Volzhenka Caviar - The wild caviar taste of Astrakhan

THE PROCESS

Our farm was originally founded in 1996 in Astrakhan, Russia – the ‘City of Caviar’ – as a centre for sturgeon breeding and preservation. We produce our caviar using a unique sustainable process, developed through decades of research.

After a pact was signed to stop sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea, a team of scientists gathered at our farm, where they began to develop a technique called milking.This unique process allows us to produce part of our caviar without killing the sturgeon.

Every sturgeon in our stock is a ‘clean breed’ that started life in the open waters of the Caspian Sea (right up to our oldest Beluga, who is a dignified 62 years of age!). We are careful to replicate their natural habitat as closely as possible, meaning that our sturgeon live in free-flowing water basins, eat only natural fodder, and are never subject to cross-breeding or artificial hormones.

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"The biggest farms were then run, under the Soviet Union, using fish caught in the wild – which is now a forbidden process – ensuring a unique level of quality."

EKATERINA BATAEVA

TRADITION

Our business is environmentally mindful at every stage. Each sturgeon in our 350-tonne stock is registered with a passport and individual identifying number, then registered with the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography. From there, we closely monitor everything from the quality of our water to the logistics of our distribution. Our packaging is made entirely from sustainable and recyclable materials – although we hope you’ll wish to reuse our beautiful tins once you’ve enjoyed the caviar inside.

SUSTAINABILTY

In the spirit of our founding mission, our charity fund Beluga was established in 2008. Its goal is to preserve the sturgeon species and raise awareness of this special creature among future generations. Every year, we organise educational lectures and offer workshops to all those who wish to learn more about the rich culture and history of caviar production in Astrakhan. On Children’s Day – June 1st – local children are invited to help as we honour our commitment to release 5% of our sturgeon juveniles back into the wild.

When caviar exports from Russia to the EU were forbidden in 2007, we decided to bring decades of Astrakhan tradition and expertise directly to Europe. Our farms in Italy and Greece replicate the conditions at our mother farm, using techniques and sturgeons sourced from our home in the Volga Delta. Production is conducted under the strict supervision of experts from our Astrakhan farm, allowing us to bring the taste of truly authentic Volzhenka caviar to the world.