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Young Entrepreneur Returns from Diaspora to Build a New-Generation Winery .

Project Success Story | January 10, 2019

A document titled "Success Story: Young Entrepreneur Returns from Diaspora to Build a New-Generation Winery." Includes an image of a man inspecting a barrel.

Moldovan entrepreneurs turns tradition into jobs, leveraging USAID and Swedish support via the Moldovan Competitiveness Project (MCP) to restore local heritage, attract foreign tourists, and strengthen an emerging industry in ancestral communities. All this, while creating some of the region’s best wines.

Wine is not only a part of Moldova’s cultural heritage, it’s also a major component of its modern economy, generating revenue for over 200,000 people and representing five percent of all exports. When Moldova’s largest market, Russia, launched two trade embargoes, exports shrank three-fold and the industry fell into recession. Grape growers and bulk wine makers across Moldova suffered huge losses, but outdated winemaking practices and legislation prevented them from reorienting their efforts. In response, the Moldovan Competitiveness Project’s (MCP) predecessor projects, funded by USAID and Sweden, worked hard to reform Moldova’s wine laws, making it possible for small wine makers to emerge and professionalize their greatest resource: their small plantations of vines.