Top of the World
Moldova's Mileștii Mici proudly claims the title as the largest wine cellar in the world. Moldova, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, holds a rich tradition in winemaking dating back thousands of years. Back in the year 2005, Mileștii Mici was also recognised by the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records for having the biggest wine collection in the world.Inside this massive underground wine city, which is well hidden from the rest of the European region, there are miles long tunnels brimming with a wide variety of wines. What’s interesting here is that every tunnel (street) is named after a grape, for which the country is renowned for. Visitors in the wine city can drive cars and ride bikes too, and quite interestingly, they have normal traffic rules like any other city in Europe!
Lying between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova excels in traditional wine-making process, which is more than a thousand-year-old. The country’s favourable geographical and climatic conditions to grow grapes, eventually gave birth to vineyards in the region. There was a time when every other bottle of wine that was consumed in the USSR was produced in Moldova;
it was that popular.
- Mileștii Mici, the wine city, is 200 km long!
- It holds Guinness Book of World Records for having the biggest wine collection in the world.
- The complex features around 2 million bottles of wine!
- Visitors need their own vehicles to explore the wine city.
- One day guided tours are available for inquisitive wine lovers.
- Every street here is named after a grape, like Pinot, Traminer and Riesling, among others.
- Close to Mileștii Mici, there’s another prominent winery, called Cricova which stretches around 120 km and features extensive network of underground tunnels with an array of wine.
- There are pretty wine fountains here too!
- The country celebrates ‘National Wine Day’ every year in the month of October.
