The Cricova winery in Moldova

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The Cricova winery? I didn’t know. I’m not gonna lie… I’m not a big wine lover, and it’s pretty much impossible for me to tell you if this wine good or not, if it’s a fruity one, if it’s a strong one… I have an occasional drink of wine, but truthfully speaking, wine is not what I’m looking for when I go to a bar. And since I started traveling, I didn’t drink much, and I don’t even think I had wine. After visiting the whole city of Chisinau in two days, and spending an afternoon in Orheiul Vechi, I thought I had seen it all in Moldova.

The Cricova winery

But two girls from my hostel, big wine lovers, started talking to me about the Cricova winery, located 20 kilometers away (12 miles) from Chisinau. And what do we have in Cricova? One of the biggest wine cellars in the world! In Moldova! And they propose to have a wine tasting! All right, time to go to Cricova, and see how it goes there. I cannot say I have a busy schedule, actually I have a lot of time… Let’s see what the Cricova winery looks like! By the way, if you’re into wine, here are a few tips for your next wine tasting trip!

Cricova being close to Chisinau, the ride is fast, like 20 minutes maximum. Numerous people came this afternoon, we’re about fifty people, so we’re split in two different groups. We are then asked to get in a little touristic train, before starting to visit the wine cellar. Five minutes later, I start to understand why we had to get in that little train…

Cricova winery stats

Cricova is not only a wine cellar, it’s a big underground city, which is exactly 80 meters underground (260 feet). There are 120 kilometers (75 miles) of labyrinthine roadways, 1.3 million bottles of wine, 30 million liters of wine, 6 to 8 metric tons of wine per barrel, hundreds of types of cognac, wine, etc… But… This war chest… How did it all end up here, in Moldova…?

History of the Cricova winery

Hermann Goring, member of the nazi party, loved the finer things in life. Precious stones, gold, jewelry, money, power… And good wine! He stole the best wine bottles from the different territories occupied by the nazis. Some people talk about hundreds of thousands of bottles stolen here and there, and sent to Germany. But after the nazi defeat, a big part of his private wine collection was brought to Cricova. Therefore this wine cellar inherited thousands of exceptional bottles from the prewar period.

Viewing of a movie about the Cricova winery

So here we are, in our little train, riding through the avenues of this underground city. They even gave names to those alleys : Sauvignon Street, Chardonnay Street, etc… And we finally stopped to get in a big room, where we are asked to sit. We first watched a 15-minutes movie about the history of Cricova. And then our hosts gave us a glass of sparkling wine (we cannot call it champagne, it wasn’t produced in the Champagne region!).

No time to sleep! Back to the visit of the city, and our guide told us a few anecdotes about the place. Some personalities came here. Vladimir Putin celebrated his 50th birthday there, John Kerry, Angela Merkel, Mikhail Gorbatchev… And Yuri Gagarin who made a lasting impression on Cricova. He went there to spend an afternoon, but re-emerged (with assistance) two days later, slightly drunk…

Wine tasting at the Cricova winery

Last but not least… The wine tasting! We all gathered in a room with a huge table. Each of us had a bottle of water, three wine glasses, and some snacks, the placinta. It’s a moldovan pastry looking like a brioche, but filled with either cheese, cabbage or potatoes. Not bad…

And of course, we taste wine! White wine, rosé, red wine, sparkling wine… As I said earlier, I’m not an expert but it wasn’t bad. Other people around seemed to be wine experts and they loved the wine we had. Therefore I suggest to all the wine lovers out there going to Moldova, to check out Cricova!

How to get to Cricova from Chisinau

Cricova is only 20 kilometers away (12 miles) from Chisinau. From the central bus station in Chisinau, a bus (number 2 from what I remember!) goes to Cricova every 15 minutes. The bus ticket is only 4.50 lei (0.20€), and the ride lasts about 40 minutes. Be careful, the bus doesn’t stop just in front of the wine cellar. You’ll have to walk for about 10 minutes from the bus stop to the wine cellar. Otherwise you can take a taxi, hotel to wine cellar, for 80 lei (4 euros).

Cricova winery prices

What about the price for the wine cellar itself? It varies a lot. Depending on the hour you get there, if it’s busy or not, if you’re having the wine tasting or not… For example, a group visited the cellar at 1pm, tasted 9 different wines and they also ate some Moldavian cheese. They paid 650 lei (32.50 euros). I visited the cellar at 3pm, I tasted 4 different wines (and I had the placintas!), and I paid 490 lei (24.50 euros).

I almost forgot… If you go straight to Cricova to visit the wine cellar, the guys at the reception might tell you “Impossible, it’s fully booked!“. You have to book first. The best thing to do is to go to their store in Chisinau and to book from there. It’s located Strada Alexei Şciusev 96. They’ll be able to give you the free time slots, the prices, etc… And one last thing, bring a jacket with you, even if it’s fucking hot outside. Because in the cellar, the temperature is maintained at 12°C (54°F), and the humidity level is 97-98%! If you spend some time in Moldova, check out the things to do in Moldova!

• Traveling soon? Check out my travel resources page! This list of travel accessories can also be useful!
• Do not travel without a travel insurance! Here’s why you should buy travel insurance!
• Want a tailor-made trip to Moldova? Get a free quote here!
• Always use a VPN when traveling. I use ExpressVPN and I love it! Here’s why use a VPN when traveling.
• Check the latest flight prices to go to Moldova, and also what are the hotels available in Chisinau!
• It’s cold in the wine cellar! Please cover up
• Here are things to do in Chisinau!

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