Winemaking in the territory of Moldova began 4,000 to 5,000 years ago when the Dacian people discovered how to make wine from vine. Winemaking intensified when Greek settlers, who arrived on the Black Sea coast by end of the 3rd century BC, brought with them their own winemaking traditions and shared them with the locals. Under the prosperous times of Roman Empire rule around 100 A.D., winemaking intensified.

 

With the formation of the Moldavian feudal state in the 14th century, winegrowing began to develop more rapidly. It flourished in the 15th century during the rule of Stephen the Great, who promoted the import of high quality varieties and the improvement of wine quality by creating the state position of Paharnic (cup bearer, person responsible for the beverage of the sovereign) whose task was to oversee the vineyards and winemakers to ensure high quality of wine production. It ensured an additional impulse to the development of winemaking industry through the expansion of areas for winegrowing, improving technologies and building household cellars for wine storage.

 

In the early 16th century, the territory came under the control of the Ottoman Empire, which forbade winemaking. Thus, during the 300 years that followed, winemaking suffered major declines.

 

However, wine's fortune was reborn after the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812 when the region became a province of the Russian Empire. Russian nobility constructed wineries in Bessarabia (present day Moldova) including Hincesti winery established by Armenian Duke Manuk-Bei and the Romanesti winery which can be traced back to the purchase of land to establish a winery by the Romanovs, the Royal family of Russia. During this century, the Russian Orthodox Church played an important role in the growth of the local wine industry as wine was often used in religious rituals by monasteries and churches of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

 

The main grape varieties were the traditional ones: Rara Neagra, Plavai, Galbena, Zghiharda, Feteasca Alba, Fetească Neagra, and Tamaioasa. In this period, the vineyard area in Bessarabia reached 35,000 acres, and the wine production reached 10 million litres, making Bessarabia the number one wine producer in the Russian Empire. The second half of the 19th century saw an intensive planting of newly introduced French varieties, such as Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Aligote, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc.

 

The First and Second World Wars took their toll on the region's vineyards; many were damaged and winemaking suffered. Thanks to a major replanting effort following WWII, by 1960 the total cultivated vineyard area had reached 545,000 acres. During the twenty years that followed, Moldova was the main wine producing republic in the USSR. Every second bottle of wine and every third bottle of sparkling wine was produced in Moldova.

 

In the mid-1980s, the Moldovan wine industry was hit hard again, this time by alcohol prohibition instituted by USSR head of state Mikhail Gorbachev. Old vines, mostly of indigenous varietals, were dug up on a massive scale and wine was destroyed.

 

After Moldova became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, the wine industry started its slow and difficult recovery. By the mid-1990s, most of the wineries were privatized and new owners began to invest in modern equipment. In recent years, the industry continues to advance and evolve. Many wineries work with winemakers from major wine producing countries such as Italy, France, Australia and New Zealand. Moldovan winemakers have been quick to adopt their practices and to blend them with traditional wine styles to reproduce wines that are characteristic of Moldova.