The biggest surprises of the Russian enological scene come from the wine bars, starting from the new openings that we noticed both in St. Petersburg and in Moscow. Focus is largely on a well-articulated mix, with much lower markups than years ago and a great deal of attention, here too, for natural wines and small productions. In short, a change of taste and attention, that's rather clear. Awarded as Best Wine Bar in St. Petersburg, Vinny Shkaf offers over 40 wines by the glass and a wine list full of artisanal productions from the Old World. In Moscow the Contadi Castaldi Wine Bar prize goes to Big Wine Freaks, opened only 12 months ago. A bohemian environment, a young team and a wine list full of unfiltered wines, organic producers, orange wine section, a lot of Italy and France. Here too a very curious and passionate authorial mix.