French investors have expressed interest in developing vineyards in Sevastopol, city legislature chairman Aleksey Chaly told Russian radio station Kommersant FM.
Sevastopol's Association of Grape Growers and Winemakers presented a plan on Tuesday to build over 200 vineyards around Sevastopol. Each vineyard would require investments of around $1.09 million. Although Sevastopol is officially a city, most of the population lives around the harbor while over 70 percent of the area is designated as mountains or an agricultural zone.
"There are around 20-25 potential clients who are ready to go in, invest and develop. Right now they are mainly Russian — very decent winemakers, by the way. But we also have French investors who are ready to come here," Chaly said.
According to Chaly, part of the city's development strategy is to make it a center for Russian wine tourism.
