Moldovan wines featured during London International Wine Fair 2008

An important component of this year’s participation at LWIF was a seminar and wine tasting entitled, "Discover Moldova", led by Caroline Gilby MW and journalist Darrel Joseph. It introduced participants to one of Europe’s oldest, yet little known, wine regions and highlighted Moldova’s potential to produce world-class wines from indigenous and international varieties. Gilby and Joseph also presented their personal selection of wines, chosen to give the participants a taste of the high-quality wines that Moldovan wineries are capable of producing. During the seminar Gilby and Joseph also described the significant and rapid transformations that are occurring within the Moldovan wine industry.

Caroline recounted, "My first visit to Moldova was eye-opening to say the least, but I keep going back for more — the country gets under your skin. There’s a fascinating range of unique local varieties, exciting flavours and always a warm welcome. Come and taste a snapshot of what Moldova has to offer."

Darrel added, "Moldova has all of the right ingredients for its wine to gain firmer ground in the quality international market. Its wine-growing culture is ancient, the terroir is very good, and it has the vineyard area to support solid production quantities. The Moldova Wine Guild is a perfect example of wineries coming together to show the world that their wines are indeed of very good quality, as well as having a clear identity — wines that consumers can enjoy and trust."

A brief synopsis of the featured wines follows:

• Acorex Wine Holding presented its "TAKING root" range, developed jointly with PLB and tailored specifically for the UK market. It included a delicious Bastardo-Cabernet Sauvignon, an exciting new Bastardo-Merlot, and a lovely Pinot Grigio, crafted by an expert team of international winemakers including Umberto Menini from Italy and Vladimir Lazariuc from Moldova.
• Chateau Vartely introduced an exciting selection of wines from its diverse portfolio, including limited-edition Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and a finely crafted Feteasca Alba, an indigenous V. vinifera grape. Chateau Vartely also debuted its delightful Pinot noir and Merlot rosés, as well as three varieties of ice wine: Riesling, Traminer, and Muscat Ottonel.
• Vinaria Bostavan presented a variety of still and dessert wines made from grapes grown in southwestern Moldova?s Etulia and Onesti micro-zones. Its signature wine is Black Doctor, a dessert wine with an aroma of prunes and chocolate, a cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Saperavi from the Etulia micro-zone. Bostavan also showed its newest label, DAOS, inspired by ancient Moldovan traditions.
• Vinaria Purcari, located in Moldova?s famous Purcari wine region in Moldova?s south-eastern region, unveiled Negru de Purcari and Rosu de Purcari, two limited-production dry red wines. They are expertly created using traditional Moldovan methods and matured in oak barrels for a minimum of 3 years. Negru de Purcari is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Saperavi, and Rara Neagra, an indigenous grape variety. Rosu de Purcari is elegant wine made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec grapes.