Rising star of the East
As war casts a shadow over one of its neighbours, the small nation of Moldova is featuring on our nightly news . Christine Austin explores its tradition of wines.
When I set off to fly to Moldova a couple of years ago, I must admit, I wasn’t quite sure where it was. But now that the nightly news shows a map of Eastern Europe and brings us up to date with all that is happening there, we all know where Moldova, Romania and Ukraine are.
After landing in the capital Chisinau, I quickly became acquainted Moldova, a country about three times the size of Yorkshire. Its capital is a city of welleducated, young people who are definitely looking in a westerly direction to determine their future.
Moldova has been a wine-producing country since the beginning of time. There are fossils of grapevines going back millions of years and even in the 16th century there was a thriving wine trade with Russia.
Later, people from Germany, Poland, Switzerland and France were encouraged to move to what is now Moldova and given land and tax breaks.
The Soviet period, which came to an end in 1991, was challenging as the emphasis was put on quantity not quality and the tiny country of Moldova became the sixth largest wine producer in the world. But all that has changed now. Initially the main problem was finding out who owned which piece of land. The Soviet system of collectivisation had destroyed individual properties, but these are now being rebuilt. What hasn’t changed during these extended battles of ownership is the quality of the land.
Moldova lies on about the same latitude as Bordeaux with a climate similar to Burgundy with good sunshine, moderate rainfall and deep soils that make it a natural place to grow grapes. What has really set the Moldovan wine industry on the right path is the creation of a National Office for Vine and Wine, which has laid out the basis for wine legislation and provenance.
Grapes are largely the usual range of international varieties, but the real interest is in the 10 per cent of indigenous grapes. These grapes are local to Moldova, and some are grown in neighbouring countries but they were not permitted during the Soviet era and so it is taking time for plantings to increase. These are the grapes that give individuality to Moldovan wines with names such as Feteasca Neagra (red) with its intense, spice-drive flavours; Feteasca Regala (white) with its dry, exotic style and the freshtasting aromatic Viorica (white).
We are fortunate in having a specialist wine importer, based here in Yorkshire. Ovidiu Draghici is Romanian and spent many years in the Romanian army. But then a life in Yorkshire beckoned and he has been here for over a decade and imports wines from Moldova, Romania and Georgia (www. transylvaniawines.co.uk).
Top of his favourites from Moldova are the wines of Purcari, which I visited on my trip a couple of years ago. Based just 11 km from the Ukraine border, all members of staff are busy right now helping refugees. They have opened the doors of their accommodation and they even wait until night-time to send out their lorries so they don’t take up space on the roads.
Purcari was established in 1827 and used to supply wine to Queen Victoria. Now with 265 hectares of replanted vines and new owners since 2003 Purcari make seriously good wines. One particular top seller at present is the Freedom Blend 2019 at £19.95. Made from three indigenous grape varieties, all grown in Moldova but representing Ukraine, Moldova and
Georgia, this is an intense, complex wine with cherries, blackberries and plums, rounded out with leather and earthy tones.
Among the whites the aromatic Purcari Viorica 2020 (£15.95) has fresh, floral notes, with a thread of herbs, and a rounded, textured palate. It is delicious with salads and lightly spiced foods. This company also makes an extremely good Pinot
Noir (£12.95) which confusingly comes in a Bordeaux-shaped bottle. It has light cherry and strawberry fruit with a depth of character that can partner roast duck or chicken. Martinez in Ilkley and Bingley also have stocks of Purcari wines.
If you would like to try a great value Moldovan wine, Waitrose has the crisp, bright Radacini Sauvignon Blanc 2020 at just £6.99.
Romania is much better established on UK wine shelves with the wines of Cramele Recas consistently hitting the spot for flavour for money. This is a winery close to Timişoara, a boom-town close to the Hungarian border. Here Philip
Cox, a chap from Bristol who headed out to Romania in the early days of freedom seems to have gathered a lot of EU grants together to turn his winery into one of the most progressive I have seen. Six hundred hectares of vines have been replanted with meticulous attention to detail and they have even revived some old terraces. The head winemaker is Australian, and he has trained some excellent winemakers.
Wines such as Aldi’s Dealuri Pinot
Noir (£5.99) show just how good the value is. With soft cherry fruit and a streak of savoury herbs this goes well with anything from pizza to lamb. Marks & Spencer’s Found Feteasca Regala (£7) is also from Cramele Recas and has honeysuckle notes with peach, crunchy apples and spice.
Transylvania Wines also has an excellent range of Romanian wines which are a step up in quality from the supermarkets. Try Tamaioasa Romaneasca white wine 2020 (£12.99), made from the grape of that name, for its apple blossom and tropical fruits. This is made by Stephen Donnelly, from Newcastle who trained at top estates all around the world before arriving in Romania. An earlier vintage of this wine won a Decanter Gold medal.
Well worth a try is Budureasca Feteasca Neagra Premium 2015 (12.95) for its black forest fruits and mature, soft tannins.
With all that is going on in that part of the world, we should raise a glass to the wines of Moldova and Romania. These countries need all the foreign exchange they can get.