Two Centuries
The history of Călărași Divin’s wine division spans the 20th and 21st centuries—secole in Romanian. That is why the series of four wines is called Secole, as a tribute to time and accumulated experience.
“ We decided to draw on the decades of experience we’ve accumulated in producing high-quality wines and expand our portfolio, ” says Ion Lozovanu, director of Călărași Divin. “When the company’s new owners began planting vineyards after privatization, they specifically included in the planting plan—in addition to varieties for the distillation program—grape varieties such as Viorica, Fetească Regală, Muscat Ottonel, and Riesling—specifically to produce high-quality wines from them. Although these wines were launched in the spring of 2026, the revival of the wine program began in 2008–2009. Since then, the vineyards have regained their vigor and are now producing high-quality grapes. Until we built a new primary processing facility and equipped it with modern machinery, we did not process the grapes intended for wine ourselves but sold them to well-known wineries. Only when everything was ready as planned did we produce our first wines in the fall of 2025.
Our company’s motto is “Quality Above All.” Therefore, if the wines hadn’t turned out well, we wouldn’t have released them. Since we produce high-quality Divins, we cannot afford to bring mediocre wines to market and risk damaging the reputation of Divins as well. The cost would be too high.”
Before the new wines went on sale, they participated in a professional regional wine tasting for wines from the Codru region, where they received good ratings in a “blind” tasting. Incidentally, all Secole wines are certified as Codru IGP wines.
The Winemakers’ Secrets
Work on the wines began in the vineyards. The project’s winemaker worked closely with the director of agriculture. He would visit the vineyards, inspect them, and specify how much of each variety’s harvest should be left. Excess bunches were pruned off (“green pruning”) to improve the quality of the grapes. And Călărași Divin has always paid close attention to the sanitary condition of its vineyards.
“For the wine, we harvested the grapes by hand, placing them in crates, and finished the harvest by 10 a.m.,” our interviewee continues. “The harvest was brought to the plant, and processing began no later than 11 a.m. The crushed berries passed through a heat exchanger, where they were cooled, and then entered a tank for the must to steep on the pomace.” After eight hours of maceration, the pomace was pressed in the evening. From the press, the must passed through another heat exchanger and, once again cooled, was sent for fermentation, which took place at a controlled, low temperature. Fermentation lasted about a week.”
The Secole series includes single-varietal wines made from Feteasca Regală, Viorica, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc from the 2025 harvest.
I would like to highlight the variety selection. As early as 2008–2009, the company correctly predicted future demand trends for local grape varieties (which did not exist at the time). Currently, wines made from Viorica and Feteasca Regală are very popular and in high demand across all markets. Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling are among the top international varieties—they are timeless classics. They were selected with an eye toward export.
Secole Feteasca Regală, 2025 IGP Codru
The wine has a pale straw color with a brilliant sheen. The initial nose is floral. The aroma reveals floral notes—acacia and honeysuckle—as well as apricot, lime, green apple, and barberry.
On the palate, it offers a lively, bright lime acidity with hints of “Barberry” candies and lemon zest. The long-lasting finish features hints of lime and minerality. Alcohol content: 12%. A light, fresh, and vibrant wine.
Secole Viorica, 2025 IGP Codru
The wine is pale straw-colored with a brilliant sheen. The initial nose reveals fruity sweetness and herbs. The aroma is rich with fresh meadow herbs, a splash of lime (a piercing note, though short-lived), slightly bitter wormwood, jasmine, and peonies. A little later, a juicy “Duchesse” pear emerged, followed shortly after by dried busuyok (the first time I’ve encountered it this way), saffron, and peach.
On the palate, there are hints of orange zest, peach pits, “Duchesse” candies, and the aroma of busuyok. The finish is long and mineral, with a hint of orange zest. Alcohol content: 13.5%. Viorica turned out to be generous, interesting, and with a distinct character of its own.
Secole Riesling, 2025 IGP Codru
I was surprised by the wine’s very light color—slightly straw-colored, with a greenish tint and a brilliant sheen. The initial nose is floral. In general, floral Rieslings are a rarity in Moldova. They’re usually more fruity.
The aroma features jasmine and honeysuckle, melon, herbs, green apple, pear, and bath salts.
On the palate, it has pronounced acidity, with notes of orange zest, peach pit, herbs, and honeysuckle. The long finish features notes of orange zest, a hint of saltiness, and minerality. Alcohol content: 12%. This is a memorable wine.
Secole Sauvignon Blanc, 2025 IGP Codru
This wine also has a very light color—pale straw-yellow with a brilliant sheen. The initial nose is fruity and floral. The aroma features elderflower, grapevine blossoms (quite a variety of flowers), stinging nettle, “Duchesse” pear, freshly cut grass, lemon, and pineapple. After about an hour, gooseberry notes and a light aroma of currant leaves emerged.
On the palate, it features bright acidity, hints of lime zest and sweet bell pepper, minerality, and aromas of herbs, flowers, and currant leaves. The experience concludes with a long, mineral-lime finish. Alcohol content: 13%.
Where to buy?
At the Călărași Divin chain of brand stores. It is also available at Alcomarket, “No. 1,” Metro, and Kaufland, as well as in restaurants.
The first supermarket sales are planned to include tastings so that consumers can experience the wine’s quality for themselves.
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