History
The Institute was founded on the directive of the Government of the Russian Federation № 1743-p as of September 7, 2015, and is the successor of the research vitivinicultural institution “Magarach” founded in affiliation with Nikitsky Botanical Gardens in 1828 on the order of the governor-general of Novorossiysk, Prince Vorontsov.
In 1931, “Magarach” became an independent institution – the Crimean Zonal Experimental Vitivinicultural Station with subordination to the People’s Commissariat for Agriculture of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and in 1936 it was reorganized into the All-Union Scientific Winemaking Research Station “Magarach” with the following experimental stations: the Steppe, the Balaklava, the Sudaksky, the Azov-Black Sea (Anapa, Abrau-Durso) and was included into a number of research institutions under the USSR People’s Commissariat of Food Industry (order number 1801 (1) as of 22.01.1936).
In 1940, by the decision of the USSR Council of People’s Commissars (as of 16.04.1940) and the order of the USSR People’s Commissariat of Food Industry (number 463 as of 17.07. 40), the Research Station was renamed into the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking “Magarach” in subordination to the USSR People’s Commissariat of Food Industry– the USSR Main Department for Wine Industry.
Since 1942, “Magarach” Institute included the Central Asian branch with experimental stations in the Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Tajik SSR; Sochi experimental station; USSR Ampelography Department (Moscow), Sparkling Wines Department at Avchala Sparkling Wines Plant. Since 1943 it as well included the Georgian branch at the Armenian Research Institute for Viticulture and Winemaking, Central Research Laboratory and the Middle Volga base, in 1945 the Institute was joined by Moscowsky, Kishinevsky and Transcaucasian branches, in 1953 – it also included Primorsky Viticultural Base in Vladivostok.
Thus, the institute, with its extensive network of branches and support bases embraced the majority of vitivinicultural regions of the Soviet Union, while all the leading vitivinicultural institutes of the countries that used to be part of the former Soviet Union were once institutional branches of “Magarach”.
Since 1960, the institute became the leading viticultural institute in the USSR, and since 1964 it acquired the leading position in the field of wine-making as well (by the directive № 30 as of 04.02.1964 of the USSR State Committee for Food Industry of the State Planning Committee. The high standing of “Magarach” was recognized by the Order of the Red Banner of Labor it was awarded in 1978.
Since August 31, 1989 the Institute became subordinate to the General Committee of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
In 1992, the Institute “Magarach” joined the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences under the name of Institute of Vine and Wine “Magarach”. In 2005, this industry research institute, the one of a kind in Ukraine, was awarded the title of “the national” (Decree of the President of Ukraine as of 30.06.2005), and became known as the National Institute of Vine and Wine “Magarach”.
Pursuant to the Federal Constitutional Law № 6 as of March 21, 2014, “On inclusion of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and formation of new entities of the Russian Federation– the Republic of Crimea and the federal city Sevastopol” by the Orders of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea № 1480-p as of December 23, 2014, the institute was renamed into the State Budget Institution of the Republic of Crimea “National Research Institute of Vine and Wine” Magarach”.
Human resources
Number of employees – 210 people.
Number of researchers – 136 people, including:
– 1 Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
– 1 Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine;
– 16 Doctors of Science;
– 50 employees with Ph.D. degree;
– 9 Professors;
– 34 Associate Professors and Senior Researchers.
The average age of the researchers is 49 years old. 34 people are under the age of 39.
The core activities of the Institute
The core activities of the Institute include: basic scientific research, explorative and applied research, development work, implementating scientific achievements and best practices aimed at obtaining new knowledge in the field of viticulture and wine-making conducive to technological, economic and social development of the agro-industrial complex.
In its activities the Institute pursues the following objectives: a) providing the maximum possible support to scientific development in the field of viticulture and winemaking; b) strengthening the links between science and industry in the field of viticulture and winemaking; c) participation in innovation, implementing achievements of science and technology; g) publishing scientific papers, a quarterly journal, conference proceedings, methodology guidelines, monographs and other scientific and technological solutions, providing research and consultative services.
Major achievements
The Institute actively contributes to the development of scientific basis for the formation of environmentally sustainable agricultural systems, adaptive resource-saving and environmental grapes cultivation and storage technologies, integrated plant protection systems, new generation mechanical equipment, creation of new genotypes and conservation of vine genetic recources, development of new technological winemaking equipment and resource- and energy-saving technologies of wine and cognacs production, as well as development of biologically active products (from winemaking waste), provides scientific, methodological and technological support to the vitivinicultural industry to ensure its quality, safety and competitiveness.
The following has been developed and introduced so far:
- Over 60 new varieties and 4 high-yielding grape clones;
- DNA passports for a number of Crimean indigenous varieties and varieties of the Institute “Magarach” selection ;
- mathematical spatial variation models of agro-climatic variations on the territory of the Republic of Crimea and digital agro-climatic maps to help accelerate the rational vineyards distrubution;
- varietal agricultural technology for foreign varieties introduced in Crimea;
- scheme of the phases in the establishment of basic vine nurseries using clonal planting material from vegetating in vitro collections;
- 13 most important mineral elements availability assesment method to diagnose the void and make the right choice of the required fertilizers;
- resource saving technologies in application of advanced fertilizers, including those aimed at increasing the nutritional value of table varieties and the shelf life of grapes;
- preservation of moisture in the soil technology with the help of new generation of absorbents, which allows improving the survival rate of seedlings during planting of new vineyards in the arid conditions of the south of Russia;
- vineplant protection measures against new economically significant pests: black spot, stem drought, cotton budworm, a complex of cycads and black rot – gall midges;
- resource saving technologies for plant protection against pests, diseases and weeds, including the ecologized systems with the optimum application of biological preparations and adjuvants constituting advanced plant protection measures;
- modern technological equipment for wine-making;
- modern resource saving technologies in the production of different types of wines, sparkling wines and brandies;
- the possibility of using new varieties in high-quality wine-making;
- ways to enhance wine stability after bottling;
- valuable winemaking yeast strains;
- methods for detecting falsification of wine products;
- a list of quality and safety indicators for grape wines and their testing methods aligned with the requirements of The International Organization of Vine and Wine, EU, the Customs Union;
- sanitary regulations for wineries.
