The Republic of Moldova is a paradise for lovers of wine, which locals call the sacred drink. Despite being a small country – it does not reach 34,000 square kilometers – it holds the record for the highest density of vineyards per capita and is among the top 20 wine producers worldwide. Even the shape of its borders is reminiscent of a bunch of grapes.
Moldova’s great tourism potential is based on beautiful landscapes, monuments of great historical value and, of course, wine tourism. There are 40 wineries throughout the country and 28 of them are part of the Iter Vitis route of the Council of Europe, an initiative designed to publicize the value of the wine industry throughout the continent.
The Milestii Mici winery is probably the most notable in the Moldovan catalogue. Founded in 1969, its limestone tunnels extend more than 200 kilometers built between 35 and 85 meters underground, housing the largest collection of wines in the world, two million bottles, which they call The Golden Collection and which is made with harvests as old as the winery itself.
Visitors to Milestii Mici can travel the 55 kilometers dedicated to bottle storage by electric train, car, bicycle or on foot and taste some of its delicious wines accompanied by typical dishes of Moldovan cuisine.
In order not to get lost in the cold galleries of the Milestii Mici – all of which are around 13 degrees throughout the year – at the beginning of the visit each visitor is given a map of the winery, where each street is named after a variety of wine. : Cabernet, Aligote, Feteasca…
The tunnels are illuminated with streetlights as if it were an underground city, and the immense oak barrels that occupy them store between 6,000 and 20,000 liters of wine. If at the end of the itinerary you have a reservation for a tasting menu, you arrive at the beautiful dining rooms with walls made of seashells and decorated with stained glass windows in warm colors. All the tours offered by Milestii Mici include, of course, a bottle of wine as a gift.
At the beginning of this article we talked about the initiative of the European Council to publicize the wine culture of the producing countries. One of them is the Republic of Moldova, which since 2020 has brought travelers closer to its historical heritage through wine-growing tradition.
The Moldova Wine Route has 150 kilometers of itinerary that crosses the country and offers the possibility of meeting some of its best producers in the four historical regions of the wine industry: Codru, Valul lui Traian, Stefan Voda and Divin.
By bike or on foot through the center of Chisinau, the Moldovan capital; themed and adapted to the variety of sacred drink we want to taste or focused on disconnection and relaxation as the main objectives. There are countless options to discover the more than 128,000 hectares of vineyards that cover Moldova and that give a unique identity and personality to the country.
The variety of wine tourism destinations allows you to visit the great Moldovan historical monuments, such as the medieval castles of Soroca or Tighina or the nature reserve of Orheiul Vechi, which is waiting to be recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO. The Moldovan monasteries are also a tourist attraction of great beauty: Noul Neamt, Capriana, Curchi or Saharna, which stand out for their colorful facades and richly decorated bell towers.
