Discover the Wine Mine of Moldova

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN MOLDOVA

BURIED some 250 feet [80 m] below Cricova, a suburb of Chişinău, the capital of Moldova, is a 75-mile-long [120 km] labyrinth of man-made tunnels. Limestone was once mined from these dark caverns.

However, for the past 50 years, the cool subterranean vaults have provided the perfect place for storing some of the finest wines in Europe. Row upon row of barrels and bottles fill more than 35 miles [60 km] of tunnels in the old mine. With the capacity for storing 93 million gallons [350,000,000 L] of wine, this is said to be the largest wine cellar in southeastern Europe.

Continuing an Ancient Tradition

Moldova is ideal grape-growing country. It is located on the same parallel as the famous wine-producing province of Burgundy in France and enjoys a temperate climate that warms its fertile soil. Wine production in Moldova dates from 300 B.C.E., when Greek traders first brought grapevines to this land. Over the following centuries, the tradition of wine production continued, even though the country was conquered by the Goths, the Huns, and various feudal lords.

The Ottoman Empire dominated the land between the 16th and the 18th centuries and for religious reasons discouraged the production of wine. In the 19th century, however, Russian czars claimed the land as their own and actively encouraged the wine industry. They imported grape varieties from France, and the vines flourished. After the second world war, Moldova’s new overlord, the Soviet Union, systematically modernized the wine industry. In fact, it made Moldova the wine-and-fruit-producing capital of the entire Soviet Union. It was the Soviets who first recognized these tunnels as the perfect place to store wine. Come on a tour of this unique cellar and learn some of its secrets.

 Driving Into an Underground Town

As we drive into the winery, we notice an entrance tower, which is part of a building cut into the limestone. The building resembles a French country chalet. This structure, however, gives no hint of the vast construction buried beneath the ground. A short distance from the main gate, we face the gaping mouth of the tunnel and are surprised at its size. Two trucks can pass each other in it comfortably.

By car we descend into this underground labyrinth, and after only a few minutes of driving, we pick up our tour guide. The many curves in this maze make us realize that we could easily get lost without her.

One of us asks, “What happened to the limestone that was once mined here?”

“It was used in construction projects in Chişinău,” she replies. “Limestone makes fine building material, since it has good insulating and sound-reducing properties.”

As we descend to about 240 feet [70 m] below the ground, the light in the tunnel decreases, leaving an eerie atmosphere of semidarkness. We stop at an intersection where several roads, flanked on both sides by long rows of huge wine barrels, lead in different directions. We note that the streets are named after kinds of wine. Pinot, Feteasca, and Cabernet are only a few of the names that stir our imagination.

Our guide tells us that oak barrels are used mainly in the production of still wines, whereas smaller metal barrels are used in the preparation of sparkling wines. We see very few workers, which prompts us to ask about the size of the work force. She answers: “We have about 300 people employed here. All year long they wear warm clothing because of the cool temperature. Our workers believe that this not only is good for wine but also keeps humans young, so they don’t really mind the cold.”

 Sparkling wine production is our next tour highlight. We see hundreds of bottles tilted upside down at a 30-degree angle. We are told: “When the bottles are tilted at this angle, the residue gathers above the cork. After this has occurred, the cork is deep-frozen. Now the cork can be extracted easily together with the dregs, and the final corking can take place.”

Soon we arrive at the storage area for vintage bottles. Our guide introduces this by saying: “Over one million bottles of vintage wine are stored here. Almost all European wine-producing countries have deposited some of their best products in our underground vaults. The oldest wine is of 1902 vintage, a bottle of Jewish Passover wine from Jerusalem. Some years ago one bidder offered $100,000 for this bottle. However, the offer was refused. The bottle was evidently considered priceless.”

We are also told that wine bottles in this area are normally stored in complete darkness, except for the few minutes a tour group visits. As we quickly study the labels of the dust-covered bottles, we realize that most of the wines are older than we are!

The tour finishes at the wine-tasting rooms. The largest is called the Presidential Banquet Hall. It features a long solid-oak table with matching chairs, capable of seating 65 people. During the Soviet era, this room was used for official State banquets. Today this well-lit and brightly colored hall still provides a fitting venue for official State functions.

Sala Casa Mare (the Guest Room) seats 15 people and is furnished in a traditionally Moldovan style, whereas the Bottom of the Sarmatic Sea Banquet Hall allows 10 people to taste and eat at a circular table. The most interesting feature of this room is its ceiling. Originally this chamber was an underwater cave, and petrified shellfish and other remnants of aquatic life are clearly visible. The tour guide reminds us that at one time all of modern-day Moldova was, in fact, at “the bottom of the Sarmatic Sea.”

Locally grown oak trees were the source of the wood for the furniture in all these rooms, including the Yury Gagarin Banquet Hall. This famous cosmonaut visited Cricova on October 8-9, 1966. He wrote a letter of appreciation, stating that here ‘even the most critical connoisseur will find a wine to his liking.’

Our guide observes: “We have had visitors from over a hundred different countries during the 50 years that the cellars have existed. During Soviet days our sparkling wines were known as Soviet champagne. Few people knew that they came from Moldova. Today we market our sparkling wines under the trade name Cricova, and we have red and white varieties.” We appreciate the many details she shared with us and thank her for the fine tour.

As we leave this underground labyrinth, we feel we have come from another world. Outside it is hot and sunny. Not a single cloud can be seen in the sky. On the way back to Chişinău, we drive past seemingly endless rows of well-cared-for vineyards laden with grapes almost ready for harvesting.

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UKRAINE

ROMANIA

MOLDOVA

Chişinău

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Cricova Winery, with its entrance tower

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One of the street signs in the 75-mile labyrinth of underground tunnels

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Car entry tunnel to wine cellars

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Over a million bottles of vintage wine are stored here