Traditions are a curious thing. This year felt like swimming in inertia and the status quo. Traditions, in their own way, shaped the rhythm of it all. At times, they were a weight of responsibility, holding back any changes, a barrier I couldn't quite cross. But more often, they offered a kind of sanctuary—a source of stability, a framework of meaning for everything around Barberry Garden.

At its heart, my work has always been about sharing wine with people. Yet, as I've said before, one of my deepest values is the connections we forge through shared stories. If I had to choose one treasure from this year, it wouldn't be a bottle or a moment—it would be the people. They're the ones who turned a wearing, almost featureless year into something alive, vibrant, and significant.

People come and go, but some connections grow into something greater than ourselves. Together, we create stories. Some are told and retold; others fade into obscurity. And then there are the stories so blurred by memory (and perhaps a little wine, right?) that we can no longer tell what was real. Yet, all these stories, like the artefacts we leave behind, stand as evidence of our existence. And there's something profoundly beautiful in that.

And so, we come to another tradition: the yearly reflection on our gatherings. This one's a long read, so pour yourself a glass of wine, settle in, and let's begin.

Events

… with an overview of the events. Unlike last year, I’ve decided not to split this report into two parts. Instead, I’ll include details about both the events hosted by Barberry Garden and those I attended as a guest in a single article. The main reason is that I have less to share about the latter this year, but also because it feels more insightful to view all the data side by side.

This year, we hosted 30 events. Had I not decided to move the ‘wrap-up’ event into next year, the total would have matched 2023 exactly. But let’s not dwell on minor differences—the numbers show that we were just as active this year as we were in 2023.

While the number of events I attended as a guest tends to fluctuate, the events we hosted at Barberry Garden have remained relatively stable, showing consistent activity throughout the months. Interestingly, the winter period stands out as the most active time for guest appearances, while our hosted events reveal a more personal rhythm—it’s easy to spot the months where I was likely tired or too busy to organise much.

And for the sake of completeness, here’s a full list of all the events from this year.

Hosted

• Tondonia blanco y amigos
• Rosso Oslavia
• Matassa '21 Uncorked
• Burgundy 101: Chablis, Côte Chalonnaise, et Mâcon
• Champagne Bag Vol. 2
• π-not
• Burgundy 102: Côte de Nuits
• Small Growers from Barbaresco
• Jacky Blot Uncorked
• Mixed Bag Vol. 11
• Domaine Labet Uncorked Vol. 1
• Burgundy 103: Côte de Beaune
• Il Pirata Vol. 4
• Jean-Pierre Robinot Uncorked Vol. 1
• Ca' di Mat Uncorked
• Mixed Bag Vol. 12
• Gravner Vertykalnyj
• Burgundy 201: Chambolle-Musigny
• Norm Wines Vol. 3
• Matassa Blanc Vertical
• Mixed Bag Vol. 13
• Flavien Nowack vs Huré Frères
• Opaque Tasting Vol. 3
• Gut Oggau Uncorked
• Stella di Campalto Vol. 1
• Vinul Moldovei Vol. 2
• Mixed Bag Vol. 14
• Champagne Bag Vol. 3
• Mixed Bag Vol. 15
• Classy Bubbles Vol. 4

Joined

• Elegance & Power: Sassicaia and Saffredi Through the Years
• La Grande Années
• Roasted Slopes
• Se Kwa Sa?
• The Master Francis Egly by Volodymyr Antonov
• Haunted Legends of Abruzzo by Vasyl Velykanskiy
• Frank Cornelissen by Ivan Omelchenko
• Fine & Rare Dinner Vol. 1 by Maksym Demchenko
• Johannes Zillinger Uncorked by Vasyl Velykanskiy
• François Chidaine Uncorked by Vasyl Velykanskiy
• Cascina delle Rose Unveiled by Vasyl Velykanskiy
• Barbacarlo by Vasyl and Alessio
• Fine & Rare Dinner Vol. 2 by Maksym Demchenko
• Tenuta Grillo by Vasyl Velykanskiy
• David Duband by Alessio
• Bramaterra and Friends by Alessio
• A Trickster's Barolo Tasting
• Burlotto by Alessio Alexeev
• Bruno Paillard: Collection Anciens Dégorgements P2
• Fine & Rare Dinner Vol. 3 by Maksym Demchenko
• Friuli by Alessio and Vasyl
• Gatta by Alessio

Participants

Measuring participation is a delicate task. At first glance, one might assume that sharing wine with as many people as possible is my ultimate goal. Yet the reality is far more nuanced. While I genuinely want everyone interested to join us, practical constraints such as limited capacity make this challenging. In fact, I deliberately aim to lower the maximum number of participants to create a more intimate setting where everyone has enough space—and enough wine. Balancing retention with attracting new participants remains a constant effort, though I’ll admit–I’m not entirely satisfied with the results just yet.

Participation Overview

This year, the number of unique participants matched last year’s, but the total number of participants—the sum of all attendees across all events—dropped slightly. This decline is easily explained: we generally hosted fewer people per event, as shown in the following plot. This was an intentional decision on my part. I find smaller gatherings more enjoyable and conducive to meaningful interactions.

As you can see, in 2024, we reduced the maximum number of participants per event. While most events in 2023 had 11–12 attendees (including me, since I do participate as well!), we managed to bring the average down slightly this year.

Cumulative Retention

Now, let’s talk about cumulative retention, a particularly important metric in my opinion. The following plot illustrates how many people attended a specific number of events. For instance, all 65 unique participants attended at least one event, which is, of course, expected. Of these, 38 attended at least two events, and so on.

In my book, cumulative retention is a critical indicator of community health. The pattern of decline (or stability) reveals a great deal:

• Slow Decline: Indicates a natural attrition rate as people move on due to changing interests or commitments. This is healthy if the decline is gentle.
• Steep Initial Drop, Then Flat: Suggests many try the community once but don’t return, often a sign of underlying issues.
• Flat Line: Shows a loyal core of regular attendees, which is positive, but if the group is too small, it can signal stagnation.
• Sporadic Drops: Variability in attendance may be linked to the appeal of specific events or external factors.

In our case, we see a slow decline, which I find healthy and encouraging.

Celebrating Active Participants

Highlighting the most active participants is always a joy. It’s fascinating to see how the top list evolves each year, and I like to honour their contributions with a token of appreciation. This year, just like in 2023, I’m giving presents to our top attendees: Dmytro and Elvira (more information can be found here).

Relation to Wix

Given my affiliation with Wix, it’s unsurprising that many participants are colleagues. However, over the past three years, we’ve seen a growing number of “outsiders” (non-Wix employees) joining our events. The graph below illustrates the distribution of unique participants by their association with Wix and gender.

Notably, Wix employees tend to return more frequently, as do male participants. Interestingly, former Wix employees join often enough to suggest—jokingly, of course—that they might consider a sabbatical back to Ukraine’s cradle of software engineering! This trend mirrors what we observed in 2023.

How Participants Sign Up

Half the seats for each event are typically reserved before the public announcement, while the other half are open to those following our Telegram channel. The following plot highlights the quick reflexes of our attendees. While I’m thrilled with how quickly the seats fill, I do worry about people missing out due to time constraints and capacity limits. I always remind–if an event appears sold out, simply letting me know of your interest can often lead to a solution.

This year, I had no trouble finding participants, with the sole exception of the Classy Bubbles event, where the last seat was filled after 420 minutes—a rare occurrence! For most events, the challenge lies in signing up quickly enough, which is why I keep emphasising the value of waitlists and direct communication.

And I am deeply grateful for all the interest. No event is possible without our dear attendees and their interesting in drinking tasting wine.

Ratings

While I fully understand that ratings—be it the list of top-rated wines and events or the highest QPRs—are the juiciest details many of you are eager to dive into, I feel compelled to offer a gentle reminder: ratings are highly subjective. Even though they’re based on scores from multiple people, they can’t fully capture the experience. After all, the joy of wine often extends beyond the glass itself.

Take, for example, our gathering dedicated to Gut Oggau. The wines, for the most part, were unremarkable, with a few standout exceptions. Yet, it remains one of my favourite events of the year. Why? Well, because we organised it by the lake, complete with an incredible picnic curated by Vasyl and Vadym. It’s a perfect example of how the context, the company, and the setting can elevate an experience far beyond the sum of its parts. So, while ratings can be a helpful guide, I urge you not to take them too seriously—we rarely drink bad wine these days, and that, in itself, is a blessing.

Updates on Ratings and QPR in 2024

Before we dive into the data, let me share a few updates regarding how we approached ratings and QPR (Quality-Price Ratio) this year.

A Shift in Average Ratings

For events hosted by Barberry Garden (and some of the events I joined), I’ve moved away from using RMS (Root Mean Square) for calculating average wine ratings. Instead, I now use a weighted average. The weights are based on participants’ experience in rating wines. As for the exact details? Well, let’s keep that a little secret. 😉

Evolving the QPR Formula

As promised, I’ve been experimenting with the QPR formula this year. I’ll share a detailed explanation in a separate post about site updates, but here’s the gist:

• The formula now emphasises that the leap in quality between a 4.5 and a 4.6 wine is significantly more expensive than between a 3.5 and a 3.6.
• I’ve aligned the calculation to reflect the price I’d be willing to pay for, say, a 4.0-rated wine.
• It now also accounts for bottle size.

If you’re curious about the exact formula, you can find it on my GitHub (hint: it's in Emacs Lisp). I’ve also made the results more user-friendly on the wine page by adding a small emoji to explain the QPR value:

• 🤢: Below 0.5
• 😐: Above 0.5
• 🤔: Above 0.8
• 😊: Above 1.0
• 😍: Above 1.5
• 💎: Above 2.0

In simple terms, anything 1.0 and above is considered a good QPR.

Events

With that preamble out of the way, let’s dive into the data and see what this year’s ratings reveal. To start, let’s take a look at the average ratings for all events organised by Barberry Garden.

Hosted

This year, we saw a welcome variety of hosts. Maksym facilitated five events, while Serhii and Andrii each hosted one. In the plots that follow, the legend highlights who facilitated each event, offering another layer of insight into the data.

What a roller coaster! Honestly, I didn’t plan the year this way—it’s nearly impossible to predict how wines will be perceived. While I often share wines I know well, we still experiment and explore new bottles. So I’m delighted that this year’s overall perceptions, when averaged into scores, are consistently positive. Moreover, both extremes (minimum and maximum scores) are significantly higher than in previous years, and the median score has risen by roughly 0.1—a meaningful increase in this context.

To make things clearer, here’s a plot showcasing the top 12 events of the year:

This plot makes it abundantly clear that Stella di Campalto operates in a league of its own. Just below it, we find a Champagne gathering (unsurprising if you take a closer look at the bottles), a tasting of white and rosé R. López de Heredia, and a vertical tasting of Gravner’s amber wines. Well, I am just reading the chart from top to bottom, so I won’t dwell on it further. Instead, let’s shift our focus to the QPR of these events. After all, it’s fun to see scores, but the real question is: where’s the sweet spot of value?

Comparing the QPR plot to the scores plot always amuses me. While there are some clear similarities, the differences can be striking—and sometimes humorous. I’m particularly pleased that the Stella di Campalto tasting has a high QPR. Few wines of such breathtaking quality are available at their asking price. It’s also heartwarming to see Moldovan wines perform so well in terms of QPR, reaffirming their value. On the other hand, Burgundy often struggles in this department, as this plot also illustrates.

Now, seeing the top 12 events sorted by QPR reveals an undeniable standout: López de Heredia! I’m thrilled we managed to dedicate a gathering to their wines without including even a single bottle of red.

Joined

Now, let’s flip the script and examine the events I joined this year. These were hosted by Alessio Alexeev, Anna Zinchuck, Ivan Omelchenko, Maksym Demchenko, Vasyl Velykanskiy, and Volodymyr Antonov. I’d love to participate in even more events—and the data below clearly shows why.

The first thing that jumps out is the significant variance between events. The second striking detail is the absurdly high scores some of these events achieved. Just look at how many exceed 4.3, 4.4, or even 4.5! And we’re talking about average event ratings! I can’t help but feel lucky—once we dive into specific bottles, you’ll likely agree even more.

Remember my earlier comments about Burgundy’s QPR struggles? Well, take a look at the top 12 events I joined. Fine & Rare Vol. 1 by Maksym Demchenko was focused on Burgundy, and its score is fully deserved. Maksym performed magic, bringing such fine and rare bottles to the table. I’m also delighted to see Burlotto standing so close, particularly given their more “Burgundian” style—it’s fascinating to compare the two.

Other highlights include Egly-Ouriet and Roasted Slopes. The latter was one of my biggest discoveries this year; I walked in with zero expectations and left utterly thrilled.

Unfortunately, calculating QPR for all the events I joined isn’t feasible—some events included wines where prices remain a mystery. Not being a fortune-teller, I excluded those events, but there’s still enough data to discuss.

As the QPR plot shows, the events I join often have lower value compared to the ones we host. In some cases, this makes sense; in others, it doesn’t. However, two hosts deserve special recognition: Alessio Alexeev and Vasyl Velykanskiy. Few people can organise tastings that are not only profoundly delicious and interesting but also incredibly affordable. Sharing exceptional, unique wines without sky-high price tags is a rare and precious quality.

On the flip side, some wines are simply expensive, and there’s no way around it. Take another look at Fine & Rare Vol. 1 and Burlotto through the lens of QPR—you’ll see what I mean. To be clear, I’m not criticising any hosts for their QPR scores. I know exactly what I’m signing up for, and I vote with my wallet to support the people whose event organisation I admire.

This plot speaks for itself. Burlotto stands in a league of its own, even if it doesn’t match the “textbook Barolo” profile—and I couldn’t care less!

Combined

Now that we’ve explored the data for hosted and joined events separately, wouldn’t it be nice to combine them? Rather than a line plot of all 60+ events (which looks too overwhelming and not helpful at all), let’s focus on the top 20 events based on average score and QPR. That should give us a clearer picture, don’t you think?

As you can see, the top events I joined are beautifully sandwiched between Stella di Campalto and other events we hosted. Am I disappointed that so many of our events rank lower? Not at all! Every single event brought its own joy and unique experiences. Many of the tastings I attended would be nearly impossible to recreate for various reasons, making them all the more special. These moments serve as a guiding star—a source of inspiration and delight.

And What About QPR? If you recall, I claimed that Barberry Garden generally excels in QPR, and I also praised Alessio and Vasyl for their outstanding value-driven events. So, how do these claims stack up against the data? Let’s take a look.

The data supports the claims! However, to be completely transparent, I need to point out an important nuance: the QPR of an event only considers the price of the wines, not the participation fee. In other words, event QPR reflects the quality of wine selection rather than the organisers’ pricing policies. Of course, anyone can crunch the numbers to see how each organiser operates, but evaluating wine selection is a more complex task—one that this analysis simplifies beautifully.

As expected, the plot above holds few surprises. If there’s one standout worth highlighting, it’s Buronfosse. It delivered incredible value, and I changed my opinion about the producer thanks to Ivan Omelchenko.

Wines

Let’s dive into what is arguably the most exciting part of this report: the top wines of the year. The first plot below showcases the top 40 wines from the events we hosted. To keep things concise and avoid redundancy, I’ve included only the highest average rating for wines that made repeat appearances throughout the year. This ensures the rankings reflect the best of the best from our tasting.

Unsurprisingly, given the highest-rated event of the year, the top three bottles follow a similar trend. However, it’s fascinating that Bérêche & Fils Ludes 1er Cru Les Beaux Regards 2018 managed to break through, surpassing even the youngest Rosso di Montalcino by Stella di Campalto.

While you can read the names yourself, I want to highlight the diversity represented here. I’m especially pleased to see wines I personally sourced from European shops—wines not available in Ukraine at the time, such as Dehours & Fils, Jean-Pierre Robinot (not yet imported when we had the event), and Marco De Bartoli’s dry Marsala. These aren’t large numbers, but it’s a nice start, particularly when you consider we’re talking about wines rated above 4.3!

Now let’s switch gears and look at the top wines from events I attended as a guest.

This list reads like fantasy fiction! Just seeing these wines reminds me how incredibly lucky I was in 2024 to taste so many extraordinary bottles.

It’s clear that the wines from these events reached unprecedented scores, but I’m still curious: what does the combined list of top 40 wines look like?

The combined list, however, is less thrilling. In that case, let’s focus on QPR instead! First, here are the top wines from the events we hosted, ranked by QPR:

Several gems stand out with QPR above 2.0. Stella di Campalto Rosso di Montalcino 2013 is very close to that threshold, and it’s no wonder I ordered another bottle—though it’s a bit more expensive now! I’m pleasantly surprised to see DiWinety here, and I wholeheartedly agree it deserves the spot. It’s also great to see Ca’ di Mat, as we managed to order a few bottles directly from the producer after they stopped being imported to Ukraine.

Now let’s explore the QPR of wines from events I joined as a participant:

This list feels like a shopping list! Seriously, so many excellent values at incredible prices. Now I can’t help but wonder what the combined top QPR list looks like.

This is yet another confirmation that at Barberry Garden, we’re adept at squeezing the wine market for the best deals—at least compared to the events I attend. The one disappointment? The combined list doesn’t include Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo 2019, which I consider an absolute gem.

Practical Recommendations: Wines You Can Still Buy

Having these lists is great, but I imagine you’d appreciate something more actionable. After all, while it’s fantastic that we managed to taste unique wines that spent years in private cellars, what about wines you can purchase today?

Here’s a list of the top 20 wines still available in Ukraine, ranked by average score. If you’re looking for something not currently on the market, let me know—perhaps I can help. For instance, I occasionally order directly from Stella di Campalto and various European shops.

Now let’s see the top wines still available by QPR:

Compiling this list wasn’t the most enjoyable task, but I hope you find it useful. You might not have noticed, but I included a few extra entries to remind you about bottles from Jacky Blot, Matassa, and La Palazzina.

What saddens me about this exercise is how many exceptional wines had to be excluded. It turns out that many of the extraordinary wines we tasted this year—whether at Barberry Garden events or those I attended—are either no longer available or were never widely accessible.

That’s one more reason to attend wine tastings. Right?

Welcome drink

People rarely arrive exactly on time (they are not wizards after all). Some show up late, others arrive early. To reward those who manage to come on time—or even a bit ahead of schedule—and to help everyone prepare their palates, we usually offer a welcome drink. While we don’t always rate these wines, sometimes we do, and that means I can share some interesting data with you.

As you can see, most of our welcome drinks are sparkling wines. However, we’ve also included a few still white wines—Jacky Blot, as you can see, takes the lead—and even the occasional red! You know me: after seeing the ratings, I naturally want to check out the QPR. So here it is:

Geography

Now that we’ve navigated the intricate landscape of wine ratings, let’s shift our focus to the geographical journey of our tastings. It’s time to explore the regions that have graced our glasses and map out the wide-ranging terroirs we’ve traversed.

Events We Hosted

This year, we explored wines from 18 countries—a slight drop compared to 22 in 2023, 19 in 2022, and an increase from 14 in 2021. Interestingly, we shifted our focus from Italy, last year’s most frequently featured country, to France, which claimed the spotlight in 2024.

Some might say I’ve been a bit lazy this year, and honestly, they’re not wrong! But in my defence, we did visit Japan—how cool is that? The stacked bars give us a vivid picture of the diversity, but to truly appreciate the scope, let’s zoom out and see the global spread of our wine world.

Ooops, let's zoom in.

Events I Joined

Now, let’s see how this compares to the events I attended as a guest.

Here, Italy and France dominate the scene, walking hand in hand (though, please, don’t quote me on that to any French or Italian friends). It’s also evident that Champagne, as a single region, towers above others that are more divided—a fun observation!

And when I say I’ve been lazy this year, remember: 18 countries from the events we hosted still beat the mere 5 featured in events I joined. So, not too bad after all.

To complete the picture, let’s take a look at the maps:

Not so lively, isn't it?

Grapes

And the trend of laziness continues! This year, we explored an impressive 97 distinct grape varieties—a slight drop from 112 last year, yet still a significant leap from 73 in 2022 and 42 in 2021. While I wasn’t actively hunting for unusual grapes, the final tally is astonishing in hindsight.

Now, let’s delve into the full list of grape varieties, along with how frequently they appeared in our glasses. We’ll start with the events we hosted.

Grapes at Hosted Events

Last year, I made an effort to ensure that Chardonnay and Pinot Noir didn’t dominate (obviously, I failed to achieve that goal), but this year, I chose to let things unfold naturally—especially knowing we had some deep-dive tastings dedicated to Burgundy. And, honestly, who can say no to Champagne?

The results are fascinating: Macabeo follows Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the list! While Chenin Blanc was expected, seeing Macabeo rank so high was quite a surprise.

Interestingly, Sicilian grapes had a much smaller representation this year. After several years of indulging my love for Sicily, I took a small break—though I hope you didn’t miss them too much! At the bottom of the list, you’ll find quite a few grapes we tasted for the first time together, which is always an exciting experience.

Grapes at Joined Events

And when it comes to the events I attended, the numbers tell a very different story: just 46 grape varieties compared to 97! As expected, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay dominate this list as well, but Nebbiolo and Syrah are notable standouts.

I’m delighted to see some rare grape varieties here, proving that even as a participant, there’s always something new to learn and enjoy.

Venues

As mentioned earlier, Barberry Garden’s roots are firmly planted in the Wix Kyiv Office, so it’s no surprise that we gather there so frequently. However, I’m always looking for opportunities to mix things up and explore new settings. While I can’t make any promises, I’ll do my best to organise even more events outside the office in the future.

This year, I’m particularly happy about the two picnics we managed to host—one near Lo Bar and another in Sovska Balka. It’s a delightful trend, and I hope to keep it going!

Wine O’Clock

It’s not a widely known event—at least outside of Wix—but together with Juli Shcherba, we host a recurring event called Wine O’Clock. This 90-minute gathering brings together 20+ people to taste two different wines while I regale the audience with my (admittedly) boring stories and embarrassingly bad jokes. For those who stick around a bit longer, we often open bonus bottles, but let’s keep that as our little secret.

This year, we managed to hold five Wine O’Clock events. While the number feels disappointingly low, I’m planning to organise at least six next year and start collecting some data to share with you all.

Charity Events

One of the highlights of 2024 has been our charity wine tastings, an initiative I am fully committed to continuing in the coming year. Through six events, we successfully raised 351,615 UAH! Given the limited opportunities for these tastings, I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved. Below is the distribution of funds raised across the different events:

Most of the funds came from ticket sales (100% of which went to charity), but additional contributions came from activities during the events (including penalties), bonus bottles, and the generosity of attendees and readers who wanted to support the cause.

The money was distributed to two incredible individuals who are making a tangible difference on the front lines:

• 87,400 UAH to Yurii Tkachenko, who runs the DRS Foundation supporting our employees on the front lines.
• 264,215 UAH to Oleksandr Riabtsev, who crafts and tests FPVs before sending them to the front lines.

This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Juli Shcherba, Andrii Sierkov, Julie Bereza, and Elvira Kantiieva—thank you for everything.

How Things Work

Before diving into more interesting stats, let me explain how these charity events work. When an event is charitable, every penny (kopiyka) you send to a special account goes directly to the charity. This includes the participation fee, food costs, and any extra contributions you make.

For example, if you participate in a charity event for 5,000 UAH and order extra food for 500 UAH, the whole 5,500 UAH is donated to charity. Simple as that. While I always encourage additional donations, I understand it’s not always feasible. To ensure the events make a meaningful impact, I deliberately set the participation fee significantly higher, aiming to collect at least 1.5x the event’s organisational costs—otherwise, there wouldn’t be much point.

In the case of Mixed Bag Vol. 15, calculating expenses was impossible. Several people generously donated bottles, and for some, the original or current cost of those bottles is unclear.

Spend vs Raised

Let’s take a look at the ratio of money spent versus money raised:

As you can see, we started modestly, with only a 1.27x increase between funds raised and spent. However, we steadily improved, surpassing a 2.1x multiplier in many cases, and even hitting 3.36x once! I’ve excluded Mixed Bag Vol. 15 from this analysis, as explained earlier, to keep things fair.

Donation Insights

What fascinates me is how much we raised with just 24 unique participants. The average donation per person was 12,730 UAH, which is impressive—but keep in mind, this figure is spread across multiple events.

When we ignore participant uniqueness and count every instance of participation, the total rises to 64 participants, bringing the average donation per participant to 4,973 UAH. That might not seem like much, but look how these contributions add up!

Some attendees donated more than I asked (participation fee + food costs), and among those who rounded up to the nearest 100 UAH, we had 39 participants (non-unique) who donated extra. The average additional donation from these individuals was 1,305 UAH, which far exceeded my expectations. People truly stepped up!

Non-Participant Donations

You might have noticed that the average donation per person doesn’t perfectly align with the total sum raised (351,615 UAH divided by 24 isn’t 12,730 UAH). That’s because I also shared the donation link publicly after the event, allowing others to contribute.

Participants donated 318,248 UAH (90.51%), while non-participants added another 33,367 UAH (9.49%). This is incredible! The average donation from non-participants was 835 UAH, with many giving over 2,000 UAH. I won’t share the minimum or maximum amounts because this isn’t about shaming or praising individuals—every contribution matters. There’s no such thing as a "small" donation. You all did wonderfully!

A Fun Side Note

There’s an ongoing joke that I let people change their wine scores for a 500 UAH donation. While this is technically true, these donations are not included in the stats.

Future Plans

Reflecting on 2024, I’m pleased to say that Barberry Garden is evolving in alignment with the vision I had a year ago. While progress may feel slower than I’d hoped, it’s progress nonetheless. We’ve continued to organise events, experimented with venues, and even collaborated with others to enhance the experience.

What’s next? Keep going! I have plenty of ideas, and all I need is time and energy to bring them to life. Your support keeps me inspired and motivated, so please don’t stop!

Acknowledgements

As this report comes to an end, I want to take a moment to reflect on the people who make Barberry Garden possible. Nothing meaningful can exist without the dedication and effort of those behind it. Here are just a few of the individuals and groups whose contributions made 2024 a remarkable year:

• Our defenders: Without you, none of this would be possible.
• Yurii Tkachenko: For running DRSF and generously donating bottles for our charity efforts.
• Oleksandr Riabtsev: For your invaluable work crafting and testing FPVs for our defenders.
• Juli Shcherba: For your unwavering support, ideas, and help in making so much of this happen.
• Olena Hrynyuk: For operational help.
• Our office team: For organising our space to make wine tastings possible.
• Andrii Sierkov, Juli Bereza, and Elvira Kantiieva: For donating bottles that made some charity events possible.
• Serhii Knocker: For helping source exclusive bottles from Europe, sharing ideas, and supporting facilitation and organisation.
• Maksym Demchenko: For your patience, support, incredible wine selections, facilitation and unforgettable evenings.
• Vasyl Velykanskiy: For revolutionising my wine life, hosting us at the best wine bar in Kyiv, and being an endless source of inspiration and incredible wines.
• Anastasiia Povzyk, Mykola Chobanu, Ivan Omelchenko, and Mikhail Stefanyuk: For helping secure exclusive wines.
• Viacheslav Miroshko: For being an unexpected courier of precious bottles.
• Oleksandr Kylinskyi: For helping secure and transport some of the most exclusive wines.
• The teams at Garage, Lo, 101 Bar, and Pantagruel: For your exceptional hospitality and memorable venues.
• Every participant: For your unwavering enthusiasm and support.
• Every reader: For making the effort to engage with this site, making it all worthwhile.

If I’ve inadvertently missed anyone, please know that my gratitude extends to you as well. This journey is a testament to our collective effort and the passion we share for wine, stories, and community.

Here’s to another year of incredible wine, meaningful connections, and cherished traditions. See you in 2025—cheers!