Ukraine wants to keep Crimean wine brands

The Ukrainian authorities tend to keep Crimean wine brands "Massandra", "New Light" and "Magarach" as the property of Ukraine, officials with Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said.

"Today, it is a plan of the Agriculture Ministry to re-register these brands in Kiev. We must keep original Ukrainian brands. This is a matter of honor," said the head of the Ministry, commenting on the need to solve the problems of former state-owned Ukrainian enterprises on the territory of the Crimea," TASS reports. 

The history of wine-making in the Crimea counts hundreds of years. The Massandra Winery was founded by Prince Lev Golitsyn in 1894. The enoteca of the winery contains about one million bottles of wine.