Small wine-makers of Moldova interested in producing organic wines

Chisinau, 15 July /MOLDPRES/ - Wine-makers from Moldova can turn to good account the niche of organic wines on the European Union’s market, which in the last seven years has recorded a tendency of increase by an average of 11 per cent yearly. For this, the Association of Small Wine Producers from Moldova, with support of the United States Agency for International Development High Value Agriculture Activity in Moldova (HVAA) project, has recently organized a study visit for small wineries about the production of organic wines.  

The visit took place in the vineyard of Constantin Stratan from the Olanesti village, south-eastern Stefan Voda district, where small wine cellars from Moldova were able to learn from the experience of the Crama Domneasca (Princely Wine Cellar), which produces Equinox wines, the only wines certified as organic from Moldova.   

The winery has 6.5 hectares in an area with wine-making traditions from south-eastern Moldova and has been producing organic wines since 2013, after covering a period of conversion of three years. Presently, the wines are certified as organic both by the national certification bodies and the European ones, which allows the wine-maker exporting his wines to Europe and Asia.   

According to Constantin Stratan, the philosophy of production of organic wines is about ‘’listening to the nature and integration in the biodiversity from the region.’’ ‘’All operations of taking care of the vine plantation implies treatment with certified biological products and manual works. We put emphasis on the natural grassing, which allows the creation of a balanced and diverse environment, which compensates the lack of treatments with systemic substances,’’ the wine-maker said.

According to a manager in the wine-making sector at USAID HVAA, Diana Lazar, the niche of organic wines is developing and Moldovan producers of artisanal wines can be found in this niche, aligning themselves with the world tendencies. ‘’The European market consumes about 80 per cent of the organic wines, which represents an attractive opportunity, especially for the small wine producers. Presently, the Princely Wine Cellar is the only producer of wines certified as organic from Moldova and this success can inspire other entrepreneurs to apply practices of reasonable viticulture and sustainable production,’’ Diana Lazar said.     

Experts say that the market of organic wines has been continuously growing in the last years, catalyzed including by the pandemic effects of Covid-19, when consumers have become more interested in the ecological farming.   

photo: USAID HVAA