Moldova has a well-established wine industry. With a production of around 2 million hectolitres of wine (as of 2018), it is the 11th largest European wine-producing country.[1] Moldova has a vineyard area of 148500ha of which are used for commercial production.[2] The remaining are vineyards planted in villages around the houses used to make home-made wine. Many families have their own recipes and strands of grapes that have been passed down through the generations. There are 3 historical wine regions: Valul lui Traian (south west), Stefan Voda (south east) and Codru (center), destined for the production of wines with protected geographic indication.[3]
In 2022 the majority of wines are exported, being sent to 75 countries, with 60% of wine produced being exported to European Union countries.
Fossils of Vitis teutonica vine leaves near the Naslavcia village in the north of Moldova indicate that grapes grew here approximately 6 to 25 million years ago. The size of grape seed imprints found near the Varvarovca village, which date back to 2800 BC, prove that grapes were already being cultivated at that time. The grapegrowing and wine-making in the area between the Nistru and Prut rivers, which began 4000–5000 years ago, had periods of rises and falls but has survived through changing social and economic conditions.[4]
By the end of the 3rd century BC, trading links were established between the local population and the Greeks and from 107 AD with the Romans, a fact which strongly influenced the intense development of the grape-growing and wine-making.[4]
After the formation of the Moldavian feudal state in the 14th century, grape-growing began to develop and flourished in the 15th century during the kingdom of Stephen the Great, who promoted the import of high quality varieties and the improvement of the quality of wine, which was one of the chief exports of Moldova throughout the medieval period, especially to Poland, Ukraine and Russia.[4]
After the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812, when the region became a province of the Russian Empire, the wine industry flourished again. The main varieties were the traditional ones: Rară Neagră, Plavai, Galbena, Zghiharda, Batuta Neagră, Fetească Albă, Fetească Neagră, Tămâioasa, Cabasia and many other local, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Greek, and Turkish varieties. In this period, the grape growers gained governmental support, and by 1837 the vineyard area in Bessarabia reached 14,000 hectares, with wine production of 12 million litres.The second half of the 19th century saw an intensive planting of newly introduced French varieties, such as Pinot blanc, Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Aligote, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon blanc, Gamay, Muscat blanc. It was at this time that wines like Negru de Purcari and Romanesti, which have made Moldova famous as a fine wine producer, began to be produced.[4]
After the phylloxera damage at the end of the 19th century, it was only in 1906 that the vineyards began to recover with grafted planting material. By 1914, Bessarabia had the biggest vineyard area in the Russian Empire.[4]
Both World Wars damaged Moldolvan vineyards and the wine industry. The re-establishment of Moldavian vineyards began in the 1950s, during Soviet rule. Over 150,000 hectares were planted in 10 years, and by 1960 the total vineyard area had reached 220,000 hectares.[4] In the 1980's Russia was suffering from alcoholism and ordered the destruction of vineyards; between 1985 and 1987, 30% were destroyed.[4]
In 2006, a diplomatic conflict with Russia resulted in the 2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines, damaging Moldova's wine industry as Russia had been the largest importer (80%) of Moldovan wines. The ban lasted 2 years.[4] A fresh ban was imposed in September 2013, as a result of Moldova's announcement of plans to sign a draft association treaty with the European Union; this ban was less effective, as Moldova had sought alternative export markets in the intervening years and was producing better quality wines.[5] [6]
The national brand "Wine of Moldova" was created in 2013 by the newly created National Office of Vine and Wine, whose main objective was the promotion of quality Moldovan wine abroad.[7]
In 2022, Moldova was exporting wines from 260 wineries to 75 countries, with 60% of the wine produced being exported to European Union countries.[8]
In Moldova four regions for wine growing are to be found:
The most important region - the Southern area - is suitable for red sweet and semi-sweet wines. White wines have a high content of alcohol. Micro-regions like Taraclia, Ciumai, Comrat, Ceadir-Lunga, Baurci, Cazaiac, Tomai, Cimislia etc. are also in the southern region.
Moldovan viticulture is characterized by a large variety of grapes:[9]
| Varieties | Share | |
| White | 70% | |
| Red | 24% | |
| Table | 6% |
| Types | Share | |
| European | 70% | |
| Domestic | 16% | |
| Caucasian | 14% |
Only a few local varieties can still be found in Moldova today:
Indigenous white variety;
White variety, a natural cross between Fetească albă and Furmint;
Red variety traditionally used mostly for blending with other varieties, e.g. the famous Negru de Purcari. Responsible for the fame of the Purcari wines in the 18th century, before Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced. Total area planted - 170 hectares mostly in the Purcari region;
Red grape variety;
White variety, popular in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. This variety is now rare;
white aromatic variety.
White varieties: Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Aligoté, Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Riesling, Traminer, Muscat, Silvaner, Müller-Thurgau, Rkatsiteli.
Red varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot noir, Malbec, Saperavi, Gamay.
Recently: Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Carignan, Montepulciano, Sémillon, Ugni blanc, and Tempranillo were conditionally registered for trial.
Divin - represents the name, patented in the Republic of Moldova, of the country's brandy, produced in conformity with the classic technology of cognac production.
The Moldovan wine collection "Mileștii Mici", with 1.5 million bottles, is the largest wine collection in the world, according to the Guinness Book. It stretches for 200 km and has a relative humidity of 85-95% and a constant temperature of 12-14 °C.[10]
The Cricova winery also has an extensive network of tunnels that stretch for 120 km.
The Moldova Wine Guild is a non-profit association established in August 2007 by several of Moldova's leading private wineries, i.e. Acorex Wine Holding, Vinaria Bostavan, Chateau Vartely, DK-Intertrade, Carlevana, Lion-Gri, and Vinaria Purcari.[11] The member wineries are united by their desire to raise Moldova's profile as a major European wine producing country. To accomplish this goal, the members work together to promote their wines on the international market through joint marketing initiatives and to educate the international wine trade and press about Moldova.