I told you that we try to bring useful information and beautiful people on the blog. Today I want to present to you an interview with Misha Țurcanu, the author of the blog Wine like a Local, with whom I discussed about his passion, opinions about the world of wine in Moldova, as well as wine tourism. Because wine is the one that accompanies the most beautiful conversations, I invite you to have a glass of your favorite wine and read the interview.

“For me, the first experience was with Tămăiosă de Sălcuța and the ENO series. First of all, I found it interesting on the outside, which attracted me. After that, I was amazed by the aromas and the taste of the wine, which is not a typical rose. To this day, this wine remains one of my favorite roses.” Misha Țurcanu  (winelikealocal)

1. How was your first encounter with the world of wine? (wine, place, time?)

Of course, the first memory is of the family, still in childhood. Like any householder, my grandfather made his own wine, which was often drank at the table. Each time, it was served with an already proverbial expression: “Anti-radiation.”

Much later, I had a long bartender career, in which I became acquainted with most alcoholic beverages and their culture of consumption, in addition to wine. The interest in wine appeared 5 years ago, after an interview with Alexander Luchianov on Et Cetera. I was very impressed by the history of the winery and the passion with which he talked about wine. After that, I understood that you can’t want to live in Moldova without knowing more about wine.

2. How has this passion for wine and discovery evolved, and where would you like to go? (is it more than a hobby?)

It was pretty fast. We started going to the Wine Openings with more interest. I discovered that many friends are also passionate about wine and we started to change our minds about new and favorite wines. Quite often we do tastings at home with friends with new, local, foreign wines, blind and comparative.

In parallel, I read several books, blogs, online courses. I also attended the course organized in Chisinau by the Association of European Sommeliers ASE and level 2 of the most recognized wine education system in the world – WSET. I hope to be able to do level 3 next year as well.

But the most important thing is to be interested in wine wherever you go, on the go, in the interest of work, or on vacation, to try, to taste, to discover new varieties and styles; and I’ve been doing this for many years.

3. Do you follow other wine bloggers from other countries? What is your opinion about this passion? Is it a necessity to have more people like you in our country?

Of course, I always read about wine from different sources, mostly telegram channels, online blogs or Instagram accounts of well-known wineries and sommelier. It always helps me with new ideas and energy to write every day, but my tastes are obviously subjective. But wines are very many and very different, in the end there is a wine for everyone. More content and more bloggers would help different categories of consumers to identify the wines that suit them, depending on their preferences and values.

4. What is your favorite part of this lifestyle?

Oh, I find it most interesting to decipher what the winemaker meant when making the wine. But it’s harder to get there. Usually, you have to be lucky to talk to him or her and to be able to ask more questions about history and his preferences, to catch his vision and mission about the world of wine in general.

Another positive side I discovered about wine is that the people in this independent industry are very welcoming and friendly, especially when they meet people who are really interested in the wines they make and what are the peculiarities of winemaking in region.

5. I assume that you are in a continuous study of this industry, what do you think in general about Moldovan wines and the appearance of over 200 new wineries in recent years?

I think our wine is on the right track, we still have a long way to go, but eventually we will reach the deserved world recognition. There are many new wineries, but there are also many winemaking styles. I think it is also a trend, and many will give up in a few years, when they will be fully aware of how much effort is needed.

What I like about us in the recent years is the fact that the international trends are adapted quite quickly and we’re experimenting with them. Natural, biodynamic, pet-natures, orange, without sulfites … we have it all!

6. How was your experience with the Salcuta wine and family and the first wine you tried?

For me, the first experience was with Tămăiosă de Sălcuța and the ENO series. First of all, I found it interesting on the outside, which attracted me. After that, I was amazed by the aromas and the taste of the wine, which is not a typical rose. To this day, this wine remains one of my favorite roses.

Winemakers Way is a very successful series in terms of price – quality. And of course, the wines from the EPIZŌD series are “hand’s down!”, One of the top contemporary wines, which creates an image of the new Moldovan wine abroad.

7. What do you think about the wine tourism and what would you like to see more in our country from the wineries?

I think we are a hidden pearl of Europe, yet to be discovered by tourists around the world. Good times await us. Our varieties are very interesting for the tastes of wine lovers from all over the world, this is confirmed by the medals the wineries receive at international competitions. What we lack is a larger infrastructure outside the capital, hotels, cafes, scenic spots for pictures outside the capital, the country needs to be more decentralized. Also, I hope we will have more interesting festivals.

8. What would you recommend to Moldovan wineries to implement for a beautiful evolution?

I would like to see more daring experiments with new winemaking styles and new grape varieties. To increase the export of quality dry wines and make them more accessible to consumers around the world through their presence in wine bars.

In the pre-pandemic, I used to take bottles of wine on any trip with my friends and give them to small wine shops in the cities we visited. We didn’t ask for nothing in return, just to taste the wine and visit us if they like it. I don’t know if this brought new wine tourists to Moldova, but they were all very happy, excited and, most of the time, they wouldn’t let us go without a bottle of local wine instead. I recommend this exercise; I guarantee there will be many smiles and positive feelings. I think for about 2 years I donated about 50 bottles of wine.

I think it would work very well if such an honest promotion mechanism would be adapted on a large scale. I advise the winemakers to experiment not only in wine, but also as mechanisms for promotion, design and other elements of the wine circuit.