winery in the Odesa region.  Unfortunately, many indigenous varieties were lost in the 1980s. Among the survivors, Telti-Kuruk is the most notable. Known since the 16th century, it grows on the sandy soils of southern Ukraine; some ungrafted vines are around 50 years old. The wine has pronounced acidity and excellent ageing potential. Aromas include flowers, peach, lemongrass and feijoa, while late-harvest versions show more notes of honey and quince.  Other highlights include Odesa Black (a Cabernet Sauvignon × Alicante Bouschet cross), which produces structured wines with powerful tannins and notes of black berries, chocolate and liquorice. In the 20th century it was mostly used in blends for colour due to its high anthocyanin content. With careful handling, however, the grape reveals strong potential and a distinctive character.  Another crossing, Sukholymanskyi (Chardonnay × Plavai), is floral and fresh in style. It performs excellently in skin-contact wines.  The frost-resistant Citron Magaracha, created in the 1970s by Pavlo Holodryha, offers a round palate with orange, lime and tropical fruit notes.     Climate change and sustainable trends  Over the past 30 years, Ukraine’s average temperature has risen by 1.5°C. In the south, grapes now accumulate sugar earlier, sometimes shifting harvest dates by 40–45 days. Conversely, this shift has enabled viticulture to expand into northern and central regions, such as Kyiv and Zhytomyr, where many new wineries have opened.  Many producers are focusing on PIWI varieties to support sustainable viticulture with reduced pesticide use. While European hybrids like Muscaris, Souvignier Gris, Jupiter, and Solaris are successfully cultivated, there is a growing interest in local PIWIs such as Aromatnyi, Zahreii, Iskorka, and Muscat Odeskyi, which show resistance to frost and diseases like oidium and downy mildew.  The focus on resilient varieties contributes to the growth of the natural, organic, and biodynamic sector. However, obtaining certification has become significantly more difficult: because of the war, inspection visits to vineyards and wineries are often impossible.  In the Kyiv region, the Biologist winery maintains a biodynamic vineyard and works with organically certified grapes. Many producers rely on wild yeasts and minimise intervention during winemaking, releasing unfiltered wines and using only small amounts of sulphur dioxide.  Biologist has organic vineyards in Odesa and biodynamic vineyards in the Kyiv regionWinemakers are also developing their own approaches to local grape varieties. At the Demidi winery in the Kyiv region, the flagship wine is crafted from the PIWI variety Krasen, using grapes partially dried in a specialised chamber at 28–30°C to achieve the desired concentration of aroma and flavour.  In Zakarpattia, Chateau Chizay is pioneering "zero waste" production with a cosmetics line derived from estate grape-seed oil. This circular project emphasizes total traceability, ensuring every stage — from cultivation to primary processing — occurs within a single, controlled production cycle.  Ageing wines in amphorae, qvevri and concrete eggs has become widespread. In addition, many producers are using locally made Volyn oak barrels with acacia heads, now successfully exported to France, Italy, Spain and the US.  The no- and low-alcohol segment is also developing: as producer Eduard Horodetskyi notes, de-alcoholized wines now account for about 20% of his total sales.    Modern regulation and future outlook for Ukrainian wine  In 2018, Ukraine ranked among the world’s top twenty wine producers (OIV Statistical Report on World Vitiviniculture 2019). The war reduced export volumes by more than four times, but it also encouraged the industry to seek out new markets. "Today, around 20 wineries export to over 27 countries, with 12 wineries represented in the UK alone," says Svitlana Tsybak, Chairman of the Ukrainian Association of Craft Winemakers.  Despite all the challenges, the industry continues to move forward. Over the past few years, around eighty small-scale wineries have opened.  “The new wave of winemaking often started with purchased grapes or leased vineyards,” says Yanchenko. “Now producers aim to own their vineyards and control quality from A to Z. Many are investing heavily in site selection and soil studies.”  Although international wine tourism is currently limited, domestic tourism is growing rapidly. At the Demidi winery alone, more than 700 visitors attended tastings and wine tours in 2025.  The industry is also undergoing internal reform. At the beginning of 2026, a new law came into force, moving the regulatory system away from its post-Soviet model and towards  modern European principles focused on traceability and vineyard-level control.   Ukraine is reclaiming its past while confidently shaping its present. What about the future?  “The greatest achievement during the years of war is that, despite everything, we and other producers continue to work and create high-quality wines,” says the team at Demidi.  It is difficult to comprehend how they persevere. Yet perhaps this is the only path possible when the goal is the freedom to craft their own wine on their own land.    The author would like to thank Anna Eugenia Yanchenko and Ukrainian winemakers for their assistance in preparing this article.      About the author A professional journalist and former Senior Editor at ELLE Ukraine, Natalia Pasichnyk moved into the UK wine trade in 2023. Having earned her WSET Level 3 Award in Wines with Merit, she continues her studies and is currently focusing on her development as a wine communicator.   Additional reading A guide to Armenian wine Exploring Chenin Blanc styles Beyond Marlborough: top Sauvignon Blanc regions to explore https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/ukrainian-wine-past-present-and-future https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/ukrainian-wine-past-present-and-future Thu, 19 March 2026 05:16:13