Napa Valley activists rally to disqualify Russian wines from San Francisco competition
Napa Valley Register / 12-26-2025
Napa, despite its importance as an economic powerhouse in the global viticulture industry, might seem an unlikely player in the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
But on Dec. 11, the interception of a Russian-language article by Ukrainian consulate officials exposed an attempt by sanctioned Russian winemakers to enter their wines — and those they appropriated from Ukrainian wineries — into a prestigious San Francisco wine competition, ultimately bringing Napa-based pro-Ukraine activists in the wine industry into the fold.
Fifteen Russian-based wineries, representing 95 bottles of wine, were disqualified from the 2025 San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC), organized by The Tasting Alliance, before the judging session that occurred on Dec. 16.
Under current U.S. sanctions imposed following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian wines — along with other commercial assets — are ineligible to be sold or entered in competitions in the U.S.
Link (paywall): https://napavalleyregister.com/news/napa-valley-activists-rally-to-disqualify-russian-wines-from-san-francisco-competition/article_4a142aa4-29bb-480d-ba30-c989703fac82.html
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Quote (from the link), Dmytro Kushneruk, Consul General of Ukraine in San Francisco, in a Consulate of Ukraine in San Francisco:
“Russian officials tried to present San Francisco as proof that there is ‘no isolation’ for Putin’s wines. Instead, this decision shows the opposite: sanctions work and respected American institutions are not prepared to become a showcase for the Kremlin while Ukrainian cities are bombed and Ukrainian vineyards are occupied or destroyed.”
How was the ploy uncovered?
According to the link, an executive with the Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia openly boasted in a Russian Trade Journal that they had managed to “fool” American competition and state authorities to smuggle wine into the U.S. using the following methods:
1) Transporting them through the Mexican border
2) Hand-carrying them on a commercial flight as part of their supposed personal collection
3) Mixing the wines with bottles from Georgia and Israel and adding multilingual “not for sale” labels to mask their Russian origin and make it seem like they were not meant for commercial distribution or competition
4) Using third-country passports
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