Wine Tour in Moldova. Milestii Mici winery with the biggest wine collection in the world

On arrival at Chisinau International Airport, you will be transferred to your accommodation in Chisinau. After settling in, you can have a walk through downtown and explore the city centre on your own.

In the morning, you will visit Et Cetera family winery - one of Moldova’s finest family run-wineries. This winery produces wine only from its own grapes, varieties such as: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Frank, Feteasca Neagra, Saperavi, Pinot Noir and others. You will taste their delicious wines and explore the winery and vineyards during the tour. Winetasting will be held by the owner of the winery who will tell you about the about the methods of wine production and maturation. At Et Cetera winery, you will enjoy a lunch prepared from products of the region and Crocmaz village.

After lunch, the trip will continue to Château Purcari winery in Purcari village. If you are a wine enthusiast or just love to be in beautiful, pristine surroundings and listening the songs of birds, Purcari estate is definitely the place you need to visit. The old mansion’s galleries feature great more collections of Purcari wines, some bottles dating back to 1948. The winery is famous all over the world due to the legendary wine “Negru de Purcari” - the elixir that in 1878 was highly appreciated on the international arena by being awarded the gold medal at Paris World Exhibition. In the tasting room, decorated in royal style, you will have the opportunity to taste Purcari wines, including “Negru de Purcari” and “Rosu de Purcari” wines, which have been the choice of some of the world's most recognized dignitaries.

After the excursion and wine tasting at Chateau Purcari winery, you will return to Chisinau.

You will start the day by travelling to Cricova winery - the only wine enterprise that was awarded the highest state prize “The Order of the Republic” and has been declared by law a national cultural heritage. During the excursion at Cricova winery in the tourist train, at a depth of 80 m, you will discover the wonders of this place. Cricova underground galleries are formed by over seventy streets covering an area of nearly 120 km, each bearing Bacchic names: Sauvignon, Cabernet, Cahors, etc. The jewel of the underground treasure is the National Collection, including over 600 types of wine totaling about 1 million bottles. Here you will admire the oldest bottle of wine - "Jewish Easter Wine", dating from 1902 and discover the tastes of Cricova wines.

In the afternoon, you will return to Chisinau where you will have lunch at the restaurant.

The day will continue with the excursion more at the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History built in 1905 in the oriental style, thus being a unique building of this kind in Moldova. Here, you will discover famous archaeological treasures, carpets, national costumes and other valuable exhibits and you will be able to see the “millenary smile” of the nicest deinotherium of Moldova.

After the excursion at the museum, you will have free time for dinner.

The first stop of the day will be at Asconi winery founded in 1994 and located in Puhoi village. The winery achieved a lot due to modern wine making technologies. Nowadays at Asconi estate European varieties are grown, but special attention is paid to indigenous varieties such as Rara Neagra, Feteasca, etc. One of the features of Asconi winery is that they pick up the grapes mechanically at night when the grapes are still cold. During the excursion and wine tasting at the winery you will be able to discover the wonders of this place. In 2020, Asconi received the Grand Gold Medal at the biggest profile competition in Asia - Asia Wine Trophy 2020 for the wine "Cabernet Sauvignon". Visitors love this winery for its rustic style and village atmosphere, for its excellent wines and traditional Moldovan food, prepared from local products by the village's most skilled cooks. Lunch will be served at Asconi more Winery restaurant.

Next stop will be at Castel Mimi winery located in Bulboaca village - a destination of interest unique in Moldova. Castel Mimi is currently listed among the most beautiful architectural masterpieces in the world of wine. The story of the castle begins at the end of 1893, when Constantin Mimi, the last governor of Bessarabia, plants the first grape vines on the place that would become legend over the years. After the tour of the castle, a tasting of 5 types of wines will be prepared for you. In addition to white, rose and red wines, the winery also offers ice wine, but the most famous is Rosu de Bulboaca, which is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, making it an incomparable wine with outstanding features and elegant flavor.

After visiting Castel Mimi winery, you will return to Chisinau, where you will have some free time to rest or explore the city at your own pace.

Today, you will travel to Capriana Monastery, founded in medieval Moldova, which is one of the oldest monasteries in the country. It is located in Capriana in a picturesque forested area once called Codrii Lapusnei. The first significant reference dates from a document issued in 1429 that gave Capriana the status of royal monastery on behalf of Alexander the Good. During a long period, Capriana Monastery acted as the residence of the Moldovan archbishop. Being closed and devastated in the post-war years, it was one of the first monasteries that reopened in 1989, becoming soon the symbol of national revival.

In the afternoon, you will take a ride to Milestii Mici winery located at a depth of 40-85 m in Milestii Mici village. Measuring about 200 km, all underground streets make up the largest network of caves ever dug by a human being, which appeared after the extraction of limestone deposits. more The winery holds an impressive collection of more than 2 million bottles. The "Golden Collection" of Milestii Mici winery, which has over 1,5 million bottles, is the pride of the whole country, as in August, 2005, it was registered in the Guinness World Records as the biggest wine collection in the world. You will feel like a king/ queen here, admiring the beauty of this place, tasting wines in which you will feel the fire of sun and vigor of earth and enjoying national cuisine dishes.

After lunch, you will return to Chisinau where you will have some free time to enjoy on your own.

On departure day, you will be transferred from the hotel to Chisinau International Airport. If your flight is in the afternoon, you will have the option to explore Chisinau for a while on your own in the morning and buy some souvenirs.