During the official opening ceremony of National Wine Day` 2026, the most important award in the industry, the Grand Prix for Special Merit in Viticulture and Winemaking, was presented to Sălcuța. This is the producer’s second such trophy. Sălcuța received its first Grand Prix for Special Merit in 2018.
The award is presented on the basis of a number of indicators reflecting a company’s performance. In 2025, Sălcuța generated sales of 154.4 million lei, up from 132.5 million lei in 2024. EU countries account for 75% of the company’s total foreign trade. Last year, the company participated in ten international competitions, where its wines won 25 medals, including 10 gold medals.
Behind these figures is a major company that ranks among Moldova’s TOP 10 wine exporters. Sălcuța is a winery with a fully integrated production cycle.
We have around 400 hectares of our own vineyards, but we also work with other farms that supply us with grapes,” says CEO Sergiu Pislaru. “Our winery is a high-tech production facility. For about ten years, we focused on modernizing and improving it. Our most recent investments were in our tank facilities and filtration processes, which are essential for producing high-quality wines. We have also implemented a product quality and safety management system, including the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety, the Global BRCGS standards, which guarantee product safety, legality and quality, and SMETA, which assesses working conditions, safety, environmental performance and business ethics in production.”
Every year, we process an average of 8,000 tonnes of grapes, from which we produce 6–7 million litres of wine, depending on the juice yield and the production programme, since we work strictly according to signed contracts.
The company employs around 160 people on a permanent basis, working in the vineyards and at the winery. It is important to note that these jobs have been created in a village, where, as is well known, finding formal employment can be difficult.
Last year, Sălcuța celebrated its 30th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the winery created its premium Apertus wine range. In 2026, it resumed production of sparkling wines using the Charmat method and launched the Bravista range.
The winery welcomes groups of tourists by prior arrangement and plans to develop its wine tourism activities. However, much depends on the infrastructure. First and foremost, decent roads are needed to make the winery accessible, as it is located an hour and a half’s drive from Chișinău.
I believe that we, together with our colleagues in the industry, should develop a strategy for wine tourism in Moldova, with routes that include visits to several wineries. This would make it easier to attract tourists. We need to come up with interesting offers for them. A winery like Sălcuța cannot do it alone. We need more of us,” Sergiu Pislaru noted.
For Heritage and the Future
In addition, Sălcuța received the “Eugen Pislaru – Heritage and Future trophy” (“Trofeul Eugen Pîslaru – Moștenire și Viitor”), awarded for establishing a winemaking dynasty. Three generations of the Pislaru family are involved in the business founded by Eugen Pislaru. This was the first such dynasty in Moldova.
Winemaker of the Year 2026
The title of “Winemaker of the Year 2026” went to Maria Cosnete, a winemaking technologist at Sălcuța, who was also awarded the Petru Ungureanu Medal. Maria Cosnete has worked in winemaking since 1981 and has been with Sălcuța since 2008.
See the photo report from the winery here:
https://t.me/omoldavskomvinodelii/1010
