The initiative of the Ministry of Culture was supported by the specialized parliamentary commission. It will propose to the lawmakers to approve the draft resolution on amending the Register.
The enterprise was established in 1952 due to the fact that at that time there were not enough cellars for storing and aging wine. Petr Unguryan and Nikolay Sobolev proposed to use excavated tunnels for this purpose. The underground galleries extend for more than 120 kilometers, of which about 60 kilometers are used. Gradually they turned into a wine town.
In 1954, a national wine collection was established there based on Reichsmarshal Hermann Göring’s trophy collection of rare wines, but the collection itself was not put on display until 13 years later. The oldest bottle of wine in the collection dates back to 1902. Currently, there are about 1.3 million bottles in the collection.
In 1957, the production of classic sparkling wines on an industrial scale began for the first time in the republic in the Crikov galleries.
Initially, the collection wines were stored in niches (kazakhs) carved in the walls of one of the corridors of the former limestone mine. Over time, as groundwater accumulated in the gallery, it became necessary to relocate the collection. In the late 1970s, the organization of the new wine cellar space began. For this purpose, a modular concrete structure divided into sections was chosen.
In 1975, the renovation of the tasting rooms was completed and the tourist complex was opened. In 2003, the Combinatul de vinuri Cricova S.A. was declared an object of national cultural heritage by a law.
In February 2025, the underground wine city of Cricova (together with Mileștii Mici) was included in the UNESCO Tentative List. Usually, after waiting for several years, nominees are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Currently, Cricova is one of the most visited tourist sites in Moldova. The year 2019 accounts for the largest number of guests who visited it – about 100 thousand. In addition to galleries and tasting rooms, the complex includes an underground restaurant Regatul Vinului and a terrace of the same name on the surface of the ground. The Sparkling Party and Must Fest festivals are also held on the premises, attracting many visitors.
However, being a tourist attraction, Combinatul de vinuri Cricova S.A. is also a large domestic producer with about 700 hectares of vineyards. Of these, 50 hectares are planted with plantings certified organic. For 2024, Cricova made a profit of over 31 million lei (+20% compared to the previous year), and together with its subsidiary “Cricova-Vin Business and Tourism Center” (also a distributor of products in RM) – over 55 million lei. It paid taxes worth 51 million lei (+11 million lei). Last year, the company produced 10.5 million bottles of wine.
