Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is situated in the South-East of Europe, landlocked between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East, and South.

Vines have been cultivated in the area as far back as 3000 BC, while commercial wine production started in 19th century, with intense planting of French grape varieties.

The country enjoys a moderately-continental climate. It has rolling hills, sunny plateaus and plains, is crossed by many streams which flow into the two big rivers, Prut and Nistru.

The geographic position by the Black Sea, between the 46th– 47th parallels North (same latitude as French Bordeaux and Northern Italy), ensures a set of conditions perfectly suited for grape growing: cool winters and warm summers, with moderate rainfall and temperatures, neither reaching extremes that could damage vines or reduce fruit quality.

For comparable quality with French wines, production costs in Moldova are up to 50%-60% lower

Moldova accounts for ~2.5% of world’s vine plantations (comparable to Chile or Australia) – about 277 thousand acres of commercial vineyards.

Over 30 grape varieties are cultivated in 4 historical wine regions: Valul lui Traian (South West), Stefan Voda (South East), Codru (Center), and Balti (North) – the first three of which are designed for the production of wines with Protected Geographic Indication.

Production of wine in Moldova has recently reached 37 million gallons per year, with roughly 40% Reds to 60% White wines. Quality reds are produced mostly in the Southern regions and whites – mainly in the Central part of the country.