Wine of Moldova Contest 2026, 9 – 10 December 2026

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“Wine of Moldova” National Contest

The “Wine of Moldova” National Contest brings together producers and professionals of the wine sector to celebrate the quality of wines and wine-based spirits from the Republic of Moldova. Products are judged by an international jury in line with the OIV Guide.

Register samples

Contest calendar

  1. 25 November 2026 Sample registration deadline
  2. 25 November – 2 December 2026 Delivery of samples to the Organiser
  3. 9 – 10 December 2026 Wine tasting
  4. 11 December 2026 Announcement of results and award ceremony, Winter Vernissage

Sample delivery and tasting venue: Capitoles park, str. Melestiu 13 A, Parcul Valea Trandafirilor, Chișinău

About the contest

The “Wine of Moldova” National Contest is dedicated to wines and sparkling wines from indigenous varieties, new Moldovan-bred varieties and European or international varieties, to blends, special wines and wine-based spirits.

The contest is organised by the Public Institution “National Office of Vine and Wine” (ONVV), supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, together with the associations of PGI producers and other professional associations.

The contest follows the principles of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine set out in Resolution OIV-OENO 671A-2025 (the OIV Guide).

Contest objectives

  • recognising quality products
  • raising the technical and quality level of producers
  • promoting indigenous varieties and geographical indications
  • promoting wines on local and international markets under the country brand “Wine of Moldova. Unexpectedly great”
  • informing consumers about the wine products of the Republic of Moldova

Participation

Who can take part

The contest is open to wineries of the Republic of Moldova listed in the Vine and Wine Register and contributing to the Vine and Wine Fund. Participation is free of charge.

Which products are admitted

  • wines from indigenous varieties: Fetească albă, Fetească regală, Rară neagră, Fetească neagră
  • wines from new Moldovan-bred varieties: Viorica, Legenda, Alb de Onițcani, Riton and others
  • blends of these varieties with European varieties
  • white, red and rosé wines from international varieties, single-variety and blends
  • sparkling, semi-sparkling and other special wines
  • wine-based spirits

Only products made in the Republic of Moldova from raw materials of national origin may be entered. Products that use PDO or PGI names without meeting the conditions for their use are not admitted.

Product groups

  1. 1

    Sparkling wines

    Sparkling (over 2.5 bar, traditional or Charmat method), semi-sparkling and pearl wines (0.5–2.5 bar); white, rosé and red, including aromatic.

  2. 2

    Still white wines

    From non-aromatic and aromatic varieties, including skin-contact (orange) wines; from dry to sweet.

  3. 3

    Still rosé and red wines

    From dry to sweet, taking oak ageing into account.

  4. 4

    Special wines

    Natural sweet wines (ice wine, botrytised or dried grapes), mistelles, liqueur wines, flor wines, dealcoholised and aromatised wines.

  5. 5

    Wine-based spirits

    Wine spirits (including divin), brandy, grape, raisin, pomace and wine-lees spirits, other wine-based spirit drinks.

Samples are assigned to subcategories by colour, aromatic character, sugar content, production method and oak ageing. The final classification of each sample is made by the Organiser.

How to take part

Step 1 Sample registration

A sample is registered once its online registration form is fully completed. The form is filled in only once per sample.

The registration form includes

  • company details: name, IDNO, legal address, director, contact person
  • trade name and exact legal name of the product
  • category under Annex 1 and colour
  • geographical indication: PDO, PGI or none
  • vintage and grape varieties with their shares
  • oak ageing and, for sparkling wines, the production method
  • lot volume (litres) and number of bottles available
  • physico-chemical parameters (Annex 2)
  • vineyard data: yield, density, altitude, exposure
  • retail price, MDL per bottle
  • participant declarations and authorised person

Vineyard data and price are not shared with the jurors; the Organiser may use them only for aggregated statistics.

The Organiser confirms each sample by e-mail and assigns its registration code. Late entries are not accepted.

Fill in the registration form

Step 2 Sample delivery

One sample means

  • 3 × 0.75 l wines (0.5 l or 1 l bottles are also accepted)
  • 2 × 1.5 l wines in magnum format
  • 3 × 0.5 l wine-based spirits
  • Samples come from a homogeneous lot of at least 1,000 litres intended for sale. For very limited productions, at least 100 litres is accepted with a justification in the form.
  • Each sample is presented with its commercial label and packaging; bottles of one sample come from the same lot and are sealed.
  • Transport is at the participant’s expense. Accepted samples stay with the Organiser and are not returned.

Accompanying documents

A quality certificate or test report with the Annex 2 parameters, issued by an accredited or certified laboratory, or the winery’s own declaration (items 189–192 of Government Decision 356/2015). Documents are also sent electronically.

The Secretariat checks each sample, its documents, label and PDO/PGI use. Non-conformities can be fixed within 2 working days if the delivery period has not ended.

Jury

Samples are judged by international and Moldovan experts with experience in wine competitions and professional tasting.

  • tasting panels of 5 or 7 members, each led by a chair
  • Moldovan experts make up no more than half of a panel
  • an absolute majority of members does not come from the same country
  • every panel includes at least one oenologist; for spirits, a distillation specialist
  • at most 45 wine samples a day in three sessions, and 30 spirit samples a day
  • jurors, the Jury President and the secretary are appointed by ONVV order

Samples are anonymous: bottles are served in opaque covers with a serving code different from the registration code, and are opened outside the tasting room.

Scoring

  • Samples are scored out of 100 points on OIV-UIOE tasting sheets, entered in the electronic tasting application.
  • A sample’s score is the jurors’ average to two decimals; scores more than 7 points away from the average are excluded.
  • A sample marked “eliminated” for a major fault by at least two jurors receives no award.
  • If the first bottle is faulty, a second one is opened at the panel chair’s request, backed by a majority of the panel and decided by the Jury President.

Jury of the edition 2026

International jurors

  • Arina Antoce

    Arina Antoce

    Romania

    Prof. univ. dr. habil., USAMV București, Facultatea de Horticultură – oenologie, biotehnologie, microbiologie.

  • Davide Bortone

    Davide Bortone

    Italy

    Jurnalist VerdeVin și Mundus VINI.

  • Valeriu V. Cotea

    Valeriu Cotea

    Romania

    Prof. univ. dr., oenologie și viticultură (Universitatea de Științe ale Vieții „Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iași – IULS); președinte Comisia de Oenologie OIV; membru al Academiei Române.

  • Per Karlsson

    Per Karlsson

    France

    Co-fondator BKWine; jurnalist, fotograf și editor-șef BKWine Magazine.

  • Jacopo Mazzeo

    Jacopo Mazzeo

    United Kingdom

    Jurnalist, fotograf și consultant independent – vin, bere, spirtoase.

  • Sergiu Nedelea

    Sergiu Nedelea

    Romania

    Sommelier profesional; fondator și manager Winetaste School; președinte Asociația Winetaste.

  • Richard Pfister

    Richard Pfister

    Switzerland

    CEO, Proxipel SA.

  • Tomasz Prange-Barczynski

    Tomasz Prange-Barczynski

    Poland

    Redactor-șef „Ferment. Pismo o winie”; critic de vin, autor, jurat internațional.

  • Simone Roveda

    Simone Roveda

    Italy

    Fondator WineryLovers; strateg în marketing web.

  • Katsuyuki Tanaka

    Katsuyuki Tanaka

    Japan

    Co-președinte Japan Wine Challenge (cea mai veche competiție de vin din Asia, alături de John Salvi MW); cel mai influent scriitor și degustător de vin din Japonia.

  • John Kevin Whelehan

    John Kevin Whelehan

    Japan

    International Wine Expert | Buyer | Author | Wine Competition Judge

  • Mami Whelehan

    Japan

    Wine Marketing And Public Relations Specialist

Jurors from the Republic of Moldova

  • Maria Antohi

    Maria Antohi

    Moldova

    Șef-adjunct al Direcției controlul siguranței și calității produselor vitivinicole, alcoolului etilic și producției alcoolice.

  • Mihai Druta

    Mihai Druta

    Moldova

    Președintele Asociației de Sommelier din Moldova.

  • Arcadie Foșnea

    Arcadie Foșnea

    Moldova

    Oenolog, fondator Crama Mircești, președinte al Uniunii Micilor Producători de vinuri Dionysos, degustator autorizat.

  • Lucia Gherdelescu

    Lucia Gherdelescu

    Moldova

    Expert în produse vitivinicole și băuturi alcoolice, degustator autorizat.

  • Marian Haraba

    Moldova

    Oenolog, Radacini Wines.

  • Vitalie Ivanov

    Vitalie Ivanov

    Moldova

    Oenolog, specialist principal RVV, ONVV, degustator autorizat.

  • Daniela Jitaru

    Daniela Jitaru

    Moldova

    Degustator autorizat. A.S.E. Șefa Grupei de Analiză Senzorială în cadrul CNSAPSA.

  • Ion Luca

    Ion Luca

    Moldova

    Fondator Casa Vinicolă Luca, oenologul anului 2024.

  • Vasile Luca

    Vasile Luca

    Moldova

    Oenolog, director general Radacini Wines S.R.L., degustator autorizat.

  • Svetlana Malanciuc

    Svetlana Malanciuc

    Moldova

    Director executiv Vinăria Ungheni S.R.L., degustator autorizat.

  • Inga Manuilenco

    Inga Manuilenco

    Moldova

    Oenolog, tehnolog Kazayak Vin S.A., președintele comisiei de degustare internă a Asociației UVV RGD „Valul lui Traian”, degustator autorizat.

  • Vadim Mihailov

    Vadim Mihailov

    Moldova

    Vinificator-tehnolog și consultant în vinificație, degustator autorizat.

  • Petru Plugaru

    Petru Plugaru

    Moldova

    Oenolog, Vinăria Bardar.

  • Galina Polzikova

    Galina Polzikova

    Moldova

    Manager calitate produse vitivinicole, degustator autorizat.

  • Cătălina Preda

    Cătălina Preda

    Moldova

    Consultantă independentă în comunicare vinicolă, absolventă Geisenheim University, degustătoare autorizată

  • Viorica Preda

    Viorica Preda

    Moldova

    Expert în certificarea produselor alcoolice / Degustător autorizat de vinuri

  • Natalia Toropova

    Natalia Toropova

    Moldova

Awards

  • Grand Gold Medal

    at least 93 points

  • Gold Medal

    89 – 92.99 points

  • Silver Medal

    85 – 88.99 points

  • Medals may not exceed 30% of admitted samples; the cap applies within each group.
  • Awards are confirmed by a diploma. Samples without an award receive no diploma or participation certificate.
  • On request, the Organiser provides free medal stickers, strictly for the volume declared at registration.
  • An award applies only to the entered lot and is withdrawn in case of misuse or false data.

Results, appeals and personal data

  • Results stay confidential until the contest ends. The official list is published on this site.
  • Complaints about organisation and awards are filed in writing within 10 calendar days of the results and reviewed by a 5-member committee within 15 days. The jury’s sensory assessment cannot be appealed on its merits.
  • Personal data is processed only to run the contest, under national law and GDPR principles.