Grapevine

Moldova has the densest vineyard planting in Europe, and the underground cellars of Mileștii Mici hold the largest wine collection in the world.

A climber that clings to supports with tendrils, with lobed leaves and small, fragrant flowers borne in panicles. The fruits are berries in bunches – white, pink or dark blue – rich in sugars and acids. A vine lives and bears fruit for several decades, and pruning every winter regulates its yield. Cultivated for about 8,000 years, the species has thousands of varieties; in Moldova, alongside international ones such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, the local Fetească Neagră, Fetească Albă and Rară Neagră are grown.

Significance in the country

Wine is a source of pride and an important branch of Moldova’s economy: the underground wine cities of Cricova and Mileștii Mici have hundreds of kilometres of tunnels, and the collection of the latter is in the Guinness Book of Records. Legend has it that storks saved the besieged fortress of Prince Stephen the Great by bringing bunches of grapes to its defenders – hence the stork in the logo of Moldovan wine.

Where it grows

Vines are grown almost throughout the country, most of all in the historical wine regions of Codru in the centre, Valul lui Traian in the south-west and Ștefan Vodă in the south-east; far fewer in the cooler north.

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