Perspectives of wine tourism development in Rostov region

Wine tourism is an economically promising type of sustainable tourism for the region. Currently, the state has created favourable conditions for the wine-growing regions of the Russian Federation (one of them is the Rostov region) including financial support for the development of viticulture and winemaking. The article describes the forms of state support, explicates the status of the Rostov region among other wine territories since the latter, due to its natural and climatic features, has prospects for creating unique varieties of wine products with access to the level of world recognition. People’s awareness about wine tourism in the region and their intentions of future participation in visiting the Don vineyards and wineries was studied. Methods of content analysis, expert interviews with managers of wineries, and a mass survey of the population in this region, including more than 400 questionnaires were used in the study. The results show that there are three main factors for the successful development of wine tourism in the Rostov region: 1) a unique product of wine tourism in its taste; 2) the organization of wine production in the relationship between government and business, which opens up prospects for creating the necessary infrastructure for the development of enotourism; 3) potential wine tourists. Despite the low awareness of the surveyed residents of the region about the peculiarities of Don wines and wine tourism programs, 62% of respondents showed interest in participating in the tours. Some recommendations are given for organizing tourist routes that include an introduction to the cultural identity of the Don region in their program.


Introduction
The federal executive authority of the Russian Federation in the field of tourism development is the Federal travel agency, one its tasks, according to the Regulation [1], is to develop documents on "strategic planning in the field of tourism on issues related to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation". Decree of the President of the Russian Federation № 514 of 14.09.2018 "issues of improving public administration in the field of tourism and tourism activities" [2] establishes that the Federal travel agency is transferred to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. This decision opens up great prospects in developing a systematic approach to the tourism industry, which is very significant, since it shows the real ways of developing the tourism industry with national projects "Small and medium-sized businesses and support for individual business initiatives"; "International cooperation and export". It determines the concentration of interests on the development of domestic and inbound tourism. The Strategy for the Development of Tourism in the Russian Federation for the period up to 2035, (further Strategy) adopted by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation № 2129 of September 20, 2019, determines the importance of the development of domestic and inbound tourism in the complex, which should contribute to the creation and promotion of a tourist product in the domestic and international markets [3]. On December 17, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a press conference, paid special attention to the development of domestic tourism, while noting the need to create a structure where domestic tourism should be a priority. This is evidence of correlative cooperation policy between the state and business in improving the level of tourism infrastructure in the development of the country.
In connection with the above, we should focus on the development of wine tourism in Russia, in particular in the Rostov region. This type contributes to the development of tourism and at the same time encourages the conservation of natural resources, their effective, long-term use, the achievement of economic growth of the regions, as well as helps to explicate the socio-cultural identity. Wine tourism is one of the most promising forms of promoting sustainable tourism. The concept put forward by the World Tourism Organization and implemented in different countries for more than 15 years [4,5], which focuses on the need to consolidate the environmental, economic, and social factors of the tourist region. The selection of the Rostov Region among the wine territories of the Russian Federation is associated with the justification of the prospects for creating special varieties of products that can become attractive in their uniqueness for consumers. The problem of finding methods to attract tourists and rational use of available tourist resources to achieve economic benefits through the deployment of wine tourism for economic effect in the Rostov region is relevant for the domestic market of Russia.

Materials and method
The study was conducted on the basis of material obtained from domestic and foreign sources, current legislation, regulatory documents and acts, data from official international, federal and regional statistics. Special attention is paid to the study of the materials of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) [6] in order to explicate the world trends in this industry.
The research methodology was based on the use of content analysis and the method of comparative analysis in the study of wine tourism experience development in various countries, presented in the works [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. The presentation of the objects in wine industry of the Rostov region was carried out using the principle of historicism, which allowed us to define the following steps: 1) the origin of this object, 2) periods of its development, 3) the current state; 4) prospects for further development. The principle of historicism is supplemented by the method of typification, which allows us to emphasize the peculiarities of the organization of the enterprise in terms of the uniqueness of its products and services to tourists, and the method of long-term planning. A mass survey of residents of the Rostov region was also conducted using a questionnaire. It consisted mainly of closed-type questions and included various sections: socio-demographic characteristics, interest in wine products and their production, wine preferences, willingness to participate in wine tourism events, awareness of Rostov wine tourism, basic dimensions of the wine tourism experience. The data were collected from 413 respondents, they are residents of the Rostov region. A total of 448 questionnaires were received, with 413 completed in full. Of particular importance were the expert interviews conducted with economic entities in this area and analytical review of reports and managers' speeches of the federal and regional levels on the development of enotourism in the regions of the Russian Federation. A review of the reports and speeches was presented in the media using the Internet.

Development of viticulture in Russia
International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) currently unites 46 countries, including Russia. The total area of vineyards (wine and table) in the world, according to the OIV, in 2019 was 7.4 million hectares. Most of it is located in 5 countries: Spain (13%), France (11%), China (11%), Italy (10%) and Turkey (9%). Russia is one of the twenty countries, that is, it occupies a fairly modest position in this series. Table 1 shows the total area of vineyards in 20 countries for 2019. In the context of the coronavirus, large wine producers were forced to reduce their production. Therefore, in this article, we provide data for 2019, although both 2019 and 2020 show a drop in global wine production below the average level. In 2020, the situation was expected to change for the better, but there were no significant changes. In 2019, 260 million hectoliters of wine were produced, of which: Italy -18%, France -15%; Spain -13%, USA -9%; Argentina, Australia, Chile -5% each; South Africa -4%, that is, 75% of the total. Accordingly, the same hierarchy is observed for exports of products: Italy, Spain, France, Chile, Australia, Germany, the United States, South Africa, Portugal, and Argentina. We can see Russia does not become a leader in the production or export of wine. However, in terms of wine consumption, it takes the 8-th place -4% of the total. Russia is inferior to such countries as the United States (14%), France (11%), Italy (9%), Germany (8%), China (7%), Great Britain (5%), Spain (5%), Argentina (4%). If we talk about the average consumption of wine per capita (people over 15 years old), then Russia is on the 21-st place (8.3 liters). Here, Russia is significantly inferior to Portugal (56.4 liters), France (49.5 liters), Italy (43 liters), etc. Сonsumption of 4% of the total world output of wine indicates that branded imported wines in Russia are quite popular. Thus, when asked about the preferences in the choice of wine brands, with the possibility of choosing several answers, 27% of respondents noted an interest in European wines, 27% -in Georgian wines, 15%in the wines of Abkhazia, 5% -in the wines of Moldova, 1% -in the wines of the United States, while 53% of respondents are fond of Russian wines. Therefore, the question of the level and competitiveness of domestic wine products clearly indicates itself.
In the history of modern Russia, there are paradoxical moments of widespread destruction of wineries, throughout the country. This campaign was in the same tone as the implementation of the anti-alcohol policy in the USSR from 1985-1987. Vineyards were cut down or significantly reduced, which were the raw material for the production of wine. Among them there were quite ancient and unique varieties of valuable breeds. Today, the wine industry is in the stage of active revival in two directions -this is the restoration and modernization of the Soviet infrastructure of wine production, as well as the active entry into the wine industry of farms. The turning point was the adoption of Federal Law № 468-FL of 27.12.2019 "On Viticulture and Winemaking in the Russian Federation" [18], here, for the first time, the state policy is clearly outlined to support the development of this industry. Its goals are aimed at rationalizing land use, increasing the "productive use of the land fund of the Russian Federation for the cultivation of grape plantations as one of the most cost-effective areas of agricultural activity", as well as stimulating the development of this industry, increasing the number of economic entities. The areas of grape plantations are planned to be used primarily by laying domestic planting material of grape plants. This will determine the own brand of the manufactured products in promoting them in the domestic and foreign markets. First of all, the provision of budget funds is mentioned as measures for the implementation of state policy for viticulture and winemaking; ensuring equal access to state support in accordance with the terms of its provision, which are provided for by the legislation on viticulture and winemaking, as well as application of special tax regimes in relation to the individuals involved in viticulture and winemaking, land tax benefits in relation to land plots, occupied by grape plantations included in the federal register of grape plantations etc. At the same time, a separate line refers to the promotion of the viticulture and winemaking industry, which uses the planting material of domestic grape plants when planting grape plantations.
The country's wine-growing regions are mainly concentrated in the South of Russia. These are the Krasnodar Territory, the Crimea, Dagestan, North Ossetia-Alania, Kabardino-Balkaria, Stavropol Territory, Rostov Region, and the Lower Volga. Thanks to the special climatic conditions in these regions, high-quality wines are produced. In 2020, despite the weather (drought and frost), the grape harvest in Russia amounted to 545 thousand tons. There are currently more than 240 wineries in the country. Meanwhile, 92% of the volume of wine sold belongs to 70 wineries. The most popular wine producers were the Krasnodar Territory and the Crimea. This suggests that the development of winemaking in the country has a huge potential. The task is to further improve technologies, develop new varieties and brands, and, most importantly, to intensify measures to bring wine products to the domestic and global market.

Development of viticulture in the Rostov region
The development of viticulture in the Don land has an ancient history. There is evidence that the ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo (64/63 BC -23/24 AD) mentions that Greek colonists organized the cultivation of grapes at the mouth of the Don (Popus-Metidou). At the same time, Strabo is talking about covering grapes that were buried in the winter [19]. It is believed that the local grape varieties have their ancestral home in Northern Dagestan. This circumstance is connected with the expansion of the Khazar kingdom from Dagestan to the Don in the VI century AD. Later, with the disappearance of the Khazar kingdom, the traditions of viticulture were preserved by the Cossacks. In the XVI century, vineyards were located along the entire course of the Don, local varieties were bred, such as Pukhlyakovsky, Krasnostop, Tsimlyansky, Plechistik and others [20][21][22].
The history of the Don viticulture includes the name of Peter I, who noted the Don land as the most favorable for growing grapes during his Azov campaigns of 1706-1709. By his order, grape bushes were brought here from Astrakhan, as well as from Germany, France, and Hungary. The exercise "in making wine with a special art", which is not inferior to the European ones, with a commendable mention of the Vedernikovskaya stanitsa, is described in the essay "On Viticulture in Russia", dated 1756 (the author is unknown). Since the beginning of the XIX century, Don wines began to be sent to Moscow and some other cities of the country. Although there is information about the supply of Don grapes to the table of Peter I. Platov, ataman of the Don Army, made a great contribution to the development of viticulture and winemaking on the Don. He not only promoted the use of land for planting vines, but also invited Rhenish winemakers to teach Cossack masters the art of making wines.
In 1885, a school of viticulture and winemaking was opened on the Don (on the farm of Sobachinsky, now Pukhlyakovsky). The leadership of the Don Army strongly promoted the development of viticulture and winemaking. So before the First World War, the area of grape plantations was more than 3 thousand hectares. The war resulted in the destruction of 40% of the vineyards. Their further restoration took place already under the Soviet regime. By 1934, the area of vineyards was 2,711 hectares, but only 25.7% of them were fruitbearing, 28% -neglected, the rest completely lost. The work on the restoration of farms was launched, specialized grape and wine farms were organized. However, the flourishing of this industry was again interrupted by the war of 1941-1945, so that by 1950 there were only 528 hectares of vineyards, the area of which, due to the development of virgin land, increased to 14,000 hectares by 1965. This situation was until 1985, when the average annual grape harvest reached 45 thousand tons. The financing was carried out from the state budget. However, the consequences of the anti-alcohol company for the Rostov region were not comforting and led to the fact that by 1995 the area of vineyards was reduced by about 39% and amounted to 8.5 thousand hectares, 60% of which were affected by harmful insects (phylloxera), which caused the death of a large number of vines. Grape production decreased by more than 68% and amounted to 14.2 tons [23]. The program for the viticulture development and winemaking in the Rostov region, approved by the Decree of the Head of the Administration of the Rostov Region in 1996 [23], set the goal by 2020 to increase the area of vineyards to the level of 1995, that is, 8.5 thousand hectares, by planting 3.5 thousand hectares, 2.5 thousand of which instead of areas affected by phylloxera. It was also planned to create a material and technical base and conditions for the production of breeding planting material.
For the period of 2019, the Rostov region accounted for 4,000 hectares of vineyards plus 86 hectares of young vineyards. Currently, 9 wineries and about 20 peasant farms operate in the Rostov region [22, [24][25][26]. Most wineries use local, autochthonous grape varieties as raw materials. Currently, the Administration of the Rostov Region is focused on the effective implementation of the Federal Law "On Viticulture and Winemaking in the Russian Federation". According to the first Deputy Governor of the Rostov Region Viktor Goncharov, 37 million rubles were allocated to support viticulture in the Rostov region in 2020, which is 10% more than in 2019. A new type of support, prescribed in the Federal Law [18], involves the allocation of funds for one unit of the volume of grapes of own production or wine material from grapes of own production, sold for processing. The limit of funds in this area is 12.5 million rubles. For the first time, 6.6 million rubles were allocated from the regional budget for those who are engaged in the cultivation of Don autochthonous grape varieties. It will increase the interest in laying young vineyards of autochthonous varieties, which, in turn, will provide the wine industry with high-quality raw materials for the production of unique Don wines [25].
Why do local grape varieties have the status? The fact is that the Rostov region, according to its natural and climatic characteristics, is the most suitable region for the production of wine that is unique in its taste qualities. This is due to the location of the area near the northern border of the grape growing areas. As one of the heads of the Rostov Region wine industry noted during an expert interview, "in summer and spring, our region provides enough heat for the grapes to mature, and the final stage of the process usually takes place in conditions of a sharp contrast of day and night temperatures. There are few such zones on the earth, usually they get out of the situation by lifting vineyards into the mountains. But in the mountains, first, there is a contrast throughout the season, and secondly, higher humidity and frequent rains, which requires special measures to combat fungal diseases. In our conditions, the grapes must be covered for the winter, which significantly increases its cost. At the same time, this is an additional economic argument in favour of making expensive elite wines with unique taste qualities". According to Natalia Bagryanova, Deputy Director of the Consumer Market Department of the Rostov region, "the bulk of the vineyards growing in the region are cover varieties. On the one hand, this increases the complexity of the process, on the other -allows you to get unique wines that have their own unique bouquet" [26]. In other warmer regions, at lower costs, you can get large yields of grapes, but using them as raw materials for winemaking does not provide the requirement of uniqueness and leads to the production of only mass-consumption products.

Development of wine tourism. World practice.
Wine tourism, according to many researchers [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], appeared relatively recently -in the second half of the last century. The first wine route was opened in Burgundy in 1934. The initiative was soon picked up in the United States (California) and South Africa. Today, these countries are the most active in the implementation of wine tours. In Europe, about 600 thousand wine tours were made annually (before the pandemic), and there were expectations of a 7-12% increase in wine tourism. It is hoped that after the pandemic in the world, these forecasts will be confirmed. In Russia, wine tourism was mentioned no more than 5 years ago. The adopted federal law [18] promotes the development of wine tourism in Russia, as it organizes a fairly clear record of information about grape plantations and their owners, a register of organizations and peasant farms that have a license. It is also important to know whether businesses have the necessary infrastructure to receive tourists. Thus, tour operators get additional opportunities for communication with the management/owners of wine-making structures. According to Russia's quality system (Roskachestvo) statistics, 71% of wineries in the country accept tourists, but only 26% of them have their own tourist infrastructure. This assessment was given by its deputy head Yulia Mikhaleva at the conference "Wine Tourism in Russia: synergy of the development of the wine and tourism industry", held on January 26, 2021 in Moscow [27].
Wine-making and tourism are two industries that not only complement each other, but in case of successful development of enotourism are comprehensively linked, because it is wine tourism that promotes the advertising of products and increases the income of economic entities, which can later be implemented to expand the territory of vineyards and the development of enterprises. Therefore, these industries, despite the fact that they are located in different areas of economic activity, manifest themselves with benefits for each other, for the region, and for the whole country.
It is clear that for the successful development of the wine route, the area must have a sufficient volume of wine production, natural and cultural potential, and a reputation in the tourist market. The wineries located along the Don River are geographically very conveniently connected with each other, which determined the creation of a special tourist cluster "Dolina Dona" (Don Valley) in the Rostov region [28]. A number of tourist companies are already implementing wine tours around the Don with visits to wineries.
Here it should be noted such companies as "Tatiana Travel Tour"; "Reina Tour"; "Sputnik". However, it is necessary to advertise tour routes in more detail in order to attract residents of the Rostov region to participate in domestic tourism -in one-day, two-day, three-day trips.

Discussion
This section presents the results of a mass survey of the population from the Rostov region to determine their interest in enotourism and to identify the role of wine tourism in the popularization of Don wines.
The study was conducted in the Rostov region: Rostov-on-Don, small towns of the region, rural population. The choice of the region was determined by the fact that the Rostov region is, on the one hand, one of the main wine-growing regions of the Russian Federation; on the other hand, there is an increasing growth of tourist traffic in the region. It is also possible to consider the active interaction of winemakers, operators of the tourist market and local authorities, as we discussed in the previous sections of this article.
The sample was formed on the basis of groups that included the working-age population in different places of residence. They were of various ages (over 18 years old). There are 413 respondents in the sample.
The data is given in Tables 2, 3, and 4.  In a locality in the Rostov region 34 In Rostov-on-Don 60 In a locality in another region, province 6 The test questions that would indicate a possible potential interest in wine tourism were: Do you often drink wine at home and in restaurants? Do you prefer wine to other alcoholic beverages? Quite often drink wine -17% of respondents, only on holidays and special events -52%; "probably not" answered 22% of respondents, and never -9%. Thus, a sufficient number of respondents using wine products were identified -44% prefer wine to other alcoholic beverages. The analysis of the following questions allowed us to filter out a group of those who are not interested in wine varieties and brands at all and have no desire to learn more about winemaking and wine (Tables 5, 6).  Table 6. Interest in information about winemaking and wine.
Would you like to know more about winemaking and wine? %% А) I would really like to 13 B) Yes 58 C) No 29 Table 6 shows that 71% of the respondents would like to increase their awareness.
To confirm this, a question was first asked about any previous experience of the respondents' participation in a wine tour with a specification of the route geography (Table  7); next, a question specifying the position of the respondents in the possibility of such participation in the future in the Rostov region (Table 9), which was preceded by a question about their awareness of the characteristics in Don vineyards varieties (Table 8). Table 7. Participation in the wine tourist route.   Table 9. The potential of participating in a wine tour. It is important to emphasize that a fairly large percentage of respondents who live in the Rostov region, but do not know that wine tourism is developing in their native region. As it turned out, only 25% of respondents know about the events for the development of wine tourism in the Rostov region, 3% know and have participated themselves, 28% have heard something about it, but 44% do not know anything about it at all (Fig. 1). This indicates a lack of advertising of enotourism in local television programs and local media. The next question was devoted to the explication of respondents' preferences in the organization of the wine route peculiarities, presented in Table 10. What are your preferences for the duration in the wine tour? %% А) Weekend tour (one-day) 38 B) Two-day tour 12 C) Three-day tour 9 D) At least a week 5 E) I find it difficult to answer 36

Would you like to get information about this firsthand and in detail
The majority of respondents (66%) prefer to combine a wine tour with a gastronomic one, which will give an opportunity to get acquainted with the national Cossack cuisine in a more refined way, 23% will be satisfied with any option.
As noted in the article [12], the notion that the goal of a wine tourist is simply to drink wine has been challenged by a number of studies that demonstrate that visitors are usually interested in a wider range of wine-related experiences. The strategy for promoting wine tourism should be based on this approach. As part of our research, we were limited to identifying interest specifically in wine and visiting wineries. In the course of the survey, preferences were identified, which should be further supplemented by a whole palette of landscape-natural and cultural-historical interests of real participants of enotourism. Therefore, we saw our task in attracting attention of the respondents specifically to the wine aspects of the event. Respondents to the question "What, in your opinion, are the advantages of a wine tour in the Don region?" could choose several options from the following answers: 1. Visit to the wineries of the Don producers. 2. Introduction to the Cossack technologies of wine production.
3. Getting information about the peculiarities of the local grapes as raw materials for wine production.
4. The possibility of sampling and purchasing wine, as well as first-pressure wine. 5. No advantages. The results are shown in Fig. 2, where the ordinal numbers of the answers are located on the horizontal axis.

Conclusion
1. The study of wine tourism includes three main aspects: 1) wine tourism product; 2) organization of wine production, taking into account the creation of the necessary infrastructure for the reception of wine tourists; 3) a profile of a wine tourist with an explication of the motivations, preferences and impressions, taking this into account all these points, a roadmap is drawn up for tour operators when preparing a scenario for a tourist event.
2. The Rostov region is not only one of the wine-growing regions in the Russian Federation, but due to its geographical location, natural and climatic features, it has all the opportunities to become the country's leader in the production of unique varieties of elite wines based on raw materials of autochthonous grape varieties.
3. For the development of wine tourism, it is important to turn production areas into tourist destinations. And this defines a task with many components. First of all, the vineyards and wineries themselves, which should be convenient for the location; then, the availability of residences -cottages, mini-hotels, hotels; public catering facilities. These problems require sufficient financial investment to solve. In this sense, the support of producers, legalized at the federal level and adopted by the regional authorities, plays a decisive role in the development of winemaking in the region, contributes to the entry of wine tourism into the culture of the region.
4. Great hopes are raised by the management scheme, the implementation of which is defined in the law [18]. Wine tourism, which is based on wine production, attracts other sectors of the economy -gastronomy with an emphasis on Cossack cuisine, folk art, folk crafts, cultural events, tourist enterprises [29][30][31]. It incorporates horizontal links between different companies, integrating vertically with the regional authorities. Such an organization involves the active interaction of winemakers, business partners, operators of the tourist market, local authorities, contributes to the strengthening of the regional brand of Don winemaking. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, it defines itself as an intimate part of cultural identity [11,32]. The creation of the "Dolina Dona" (Don Valley) tourism cluster in the Rostov Region in 2015 is an example of such an organization that supports and promotes the Don wine industry, connects with related industries, organizes and conducts exhibition events and festivals, and searches for investments. The coordinator of the territorial cluster "Don Valley" is the Department of the consumer market in the Rostov region, the specialized organization is the Don State Technical University. Social networks and tourist information centers can play an important role in the popularization of wine tourism, respectively, the Don wine industry [12,33]. 5. In this article, it was not possible to explicate the profile of the wine tourist, as well as to consider the limiting factors of interest in enotourism. The reason is the insufficient sample: only 33% of the respondents have ever taken part in a wine tour, 3% -in the Rostov region, 67% have no such experience. This is due, of course, to the fact that wine tourism in the Rostov region is at an early stage. 46% have never heard before that wine tourism is developing in the Rostov region. Meanwhile, 62% of the respondents expressed their intention to visit the Don wineries.
6. To create a profile of a wine tourist, it is important to take into account their attitude to objective and subjective distinctions. The objective ones include the level of the tourist route with the necessary signs on its route, the transport used (bus or river excursion), the quality of the wine product, and the developed infrastructure of the wine-growing territories [34]. The subjective ones include landscapes of grape fields, acquaintance with historical artifacts of winemaking development on the Don, Cossack recipes for making wine, Don cuisine, the beauty of the River Don, traditions -in other words, the atmosphere of the Don region. The organization of wine tourism should immediately take into account all the above aspects and position itself as an effective representative of sustainable tourism. According to the World Tourism Organization, sustainable tourism promotes the conservation of natural resources, respects the socio-cultural identity of the communities (in our case, the thousand-year history of winemaking development on the Don and the Cossack traditional identity) and ensures the preservation of economic activity in the long term.