The US online store virginwines.com sells Dealu Nucului Cabernet-Sauvignon, 2015, a wine produced by Chateau Vartely. It is a school friend of mine Vadim Grinshpun who told me about it.
This is how it happened. In 2014, Vadik arrived in Chisinau exactly on National Wine Day. On the first evening of the Festival, we went to the Great National Assembly Square. It was very crowded because the weather was warm and gentle. The wines on the shelves were almost all sold out. And I didn’t want to lose face in front of my American friend.
We approached the Chateau Vartely stand, but there were no red wines on the shelves anymore. Fortunately, Mr. Arcadii Fosnea, the executive director and the author of the best company wines, offered us a bottle of a red blend wine. I remember it had a special price at the time – 75 MDL instead of 120 MDL (valid in supermarkets). As far as I remember, it was a blend of Rara-neagra – Malbec – Syrah. We took this bottle and sat at a table in the Square. And the wine made a lasting impression on my friend, who, in the United States, used to buy French and Italian wines, considering the Californian made wines as “not good enough”.
On return to Washington, Vadik browsed the Internet and found a place where he could buy in the USA wines made by the Moldovan company Chateau Vartely. And ever since, he periodically orders a box of wine from this winemaker. On the New Year’s Eve he joyfully told me on Skype:
You know, at this online store, the Chateau Vartely wine was included in a mix of wines from different countries. The mix is made up of wines from Italy, France, Spain, California and Australia. This means that thanks to the mix, even those who do not know anything about Moldova and never intended to buy the wine from that store will taste it. I, on the contrary, bought it especially for the sake of Chateau Vartely wine».
By the way, this mix had already been sold out.
This is how the National Wine Day in Moldova had played a role in changing the preferences of an American consumer. Each year quite a large number of tourists visit our country (during this time, the hotels are all booked).
The online store buyers gave Dealu Nucului Cabernet-Sauvignon, 2015, an average rating of 4.4 out of 5. These are only a couple of 5-star reviews: «Beautiful wine… Delicious with red meat. Would definitely order again»), «Wonderful wine! It was great with a meal, but also very good just by itself»
The wine’s regular price is $10.99, and the New Year holiday discounted price is $9.89.
