The wines of Domeniile Pripa

Domeniile Pripa is a small winery in the village of Purcari, in south-eastern Moldova. It is a young winery but with a long history: the estate is home to a wine cellar dating from around 1840, one of the oldest in the region. Domeniile Pripa makes wine only from its own grapes, mainly indigenous Moldovan varieties such as Fetească Neagră and Rară Neagră. The wines mature in barrels of Moldovan oak.

The history of Domeniile Pripa began around 1840, when a wine cellar was built on a plot of land in Purcari. Archival research shows that the cellar belonged to the Klotz family until the early twentieth century. With stone walls six metres high and a floor area of almost 250 square metres, the cellar is regarded as a unique piece of Moldovan architectural heritage. It became the main source of inspiration for a new chapter in the history of the estate.

That chapter began with entrepreneur Andrei Pripa, who runs a timber business alongside his winery. In 2014 he planted a new ten-hectare vineyard, which he then expanded step by step. He chose the grape varieties that already grew here in the nineteenth century. The first harvest followed in 2016, and at first Andrei made wine in very small quantities, in an experimental phase.

The breakthrough came thanks to an American-Swedish development project for Moldovan businesses. The project's specialists saw the quality of the wine, urged Pripa to bottle the 2016 vintage and helped with equipment, a bottling line and the label design. In 2018 Pripa presented his wines for the first time at the ExpoVin Moldova wine fair, still with temporary handwritten labels. His Fetească Neagră from the first vintage immediately won a gold medal there. After that things moved quickly. In 2019 the Saperavi 2017 won gold at Mundus Vini in Germany and was named the best Moldovan wine of the competition. The Fetească Neagră 2017 also won gold there.

The vineyards of Domeniile Pripa lie in the Ștefan Vodă wine region. They cover 17.5 hectares on a south-west-facing slope above the Dniester. Purcari lies in a well-known microzone, close to where the Dniester flows into a wide liman towards the Black Sea. A liman is a marshy estuary at the end of a river. It brings warm air and a mild microclimate, and the vineyards often get salty sea air.

The gently sloping hillside protects the vines from fierce sun, strong winds and frost, so the grapes ripen more evenly. The soil is rich in sand, clay and shells. Grass grows between the rows of vines, forcing the vines to compete for water. Thanks to the mild climate the grapes build up sugar quickly, so the wines usually have a fairly high alcohol level.

Alongside Fetească Neagră and Rară Neagră, which already grew here in the nineteenth century, the vineyards are planted with Merlot, Saperavi, Fetească Albă and Fetească Regală. A distinctive feature of Domeniile Pripa is its use of Moldovan oak only. Andrei Pripa reasoned that indigenous grapes should also mature in indigenous wood. Because his timber business processes a lot of oak, he selected the 70- to 90-year-old trunks himself. The barrels are made by three brothers from the village of Ulmu, who have practised the cooper's craft for at least three generations.

If you want to know more about this winery, here you will find the link to the website of Domeniile Pripa.