Features of the Communication Promotion of the Massandra Winery: A Comparative Analysis in the Context of the Global Dessert and Fortified Wine Market

The subject of this study is the communication promotion strategies of Russia’s largest producer of dessert and fortified wines – the Massandra Winery (Crimea) – examined in historical perspective and compared with leading global producers in this category. The author analyzes in detail the evolution of the winery’s communication practices across four institutional periods – the Imperial, Soviet, Ukrainian, and Russian eras – as well as the tools employed in its contemporary media communications, including auction marketing, event marketing and wine tourism, digital channels and social media marketing (SMM), heritage branding, and image-building policies. Particular attention is paid to the brand’s symbolic capital, its historical narrative, and its enduring semiotic codes. The study examines Massandra’s position within the global landscape of sweet and fortified wines (Port, Sherry, Tokaji, and Sauternes) and identifies communication gaps between the winery’s rich historical content and the extent of its digital representation. Special consideration is given to the transformation of the Russian wine market during 2023–2025 and its impact on the company’s communication policy. The methodology combines the historical-genetic method, comparative case-study analysis (comparing Massandra with Port, Sherry, Tokaji, and Sauternes), content analysis of the winery’s official digital channels, and the typologization of the brand’s semiotic codes. The theoretical framework is based on the concept of brand authenticity. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that Massandra’s communication promotion, previously examined primarily from historical and managerial perspectives, is for the first time analyzed as an integrated system of media communications and placed within an international comparative context. The study demonstrates that the winery possesses unique symbolic capital comparable to that of Port or Sherry; however, it utilizes this capital unevenly. Traditional communication tools (wine tourism, auctions, tastings, and event marketing) outperform digital and social media channels in terms of effectiveness. The research identifies a structural gap between the winery’s exceptionally rich historical content and its digital representation, as well as the absence of a systematic strategy for engaging younger audiences. It concludes that the structural changes in the Russian wine market during 2023–2025 have created a protected domestic environment for Massandra. Nevertheless, sustainable brand leadership requires a transition from situational digital presence to a comprehensive communication strategy that synthesizes an authentic historical narrative with contemporary media communication tools.