The village of Abrau and the lake with the same name are in a place of stunning and unique natural beauty. The valley of Abrau-Dyurso is so beautiful that, of course, it could not but draw myths and legends. But tourists who visit Lake Abrau are mostly interested not so much in landscapes as in a very specific museum - the Abrau-Durso Champagne Museum

In the picturesque valley stands the famous sparkling wine factory "Abrau-Durso". Its name is composed of the names of two settlements nominally part of Novorossiysk: Abrau - on the lakeside shore, and Durso - near the sea (they are connected by a narrow mountain serpentine about 8 km long). In the valley grows selected green grapes, there is almost no wind, the weather is always gentle, and even the most capricious varieties grow well.

The road itself is already very beautiful: a mountain serpentine among the forested slopes and vineyards. From the hill it is perfectly visible the lake and its surroundings. By the way, where the lake came from is a mystery: no hypothesis about its origin explains what the Abrau water disappears, which abundantly feed the keys at the bottom and the mountain river. Most likely, the lake has a message to the sea, but where it is still not known.

The Abrau-Dyurso estate was laid in 1870 ., but a really powerful push to the growth and development of the winemaking economy was the appointment of its manager Count Golitsyn . At this time, here were dug manually deep wine cellars (in the tour program, of course, included their visit) . The first batch of champagne left here in 1897 .: it was 13 thousand . bottles of sparkling wine . In the sale it was not received and served only to the court . After the revolution, the economy fell into decay, but in the 1990s . began to regain its former power and glory . In the 2000s . the plant annually produced about 6 million bottles of sparkling and table fault .

The excursion around the factory and the museum is very popular among tourists in the Krasnodar Territory . And the program is quite rich and the tastings are so generous and the wines in them change so quickly, that guests have to carefully monitor themselves . At the entrance of the guests meets a sculptural fountain with the Golitsyn monkey sitting on a bottle of wine - according to legend, the count really had a monkey, taught to uncork bottles .In ancient cellars you can see ancient wooden presses, barrels and giant bottles, which for a hundred years already bear their own names .

Today Abrau-Durso offers travelers something more than just a tour of the museum: here is opened a real wine tourism center. There are two restaurants, a barbeque bar and a cafe, a French coffee house, a first-class boutique hotel, a manor hotel "Round Lake" and a "Champagne" spa center. Naturally, all this costs decently, but a beautiful life - it's a beautiful life.

Practical information

The Abrau-Dyurso factory is located about 20 km along the highway from Novorossiysk, and it's easy to get there by car. @

Museum champagne "Abrau-Durso"

machine for packaging Museum champagne" Abrau-Durso "

Storage bottles, Museum of champagne "Abrau-Durso"