Ukraine

Larysa Markevych

Larysa is a Ukrainian winemaker. Her interest in wine began in childhood; remarkable, considering no one in Larysa’s family works in the wine industry. An enduring memory, however, is the taste of Kahor (the Moldovan dessert wine), which she would be allowed to try by her parents while on holiday. Upon visiting her mother’s Alma Mater, Larysa was intrigued by the winemaking course, and decided to pursue it. While on this course, she began to learn French, and was able to undertake internship in Saint-Amour and Fleurie. These two work-placements revealed to Larysa that she has a genuine passion for winemaking, and each Autumn afterwards she has felt a yearning to return to the rush and energy of the harvest season. Upon completing her diploma thesis, she began working at the Kolonist family winery; work which has been cut unfortunately short by the ongoing war in Ukraine. Once the fighting has ended, Larysa wants firstly to pursue a sommelier course, so as to give her a more rounded view of wine away from the production side of the industry. Following this, she envisions spending a number of seasons travelling to work in the harvest in differing wine regions of the globe, in places such as South America, California, New Zealand and Georgia. The various skills, techniques and outlooks which Larysa would pick up on these travels would be brought back with her to Ukraine, where she aims to create a start-up focused upon supporting the small winemakers of Ukraine.