Kyrgyzstan

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Kyrgyzstan, mountainous central Asian republic on the border between kazakhstan and China of only minor wine-producing importance. Kyrgyzstan, whose capital is Bishkek, has a continental climate and three zones favourable for viticulture: the Chuia and the Talas valleys, the south of the country, and the Issyk-Kul depression. Commercial viticulture is developed in the first two zones. The country’s grape and wine industry specializes in the production of table grapes and drying grapes although about 14,000 hl/369,840 gal of wine, mostly strong and sweet, was produced from the country’s 6,000 ha/14,820 acres of vineyard in 2011, according to oiv statistics.