Moldova Wine Tour

| Moldova Wine Tour |

The second part of the travelogue from Moldova is focused on grandiose and spectacular wineries that totally delighted me. Moldova is best known for its exceptionally high-quality wine of all types and varieties. I had the pleasure of visiting as many as three wineries, each of which is special in its own way and different.

 

 

Moldova Wine Tour: MIMI CASTEL

First, I’ll take you to Castel Mimi, a modern luxury winery of recent renovation date. I enjoyed the tour of spacious wine cellars, beautiful gardens and terraces, delicious lunch and tasting of top quality wine.

Constantine Mimi, a pioneer, passionate winemaker and significant public figure of the 20th century managed to build the first castle in Moldova. He started to produce excellent wines and raise standards by applying new technologies. Thanks to this great man, the Moldova’s wine industry was saved a couple of times, so today Moldova can be one of the leading wine producers in the whole world.

Castel Mimi today also has a small luxury hotel complex with an outdoor swimming pool, spa zone, restaurant, bars, playroom for children, conference hall, art gallery…

For more information, visit official Castel Mimi page here or its Instagram page here

It was a great honor for me to walk through the castle with the main man of this great project, Mr. Adrian Trofim, general director and founder of the “Konstantin Mimi” foundation. He informed me that the history of winemaking in Moldova began long before Constantine Mimi created Castel Mimi, almost 3000 years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moldova Wine Tour: CHATEAU VARTELY

The next winery I visited with a great pleasure is the Château Vartely winery.

The name Vartely originates from the name of the town Orhei that in Hungarian means ”place of the fortress” (vár + hely or fortress + place).

The brand Château Vartely was developed and launched in 2004. The slogan of the winery says: “Wine with love to you.”

Château Vartely combines the latest innovations in grapes cultivation and processing technology with its passion for producing wines of top quality.

In 2008 there had appeared a touristic complex, equipped with all the necessities for guests. All that space is situated only 50 kilometers from Chisinau city. The total area of Château Vartely vineland is 550 hectaresand the vintage grown within this area is being bottled annually in more than 4,5 million bottles.

My time flew by pleasantly while visiting the zones where the wine production process takes place, then the wine cellars and the spectacle with the play of light and sound effects. And, after the tour, I was greeted by a tasting of refined varieties of wine.

For more information click on their website here or Instagram page here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moldova Wine Tour: CRICOVA WINERY

And the third winery I’m taking you to, and at the same time the most impressive in terms of its grandiosity is the well-known Cricova Winery.

Cricova Winery is a pearl of the Moldova that represents an unique underground city well-known all over the world by its huge labyrinths, and especially by its excellent wines. Cricova is the first winery in Moldova which makes sparkling wine as it was prepared by the monk – wine maker Pierre Perignon. The technology “Méthode Traditionnelle” is a complex and thin process, consisting in secondary, in-bottle fermentation and the subconsequent maturation “cuvée”.

This spectacular winery includes 120 kilometers of labyrinthine roads located at levels from 30 to 100 meters underground. Tunnels have existed under Cricova since the 15th century, when limestone was quarried for the construction of Chisinau. In the 1950s, they were turned into a wine cellar. This huge place has its own special warehouses, wine tasting rooms and much more. It descends 100 meters below ground level and contains over a million bottles of rare wine. The oldest wine dates back to 1902. So impressive, isn’t it!?

For more information click on the Cricova website here or Instagram page here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the wine tour of Moldova.  So, I intrigued you to visit these magnificent wineries with world award-winning wines 🙂

If you missed the first part of the travelogue from Moldova, you can easily access it here