Rkatsiteli, ancient, cold-hardy Georgian white grape variety which was so widely planted in what was the Soviet Union that in 1990 it was estimated to be the world’s third most planted overall. Thanks to President gorbachev’s vine pull scheme, by 2000 it had fallen to fourteenth place. It is still widely planted in the former Soviet republics, however, being grown in all of its wine-producing independent republics with the exception of turkmenistan. It is, understandably, most important in georgia, particularly in Kakheti. It is also the most planted variety in ukraine, second only to Muscat Ottonel in bulgaria, is widely planted in moldova, and is commonplace in russia and armenia. As Baiyu it reached China and has adapted well to the inland wine regions there with their cold winters. It was presumably its cold resistance that inspired Finger Lakes grower Konstantin Frank to plant it in New York state and it is now planted in Virginia and several other American states.
