The “Wine Creator Trophy” (Trofeul Creatorului de Vin), established for small wineries, has been awarded for the second year running. At the official opening of National Wine Day` 2026, the award went to the family-owned winery “Casa Vinicola Luca”, based in Cricova.
Previously, its founder, winemaker Ion Luca, had been named “Best Winemaker of 2024” and awarded the medal named after Petru Ungureanu, who is considered the patriarch of Moldovan winemaking.
Ion Luca believes that several factors most likely contributed to “Casa Vinicola Luca” receiving the award. First and foremost were the efforts to promote Moldova as a wine-producing country, which helped open the South Korean market to Moldovan wines.
A few years ago, when I was the only one on the Korean market, things were difficult for me. Today, wines from 12 Moldovan wineries are sold there, represented by seven importers. This means that it is no longer just one company marketing Moldovan wine, but seven. And my wines are selling better. In this way, we help one another, promote one another, and grow together. That is how a successful project emerged in Korea,” the winemaker noted.
“Casa Vinicola Luca” is now making progress in Norway, where the alcohol market is regulated by a state monopoly and sales are conducted through its network of stores. Gaining access to this network is extremely difficult, particularly for imported products. However, the winery has found a “star” partner.
The second factor is the promotion of indigenous grape varieties and varieties developed through new Moldovan breeding programs. From the very beginning of his own winemaking operation, Ion decided to give these varieties special attention and has been doing his utmost to produce as much as possible from them. One example is the Viorica grape variety.
I have made a dry “Viorica” wine, used it in a blend, produced a sparkling wine by ‘Charmat’ method, and made a still Late Harvest wine,” my interlocutor continues. “In 2025, I began working with Florichica. This is my next project. From the first harvest, I made a dry wine that became our best-selling white wine. In addition, I included Florichica in the “Femme Incredible” blend, together with Feteasca Regala and Viorica. This means that we already have two products made from Florichica. I have great faith in this variety, and I believe that Moldovan winemakers have a chance to achieve at least the same level of success with Florichica as they have with Viorica. That is why I will certainly try all the experiments I have carried out with Viorica with Florichica as well.”
The third factor is the development of wine tourism. According to Ion, “Casa Vinicola Luca” has completed its investment programme for the winery and tourism facilities. Two tasting rooms are available to welcome visitors.
A plot of land next to the winery was also acquired, cleared, and prepared to host a fairly large event, “Feteasca Run”, which took place a week before National Wine Day. The race started at “Casa Vinicola Luca”, then continued to the “Radacini Wines” winery, the underground galleries of “Cricova”, and the vineyards, before returning to the starting point. A celebration was held there, attended by 250 people. There was enough space, glassware, wine, and food for everyone.
In the future, the plan is to build a wine cellar and a restaurant on this site.
