Cricova Winery, Moldova
The sheer scale of Cricova Winery becomes apparent the moment you enter. Trucks travel back and forth through the underground passages, leaving behind clouds of white limestone dust, while endless rows of barrels and bottles stretch along seemingly endless walls. The winery also serves as a museum, housing approximately 500 renowned wines.
Imagine stopping on Cabernet Sauvignon Street, turning left onto Riesling Street, and continuing straight to Chardonnay Street. This is, more or less, the reality inside Cricova Winery—an underground city carved into limestone rock, complete with wide roads, streets, and passageways lined with countless barrels and bottles. Hidden within this subterranean labyrinth are visitor centers for wine tastings, alongside production facilities that are not accessible to the casual visitor.
The Cricova wine complex is located in the quiet, green town of Cricova, about 15 kilometers from Moldova’s capital, Chișinău. The Republic of Moldova, once part of the Soviet Union, is a small country bordering Romania and was itself part of Romania before the Soviet era. Viticulture and winemaking are among its most important industries, and despite its modest size, Moldova ranks among the world’s leading wine-exporting nations.
From the moment visitors enter the underground galleries, the scale of the operation is impossible to ignore. Trucks move through the tunnels in both directions, raising clouds of fine white limestone dust, while endless rows of barrels and bottles line the extraordinarily long walls. Over the years, the winery has welcomed numerous distinguished guests, including members of the Soviet leadership and the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. In later years, visitors also included Russian President Vladimir Putin and former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who reportedly spent two full days enjoying the winery and its remarkable collection.
Cricova also serves as a wine museum, preserving around 500 famous wines, including part of the personal wine collection of Hermann Göring, Adolf Hitler’s deputy, alongside rare local wines dating back to 1902.
Bottom line: Just ask John Kerry.
