Quality French wines have long not been alone on the European market. Italian, Spanish, but also Hungarian and Slovak wines are catching up, even matching or surpassing them in many ways. In recent years, wines from sunny Moldova have joined them. We talked about this with Mr. Marek Bucko, head of the sales department in Sabinov at Milk-Agro.
What were the beginnings of importing Moldovan wines to Slovakia?
Milk-Agro has been importing and selling Moldovan wines for about six years, but Moldovan wines were imported here before. And for about three years, they have been establishing themselves in large retail chains.
What characterizes Moldovan wines? And what are their advantages?
Vineyards in Moldova are at approximately the same latitude as vineyards in France. A great advantage of Moldova is the high number of sunny days during summer and also that moist air flows from the Black Sea. This creates an optimal combination for grape ripening. In short, the biggest advantage of Moldovan wines is quality wine at a reasonable price...
Do Moldovan winemakers use less chemicals in grape growing compared to their colleagues in countries with so-called intensive agriculture?
There is not a big difference. Current large winemakers work with chemicals imported from developed countries. Sprays are precisely computer-controlled; current weather information is received via satellites. It is very precisely calculated when, at what time, and hour to use which spray substance. The goal is to use as few sprays as possible and to be as effective as possible. Moldovans work with the most modern gentle chemicals. In this regard, Moldovans are very advanced. They use the latest technologies and strictly guard quality.
Does this also help them succeed in the huge competition on European markets?
Definitely yes. Previously, they exported about 90 percent of their production to Russia. But they did not want to be dependent only on the Russian market, so they looked for other options. And that is the direction west, to us in Slovakia, but also to the Czech Republic, Poland, and further...
What wines do you import?
We mainly import dry and semi-sweet wines. Regarding the assortment, it is five to six varieties. We cooperate with companies Migdal-P and Cricova. From Cricova, we imported quality sparkling wines. Sparkling wines are divided according to the aging method. The simplest is aging in large containers; more demanding are longer-aged wines, and the most expensive are, of course, wines aged in bottles. That is the traditional method; bottles are upside down and rotated by hand. The basis of their quality is regular manual rotation so that sediment settles near the cork. Then the bottle end is frozen, the cork with sediment is removed, and it is re-corked. Carbon dioxide (those pleasant bubbles that make the wine "sparkle") naturally occurs in the wine; it is not artificially added. Such wines have production quality at the level of Champagne wines made in the Champagne region. Of course, Moldovan wines cannot bear this name.
Are dry or semi-sweet wines sold more?
People like quality semi-sweet wines the most, but we also sell many quality dry wines. The sales ratio of semi-sweet to dry is 3:1.
Dessert wines?
Among sweet wines, we offer Kagor, called the tsars' wine. This wine has a long history, and its origin is in France. It was brought to Russia during the times of Tsar Peter the Great, who was so enchanted by it that he ordered vineyards with this variety to be planted. Kagor wine is attributed with higher properties than it actually has, including healing ones. But it is a pleasantly sweet, almost dessert wine, with high natural sugar content without added sugar. The "Moldovan" sun can give grapes enough sugar, so no sugar needs to be added.
Have you visited Moldovan wine cellars? Incredible stories circulate about them...
Despite several invitations, I have not been there yet. But from Moldovan partners' stories, I know many interesting facts. Moldova is not a mountainous country, so stone needed for highway construction is mined underground. The resulting shafts are not filled but adapted and used as cellars. Their quantity is almost unimaginable. For example, the company Cricova has 120 kilometers of such cellars, of which about 60 kilometers are actively used. These cellars, basically mining shafts, are about 90 meters underground. That means a stable temperature from 9 to 13 °C, humidity 85–95%, which is an ideal environment for wine storage. It is like a city underground, and millions of bottles of wine are stored there.
Thank you for the interview and wish you many pleasant moments with a glass of quality wine.
