While visiting friends in Chişinău, the capital city of Moldova, we learned that Cricova Winery, one of the largest wine cellars in the world was only ten miles from us. Obviously, we had to go.
Cricova is the second largest wine cellar in the world, with some 75 miles (120 kilometers) of underground wine storage. Let me repeat that: 75 miles worth of underground wine storage. And it’s not even the largest in the world, though one day it could be, as some tunnels are still being excavated.
Cricova is currently under consideration to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They winery began the registration process recently, and if approved, they will be the first winery on the list to be recognized.
Facts about Cricova Winery:
- It’s said that during the Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union, the winery hid Jewish people in wine barrels.
- The largest importer of Cricova wines is the country of Kazakhstan.
- Vladamir Putin, the president of Russia, spent his fiftieth birthday at the winery.
- In 1966, famous Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin entered the cellars and didn’t exit until two days later, when he had to be assisted out due to consuming massive quantities of wine!
An Underground City of Wine-
The subterranean storage facility is known as The Underground City of Wine, or simply as Wine City. The high functioning city contains warehouses, bottling facilities, tasting rooms, and even a movie theater where you can learn about the history of Cricova and the production process during one of their regular wine tours.
The storage tunnels are so large that the tour actually takes place via electric trains similar to large golf carts. You’re loaded onto the carts and descend into the underground city.
The first thing you’ll notice is an immediate drop in temperature. To create an environment ideal for wine storage, the tunnels are kept at a constant 12 degrees Celsius (54 F) with a regulated humidity level of 90 percent.
The tunnels were carved from limestone in the fifteenth century as the capital city was formed. They were converted to wine storage in the 1950’s.
As you cruise along the tunnels, you’ll notice they are named like streets, with the names corresponding to the wines each particular tunnel holds.
Wine Production
Wine is the number one economic product of the country of Moldova. The country is actually the seventh largest wine exporter in the world, largely because of the bottles produced at Cricova Winery.
White wines are held for 6 months, while red wines are stored in large casks for 2 to 3 years.
Cricova is most famous for their sparkling wines. In fact, it’s said locals wouldn’t think of celebrating a special occasion without a bottle.
Sparkling wines are stored upside down for 8 weeks and turned 45 degrees by hand every 2 days to allow the sediments to settle in the neck. Then, in a process known as disgorgement, the neck is frozen so the liquid will congeal and remove the sediments. Afterward, sugar is added, and the bottle is topped up with more wine. Next, the bottle is corked and wired and is ready to be served. This process is known as the traditional Champenoise method and is the same used in France to make Champagne.
The winery also produces a unique red sparkling wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon with fruity flavors of blackberries and blackcurrants. Red sparkling wines are not common, but it is a popular choice with locals.
Wine Storage
The massive labyrinth also holds the impressive wine collections of celebrities and major political figures. Angela Merkel, for example, stores her personal collection in the cellars.
The shelves are labeled by numbers assigned to the owners and each bottle is carefully maintained by the staff.
The cellar also holds an impressive wine museum with collections from all over the world. The oldest bottle in the collection is a Jewish Passover Wine dating back to 1902!
Wine Tastings:
Finally, at the end of the tour, we reached my favorite part- we finally get to taste a selection of the wines. Depending on which package you’ve chosen you are led to the room hosting that tasting
I would call some of the tasting rooms gaudy, ostentatious even.
Others were more subtle, but still grand.
We chose a package that included six types of wines paired with local traditional foods. The food was good but honestly average.
I’m not typically a fan of champagne or sparkling wine but this bottle was nice- light and bubbly without being overly sweet. I enjoyed all of the wines and made sure to pick up some bottles to take home on my way out. Nearly all of the bottles for sale are less than 10 euro.
I highly recommend a visit to Cricova Winery to anyone in Moldova. I learned a lot about the wine making process and of coursed loved sampling all the different varieties.
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Practical Information: Cricova offers many types of tours ranging from basic overviews and tastings with small accompanying snacks to VIP dinners. To explore options and find the tour best suited for you, click here.
This is so much more than just a wine cellar…its a wine museum. 75 miles worth of underground wine storage! It was so interesting to read all the factoids and see the pictures of how wine is stored at different stage. Great post.
Thank you! I think it’s one of the most interesting places I’ve ever visited. And the wine was really good!
Looks a fascinating place and as we are a lover of wine, a really good day out.
‘Yuri Gagarin entered the cellars and didn’t exit until two days later’. He spent much more time in the cellar than he spent is space.
Hahahahaha- when you put it like that it makes it even funnier. I may borrow that from you and update the article.
Loving the random facts. Will definitely be visiting when I make it to Moldova!
Let me know when you go. I have friends living there and could possibly be back there this summer!
I haven’t been to Cricova, but we went to Milestii Mici and it was pretty wild as well. Moldovan wine is much better than I ever expected!
We actually tried to go to that one but we had difficulty trying to book it. How did it compare– was it as well organized for tours as this one?
I’m not a great wine drinker but this experience looks fantastic! I would love to explore the tunnels and learn more about the art of wine making!
Even if you’re not hugely into wine the sheer size of this place is so impressive it makes it worth a visit.
Man it does look like a wine museum haha, so much wine! We loved our past experiences in wine tasting, but seriously can’t handle it! It turns us tipsy too fast haha
Getting tipsy too fast is half the fun lol!
Awesome experience! Thanks for the interesting facts. I would love to learn more about the process of making wine. I wish there’s a wine cellar like this in my country. Glad you shared this 🙂
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it. What country are you from?
I know you said it twice but I still had to scroll back up to read it again, 75 miles of tunnels. I was wondering why at first, but now I now much of it is private storage. While normally the tasting would be my favourite part too, in this case, I think the tour would win out.
I was shocked also. I’m not very good with kilometers so at first I didn’t grasp how many miles it was when they quoted it in kilometers. It’s crazy– huge and goes on forever.
Funny interesting facts. This place seems so cool to visit! Look at all those old wine bottles… Very nice setting to do the wine tasting.
Yes, for sure! This place was so cool. Many places once I’ve done them I don’t care to do them again but this one I would actually love to go back to.
What an ideal place to get lost in!!!!
I didn’t know that wine could be frozen to remove any sediment. Its good to learn something new.
Definitely a place worth visiting.
I didn’t know they could freeze it like that either! It’s interesting to learn about the process and how different vineyards produce different wine with varying techniques. I always tour these types of places when I can.
Man just reading this post is seriously making my mouth water at remembering how good this wine was :).
Hahaha I can’t remember what that hilarious sentence was in the movie when they’re describing the wine, but I remember laughing about it with you after.
Loving this trip down memory lane :). I wanna go back!!!!!!!!!!
You don’t remember? I’ll never forget it. “What is wine? Is it the blood of God?” I still tell that story to this day! Yeah, the wine was really good. I’d love to go back and try the other cellar as well- the one that is actually bigger than this one!
Ahahahaha I’m so glad you remember – bonus of travelling with two people vs solo :).
I’d love to go back too. We’ll have to make a visit back before David and Theresa aren’t there anymore!
I actually may go back this summer!
Although we’re not really into wine that much we still kind of regret missing out on seeing this place, we spent quite and bit of time too in Chisinau but were put off at the price at the time. Definitely something we would do if we ever visited again!
Even if you’re not into wine it’s worth the visit for the history and the sheer awesomeness.
That is really a massive storage area. It might tale so much effort to maintain such a large area like that. Really impressive.
Yeah, for sure. I’m sure they have a small army of people dedicated to keeping it going.
OMG how have I never heard of the place before?! A wine cellar that is 75 miles long – that’s my kind of cellar! The tasting rooms are fabulous too!
Right?!?! As soon as I heard about it I had to go! It was so cool.
The facts mentioned in the article was pretty interesting. The one that caught my eye was that the people hid in the wine cellar when the Nazis attacked them!..Wow!…I mean I would love to visit this winery someday! The underground wine city is so amazing!!!…
That really impressed me also! It adds such an interesting background story to a place that is already so fascinating.
Good grief. Those corridors look more like a museum- absolutely huge! I’m not familiar with wines from Moldova but would sure love to try them!
You definitely should- the wines were surprisingly good! I bought several bottles to take home with me before I left.
You bought several bottles to take home…which didn’t even last a week or so lol. Mmmmm so delicious!
Haha, yeah those went quickly!
What an interesting article. I loved the fact about Yuri Gagarin – what a legend. I can’t imagine a trip to this winery is on the cheap side.
It’s actually more affordable than you think! If I remember correctly we paid about $25 each for the tour with the tasting and food. You could pay less for just a tour or tour and tasting with no food.
Sounds like heaven to me. I can’t believe that I have never heard about Cricova winery before. The place is amazing and huge. I love sparkling wine and Champagne so I would definitely love to go on a tour of the winery.
If you like sparkling wine and champagne you would definitely love this place. The bottles were really good and also affordable.
Wow, they hid in barrels?! What a fascinating and tragic history. Thanks for putting this place on my radar. Will definitely visit in the future 🙂
It made for a really interesting backstory. I hope you do get to visit it soon. It was a really interesting place.
This is sooo awesome! I’m definitely pinning this!!
Thank you! I appreciate that.
Wow, this sounds like an incredible experience – winery tours usually get to be the same after you’ve been on a few of them, but Cricova Winery sounds incredibly unique. Especially being the second largest wine cellar in the world, and with so much history. Incredible that the winery contibuted to saving the lives of Jews during the holocaust by hiding them in the wine barrels.
Thanks for the heads up that we should visit 🙂
You’re welcome! I hope you get to visit soon. I also really was happy to hear about how they were able to help save Jewish people during the invasion. That makes it all the more likable.
Wow, what a fantastic place and a great discovery for me today! Like Gagarin, I would not mind getting lost inside this winery for a couple of days! Great post which I am also pinning for a future use when I decide to go to Moldova. Thanks!
Wow! This winery seems amazing and stunning. I will have to visit it soon, Nathan!
Great tour of the winery and amazing facts you shared! Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience of a historical place!
Thank you so much! I loved Cricova. I hope to go back soon.
Amazing! The bottles was so beautiful in the eyes. Will pinning this one.
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