Our Family
“…balance, restraint, and respect for terroir. I believe these characteristics are the indisputable product of the vine itself, and are an expression of the deep connection to the soil and environment in which it lives.”
Dragnev Family brings their passion for over 40 years , a life-long love of science and attention to detail to BASAVIN Winery. Each member of family is implicated in the vine process and works daily on product quality. Valeriu Dragnev is convinced that the expressiveness of BASAVIN Wines is direct result of Soil, bedrock and Climate. But also, is a direct result of thoughtful, purposeful practices in the vineyard.
After above 40 years’ experience and practice, Dragnev Family particular care with the biodynamic preparations and sprays to ensure that they breed healthy soil microbial activity and produce vine equilibrium.
As a result, BASAVIN Winery vineyards are free of chemicals, unencumbered and nurtured to express their true character in their fruit.
The Legacy of Romanovka
The town of Romanovka (nowadays Basarabeasca) was established in 1846, by a Jewish community, and was named in honor of the Royal family of the Romanovs.
In 1866, the 57 Jewish families established in Romanovka were stripped off their arable land. As a consequence, approximately 400 people had to start another business, which was that of wine making.
At the beginning of the 1900s, the Romanovka region registered rapid development and, already in 1913 was launched the industrial processing of grapes. Accordingly, besides the already existing vapor winds in Romanovka, there was built a winery with two primitive molding machines that were drawn by horses.
In 1939, was built the first wine cellar that had a capacity of 40 oak barrels, where the wine was kept and matured into noble wine. During the same year, the processing of grapes was, for the first time, supported by two electric grape crushing machines. This marked the beginning of the mechanization of the viticulture and wine industry in Romanovka.
The BASARABEASCA AREA
Nature could have not conceived a better place for the grape culture – the vineyards are located 75 km from the Black Sea, on the sunny slopes of the hills, clay rich soils that are reach in minerals, all leading to the producing of unique wine quality and taste.
Today, the vines in the Romanovka region are managed by the Basarabia-Lwin Invest SRL. BASAVIN Winery also administrates the nearby vine growing countryside lands which include the villages of Abaclia, Başcalia, Cimislia, Cioc – Maidan and Iserlia.
The vineyards are located 150- 250 m above sea level. During the year the sun shines approximately 2,500 hours annually, and falls above 350-500 mm of rainfall. All this creates favorable conditions for growing grapes.
Via Veliu Vineyard
Situated in the Stefan Voda wine region, our team strives to give each of our wines a sense of place.
The grapes from Via Veliu vineyard are unique due to the perfect combination of all the factors that influence the growth of the healthiest and quality grapes: black soil and grassland that carbonates with sandy areas, temperate continental climate with mild influence of the Black Sea (75 km) and lot of sun which makes the things possible.
BASAVIN Winery process begins with grape sourcing, where the most important winemaking decision is picking ripe, clean, delicious fruit. Our own BASAVIN Vineyards consist of 250 ha of certified organic Sauvignon, Muscat, Pinot Gigio, Feteasca Alba, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Feteasca Neagra, Albernet grapes. Working with our vineyard management team, we produce wines with the finest of fruit.
We hope that when you open a bottle of BASAVIN wine, you enjoy the nuances of the different microclimates and complex geographies that our grapes hail from.
The Winery
Daily dedication to winemaking
In 1969, the Romanovka winery was renovated. This winery formed the basis for the establishment of the nowadays wine producing factory, which has kept the old traditions combining, with expertise, the new technologies of wine processing.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the viticulture and wine industry branches in the Republic of Moldova had to undergo structural and complex changes. Despite these difficult times, the viticulture and wine industry in the Romanovka region was able to overcome these complicated times. Moreover, the winery had to undergo changes that led to the future development of the factory.
Today we can confidently affirm that BASAVIN Winery sets the standards for quality wine producers in the Republic of Moldova.
Our wines
The select wines of BASAVIN Winery are processed according to the “vendage manuelle” technology.
According to this technology, the ripest and healthy grapes are harvested by hand, also there is a strict control of the fermentation temperature and later the wine is matured in oak barrels.
Vintage – is done from early morning (between 5 and 11am) to keep the grapes cool and fresh till they arrive to the factory for rigorous processing. Once grapes arrive to the factory they are subjected to manual selection holding 2-stage sorting of the ripest and healthy grapes. After it grapes are processed by the most famous and professional equipment from France named “Vaslin Bucher”.
Knowing that Mother Nature gives us a new set of challenges each year, we’re always open to adjusting our winemaking technique to ensure that we have the purest expression from the vineyard and accurately portray the vintage in our wine. Each vintage is different. The same winemaking recipe doesn’t work for every single year or fruit source.
Everything for these vines and wines is done perfect: it begins with the correct crop load per bush and namely the limitation of harvest per each bush in order to get the best and healthiest grapes;
