Sauvignon Blanc (Moldova)

The Romanoff family, the last of the tsars of Russia, were wine lovers and collectors. In large part, they got their wine from what is now known as Moldova and collected much of it in the massive natural cellars underneath the largely limestone structures from which Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova was built.

Today, we are actually headed to the village of Cricova, barely more than 10 miles to the north of the center of Chisinau. It's an interesting concept. While the town itself is above ground, what it is really known for is its underground. Then entire underground of Cricova, dug out to build Chisinau is a wine city. It has cellars, tasting rooms, and a "roadway" to get from place to place within the cellar that holds about 1.25 million bottles of mostly excellent wine. Today, we will do our tasting in this wine city.

The grapes we are enjoying today were grown in Codru, within the city of Chisinau, but a bit to the southwest of the city center. The weather here is probably best described as moderate -- cool winters and warm, but not summers. The soil is almost entirely a chalky limestone not entirely different from that of Sancerre which we will visit in several days. Rain is fairly light all year round, but actually more pronounced in the summer than in the winter. Even so, that rain is sufficient that esternal crop irrigation is not necessary, but it's not so much as to ruin the crops.

The characteristic note of Moldovan Sauvignon Blanc is gooseberry. These are somewhat vibrant wines with a very long, fresh palate. Lacking some of the acidity of the same grapes from the Loire Valley and just a bit higher in alcohol, in some respects, these wines seem a cross between those of the Loire and those of New Zealand. They are quite crisp and do not overwhelm as a fruit bomb, but perhpas lack the flintiness of the much better known French Sauvignon Blanc. That said, they also lack the high price.

Drink these wines at about 9-10C/48-50F to calm the acidity, but not so cold as to mask the flavor. Pair these wines with soft cheeses and virtually any white meat or seafood. They have just enough acidity though to handle the somewhat difficult vegetable wine killers like asparagus.



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