Moldova's most famous red wine: a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Saperavi and Rară Neagră from Purcari, served wide across Chișinău wine bars.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Negru de Purcari has been bottled at Château Purcari since 1827, the year Tsar Nicholas I issued a decree granting the estate the status of the first specialized winery in Bessarabia. At the 1878 Paris World Expo, French tasters mistook the dry red for a Bordeaux and awarded it a gold medal once the Moldovan origin was revealed. Queen Elizabeth II is the documented modern royal fan. The blend leads with Cabernet Sauvignon, with Saperavi from the Georgian tradition planted at Purcari and the indigenous Rara Neagra grape for length. It is the wine every Moldovan restaurant offers and the headline pour at Ziua Nationala a Vinului.
Common allergens: Sulphites
Carpe Diem on Strada Columna in Chișinău is the country's first wine bar (2011), pouring 10 to 15 Moldovan wines by the glass from a 160-label shelf.
Signature pour: Fetească Neagră by the glass
Wine focus: Moldovan wines, 160 labels from every Moldovan region
Food: Local cheese, charcuterie, quince jam
Invino on Bănulescu-Bodoni in Chișinău is the 2016 sommelier-led Moldovan wine enoteca, with 250 labels on the shelf and 15 pours by the glass.
Signature pour: Anastasia's flight of Moldovan reds
Wine focus: 250 Moldovan labels from 30 wineries, sommelier-curated
Food: Cheese boards and quince jam pairings
Embargo on Pușkin 47/1 in Chișinău is the wine-focused bar showcasing high-quality Moldovan wines paired with local cheeses, charcuterie and house.
Signature pour: Fetească Neagră from a small producer
Wine focus: Premium Moldavian wines with cheese pairings
Food: Local cheeses, baked goods, charcuterie
Symposium in Chișinău is the Mediterranean room and wine club on Strada 31 August 1989, with a 200-label Moldovan and European wine list selected as a club.
Signature: Adriatic seafood plates, Lamb with mămăligă, Moldovan wine flights
Order: The Moldovan red flight with a lamb shoulder slow-cooked over mămăligă.
Tip: Ask the sommelier to run a flight of three Fetească Neagră from different Moldovan regions; the kitchen's seafood is sourced weekly from Odessa.
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