Winemaker Notes
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
Moldova is a tiny country between Romania and Ukraine. Though it was geographically the smallest state of the former Soviet Union, it had the second largest area under vine only after Ukraine, its large northeastern neighbor, and was Russia’s largest source of wine through much of the 20th century. Petrified grape seeds and amphorae dating to 2,800 BC have been discovered in Moldova, proving it to be one of the world’s oldest producers of wine. White wine comprises a little over two thirds of production; imported European varieties are most prevalent for both white and red wine.