Cricova winery

Cricova' is a Moldovan winery, located in the town with the same name, Шаблон:Convert north of Chişinău. Famous wine cellars make it a popular attraction for tourists.

Winery

The wine cellars of Cricova is the second largest wine cellar in Moldova, after Milestii Mici (largest in the world). It boasts a mere Шаблон:Convert of labyrinthine roadways, versus MM's Шаблон:Convert, tunnels have existed under Cricova since the 15th century, when limestone was dug out to help build Chişinău. They were converted into an underground wine emporium in the 1950s.

Half of the roadways are used for wine storage. The roads are named by the wines they store. This "wine city" has its warehouses, tasting rooms and other facilities underground. It goes down to Шаблон:Convert below ground and holds 1.25 million bottles of rare wine. The oldest wine dates back to 1902. The temperature is maintained at about Шаблон:Convert all year round (which is perfect for wine). This place is especially famous for hiding Jews in wine barrels during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.

Legend has it that in 1966 astronaut Yuri Gagarin entered the cellars, re-emerging (with assistance) two days later. Russian president Vladimir Putin celebrated his 50th birthday there.

The territory used to be a mine for limestone, a building material. In some branches excavation is still active, so the cellar is still growing. Other famous wineries in Moldova include Cojuşna and Mileştii Mici.

Wine production

Cricova is one of the very few wineries in the world that produce sparkling wines in accordance with the classical French method, purportedly invented centuries ago by the monk Dom Pierre Perignon – "Methode Champenoise", by means of the secondary in-bottle fermentation and an ultimate maturation cuvée in horizontal position of at least 3 years.

Cricova makes a unique sparkling red wine, kodrinskoie-sparkling, made from cabernet sauvignon stocks and marketed as having a 'rich velvet texture and a blackcurrant and cherry taste'.

The "Grand Cellars of Cricova" house a remarkable collection of wines – The National Oenotec. The unique exhibits ("Jerusalem of Easter" vintage 1902, the liqueur "Jan Becker" vintage 1902) together with other 158 brands from Bourgogne, Moseley, Tokay, Rein, etc. – make up the precious thesaurus of the establishment as well as of Moldova in general, comprising nowadays a total of about 1.3 million bottles.

However, the pride of the Oenotec are, first of all, the wines bearing the name "Cricova", which brought the winery a collection of national and international tasting awards. As of 2008, the collection consists of over 70 silver, gold and Grand Prix awards.

References

External links

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Artyom Fedosov
29 July 2015
That's not just winery, but underground wine city with its streets, roads, squares, factories, wine cellars, markets, meeting halls, restaurants... Completely unique place in the heart of Moldova.
Gabi Bulumac
25 November 2014
One of the largest underground wine cellar in the world , over 120 km of subterranean tunnels in limestone provide ideal wine storage conditions .It's truly an impressive and unique experience ????
Aylin Alpustun
19 July 2019
120 km of labyrinth 100 metres below ground. The tour organised via buggy carts. Make sure to book in advance & to go for wine tasting. Angela Merkel stores some wine there. Incredible experience
Cory Rush
31 May 2015
Very interesting to see as it's a once in a lifetime experience. It was a little anticlimactic though, but worth seeing once for sure. Bring a jacket!
Dim
26 August 2018
Прекрасный музей, поездка на электрокаре в глубину подземного винного города. Интересная экскурсия, возможность увидеть как делают игристые вина, коллекцию вин. Заранее нужно бронировать! Не дёшево.
Dasha Zhupanova
5 October 2016
Очень красивые подвалы,интересная экскурсия и конечно же дегустация????. Не забудьте взять куртки,т.к.холодно и прикупить вкусного вина
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8.6/10
Daria В. and 19,915 more people have been here
Map
1.4km from str. Petru Ungureanu, Cricova, Moldova Get directions
Sat 11:00 AM–8:00 PM
Sun 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
Mon 11:00 AM–5:00 PM
Tue 10:00 AM–7:00 PM
Wed 10:00 AM–11:00 AM
Thu 11:00 AM–8:00 PM

Wine cellars of Cricova on Foursquare

Cricova winery on Facebook

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