CORKED

In: FP, Heft 213

Abstract

On a sunny spring afternoon this year, winemaker Cristina Frolov was leading an impromptu tour through ridges of dried mud, gravel, and shoots of green at her family's winery in Moldova. The season's grape vines at Castel Mimi were just beginning to flower. The central Codru wine region, where the vineyard is located, is traditionally known for its white grapes. But Frolov explained that they've had success in recent years growing higher-value-added red varieties such as cabernet sauvignon. The interest from the West has enabled the wine industry to find a toehold in Europe and to ultimately stay afloat during the Russian ban; sales of bottled Moldovan wine in Western Europe actually grew 14% in 2014. While Russia continues to toy with the Moldovan economy's largest sectors, the general population, it seems, blames its own government, not Moscow, for the fiscal woes. In the meantime, Moldova's winemakers continue to hope for the best -- and to look for a way out of this geopolitical tug of war. Adapted from the source document.