As mentioned in our previous posts about Moldova.. this country is famous for wines! So during our trip... we tried quite a bit!

One of the stops on our 5 winery tours around Moldova arranged by Winetours Moldova was the Chateau Vartely Winery.

We drove up to Chateau Vartely, where we checked into our home for the night. We stayed on the top floor of a traditional-style Moldovan house from the central region of Moldova.

After an excellent brunch buffet, we had a tour of the winery and cellars. This really is top-quality winemaking on a grand scale! The stainless steel fermenters tower above in all directions!

The cellar is always our favorite part of a winery tour, with rows of oak barrels lining every wall.

At the end of the tour, we moved into one of the tasting rooms for an educational wine tasting session.

But before we could get started, Jonathan had the chance to learn the “Sabrage” a technique of opening a bottle of sparkling wine with a sword!

We are not experts in wine by any stretch of the imagination, so it was exciting to learn more about wine tasting, winemaking, and the types of characteristics that make up a real quality wine.

At the end of the wine tasting session, we decided that it was time for an early night, so we settled back into our traditional room to relax and get ready for the next day!

After breakfast in the Chateau Vartely restaurant with a view across the vineyards, we packed up our things, ready to drive back to Chișinău.

Final Drinks in Chateau Vartely Wine Bar in Chisinau

When we arrived back in Chișinău after visiting our final winery of the trip, we visited the city wine bar and ‘headquarters’ of Chateau Vartely to try out some of their special distilled drinks, including Rachia and Divin, which are made in the same way as Cognac.

With some special local snacks and a chance to hang out with new friends we had made during our time here, it was the perfect way to end our trip!

Thanks to Oleg and Maxim for our wonderful experience