🗺️ Moldovan wine

Moldovan wine means the grape growing and winemaking of the Republic of Moldova. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2025 grapes grew on 107.2 thousand ha (wine varieties on 90.5 thousand ha), and the harvest came to 450.4 thousand t. The area shrinks year after year: in 2020 it was 121.2 thousand ha. In 2025 the country produced 13.7 million dal of grape wine and 1,062.2 thousand dal of sparkling wine.

The National Office for Vine and Wine (ONVV) recognises four regions: Codru in the centre, Ștefan Vodă in the south-east, Valul lui Traian in the south, and Divin for wine distillates across the whole country. They are protected as PGIs in Moldova and, since 18.10.2016, in the EU as well; the association agreement with the EU also protects the names Ciumai and Romănești.

Codru lies at 150–400 m between the Prut and the Dniester; about 62 % of its soils are chernozems, and white varieties cover about 63 % of the area. Ștefan Vodă (about 10 thousand ha) is famous for its reds, notably from the Purcari micro-zone. Valul lui Traian covers 43,203 ha in the south, with red varieties on about 60 % of the area.

Among local grapes, Fetească Albă is the most widely planted (651 ha according to the register at the end of 2019), followed by Fetească Regală (299 ha), Fetească Neagră (242 ha) and Rară Neagră (102 ha). The ONVV lists the underground wineries of Cricova and Mileștii Mici as wine-tourism sites, and Guinness World Records has recognised the Mileștii Mici wine collection as the largest.

Why it matters to you. Divin is not “Moldovan cognac”: the word cognac belongs to a French appellation, while Divin is a PGI in its own right for aged wine distillates. A region name (Codru, Ștefan Vodă, Valul lui Traian) on the label means a PGI wine.