National Wine Day starts in Moldovan capital

Chisinau, 1 October /MOLDPRES/ - The National Wine Day today started in Chisinau with wine tastings, music, dances, traditional dishes and handicraft workshops. The events will be held on the Great National Assembly Square (PMAN) on 1-2 October.  

Attending the action were Prime Minister Pavel Filip, Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Eduard Grama, Director of the National Office for Vine and Wine Gheorghe Arpentin, ambassadors accredited in Moldova, wine-makers and vine-growers, etc.   

Prime Minister Pavel Filip congratulated the wine producers on the holiday. He said that “the Moldovan wines represent the visiting card of Moldova and the government does its utmost to further back the wine-makers who promote the country’s image abroad through the quality wines they produce.”    

At the same time, the prime minister handed the Grand Prize for Wine to Castle Mimi for the promotion of Moldova’s image through quality wines. At the same time, the prize for the most skilful wine-maker of 2016 was awarded to the chief technologist of the Purcari winery, Lucia Cichir.     

For his part, Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Eduard Grama said that the 2016 issue of the holiday “is homage brought to the people who work in the wine-making and vine-growing sector and the efforts and work carried out by them are appreciated by the authorities.”   

On PMAN, over 40 producers of wines and grapes presented to visitors for tasting and sale about 400 types of wine from the 2015 harvest, collection wines, as well as goods launched for the first time ever on the occasion of the national holiday. Also, people enjoyed topic-related tours from the capital to Moldovan wineries, where they visited underground galleries, cellars, vineyards, tasting halls, wine cellars and boarding houses.

One of the amusements of the holiday is the Wine School, where people have learned from experts sommeliers the bases of a right tasting, as well as of the sophisticated tasting from already initiated consumers. All participants received certificates, which prove the knowledge gained at workshops.

Traditionally, the atmosphere on PMAN was enlivened by Moldovan artists, with the participation of bands, orchestras, brass bands and folk music bands from the three wine-making regions of Moldova: Valul lui Traian, Codru and Stefan Voda. Gormandizers enjoyed traditional dishes: mamaliga (maize porridge), grape and cabbage rolls, pies, and popular craftsmen displayed their works with motifs inspired from grapes, wine and vine.     

The National Wine Day is at its 15th issue and is held under the single country brand: Wine of Moldova. A Legend Alive. This year, the holiday is organized by the National Officer for Vine and Wine, Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry, with the support of the event’s strategic partner, USAID Moldova Competitiveness Project. The National Wine Day’s budget amounts to 2.3 million lei. Organizers expect 100,000 visitors, of whom 30,000 are tourists from abroad.     

(Reporter P. Beregoi, editor A. Raileanu)