Moldova wine history: from 3000 BC to the PGI era

The first vines

According to the National Office for Vine and Wine (ONVV), winemaking in these lands began around 3000 BC, and the first traces of grapevines date back to around 7000 BC; ONVV adds that even the map of today’s Republic of Moldova is shaped like a bunch of grapes. The IWSC judges writing in Club Oenologique also date vine-growing here back to around 3000 BC.

A supplier to the east

Club Oenologique notes that in the early 20th century Moldova was one of Russia’s most important sources of wine, and that war, and later import bans imposed by Moscow, did the industry great harm. Historically, wine was made in nearly every Moldovan household (The Drinks Business).

The underground cellars

Moldova’s best-known landmarks are its cellars, set in former limestone quarries with more than 200 km of tunnels. Cricova was founded in 1952; it is Moldova’s largest sparkling-wine producer and keeps the national wine collection, whose oldest bottle, Easter Jerusalem, was made in a single batch in 1902. Mileștii Mici holds the Guinness World Record for the largest wine collection, more than 1.5 million bottles (ONVV).

Our cellar at Răzeni

Our own history runs alongside. According to the family’s records, the brick-vaulted cellar at Răzeni dates from 1875 and is still used to age wine. The family’s heritage records also say that in 1878 the landowner who built the estate planted about 80 ha of European vines where only local varieties had grown, that by the mid-1880s the wine factory pressed 2,000–3,000 tonnes of grapes a year, and that in 1945 the estate was nationalised as the state wine sovhoz “Răzeni”, with the cellar and vineyards kept. Doina Vin was registered on 20 December 1993. More in Our story.

From volume to quality

Since 2013 Moldova has had a quality system based on the EU model of protected geographical indications, built around three traditional vine-growing areas, Codru, Ștefan Vodă and Valul lui Traian, plus Divin for wine brandy; the National Office for Vine and Wine was set up the same year. In 2024 the vineyards planted for PGI wines reached 7,843.3 hectares, with 73 PGI-certified producers (ONVV). The industry describes the change as a shift “from a focus on volume to quality, terroir expression, and international recognition” (The Drinks Business), and National Wine Day, set up by Parliament in 2002, reached its 25th edition in 2026 (Moldova Live).

Exports remain the backbone: in 2024 Moldova exported 144 million litres of wine products worth USD 234.7 million to 73 countries (ONVV data via Wine Intelligence); in 2025, 117 million litres worth USD 212 million, a value still 23% above the ten-year average (Logos Press).

See it for yourself

Our cellar at Răzeni is about 30 km from Chișinău, in the Codru region. Tours run Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–19:00, by advance booking.

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