Cricova Winery
The underground wine city — 120km of galleries at 60m depth, pioneer of Méthode Traditionnelle in Moldova since 1952.
Drive tour through street-named tunnels + 4 Méthode Traditionnelle sparklers tasting + optional Cernăuți hall.
Moldova’s second-largest underground wine labyrinth after Mileștii Mici — over 120 km of galleries 60 m underground, just 15 km from Chișinău.
Cricova is an «underground wine city» — a labyrinth of 120km of galleries at 60m depth under Cricova town (15km north of Chișinău), excavated in limestone since 1952. Pioneer of Méthode Traditionnelle (champenoise) in Moldova — first producer in the country to use this technique for sparklers. Tunnels have street names («Cabernet», «Pinot», «Sauvignon»), street signs, intersections and one-way — you drive through with your own car or winery minibus. Key attractions: Putin's cellar (Vladimir Putin donated a spade here on a visit), Yuri Gagarin's cellar (the cosmonaut got lost here after his first «tour»), Cernăuți hall with decorative vaults, sparkling wine cellar with ~1.3 million bottles. Standard programme: tour + tasting of 4-6 sparklings and still wines + optional banquet hall. Tours in RO/RU/EN/FR/IT.
- 120km of galleries with street names
- Méthode Traditionnelle pioneer in Moldova (1952)
- only 15km from Chișinău
- Putin + Gagarin cellars (historic curiosities)
- Cernăuți hall with painted vaults
- tours in 5 languages
- «Cabernet» street sign in tunnel
- Cernăuți hall with decorative vaults
- car at tunnel entrance
- Crișan bottle in candle-lit niche
- banquet hall at 60m depth
An underground wine city - you explore it by little electric train through the galleries. Guaranteed "wow".
See their picks →
No g0er has reviewed yet. Be the first.
“A wonderful spot for wine lovers and unique places. The cellars are impressive in size and atmosphere. We took a tour with a tasting; the tour was very intensive and interesting, but a bit short. The guide was knowledgeable and answered almost all of our questions. The tour was a bit pricey, but we got five glasses of different wines, which were quite tasty and fragrant. Overal…”
“Wow - what an incredible place! On arrival you are greeted by beautiful terraces and beautiful gardens - it is a site to behold. There is a grand entrance and collecting tickets (or buying them) is easy enough! It is very busy though so get there with time to spare! On entry to the cellars, you get on a sort of electric train and you are called by group. You explore years of …”
“I highly recommend visiting the Cricova underground winery in Moldova — it’s a must-see for every tourist. It’s best to book your ticket in advance, and you can conveniently pay online by card. The winery is accessible by bus, but during winter I wouldn’t recommend it, as the bus schedule can be irregular and you may end up waiting outside for a long time. Taking a taxi is a b…”
- busy weekends
- reservation 2-5 days ahead
- cold in cellars — bring jacket