Travel deep dive
Underground Wine Cities and the Wine Country of Moldova
Wine is Moldova's great draw, and its most famous cellars lie underground, in the galleries of old limestone mines just outside Chisinau. At Cricova and Milestii Mici, the tunnels left by the stone cutters run for many kilometres and hold millions of bottles, and visitors tour them by car or small train. Above ground, vineyards cover the hills of the country, and estates large and small open their cellars for tastings.
Updated 2026-10-09
Cricova
North of Chisinau, Cricova's cellars fill the galleries of an old limestone mine, a network of underground streets lined with racks and barrels and named after the wines stored in them. Guided tours drive through the galleries, past the collections of old vintages, to tasting halls deep underground, where the cellar's still and sparkling wines are poured. The temperature stays cool all year, so a warm layer is welcome even in summer.
Milestii Mici
South of the capital, Milestii Mici's galleries are longer still, and the collection kept in them holds the Guinness World Record for the largest wine collection. Visitors drive through the tunnels on a guided route, stopping at the halls of its collection, and end with a tasting below ground.
Visiting the cellars
Both cellars are working wineries that show visitors around on guided tours booked in advance, rather than places to drop into, and both lie within half an hour's drive of Chisinau. A visit takes a couple of hours with the tasting, and a driver or a tour from the capital spares the question of who drives back.
Moldova's wine country
Beyond the two great cellars, vineyards cover the rolling hills of the centre and the south, and wine estates, some in restored nineteenth-century manor houses and others small family cellars, offer tours and tastings. Castel Mimi, a restored château among its vineyards south-east of Chisinau, and Purcari, an old estate in the far south-east near the Dniester, are two of the houses that receive visitors. The native grapes are worth asking for: Feteasca Neagra and Rara Neagra for red wines, Feteasca Alba and Feteasca Regala for white.
National Wine Day
On the first weekend of October, National Wine Day fills the central square of Chisinau with the stands of the country's winemakers, folk music and dancing, and it is the liveliest moment to visit. The harvest season around it, in September and October, is the best time for the wine country as a whole.