And this story began in 2004, when the founder and winemaker of the enterprise, Ilie Gogu, has decided to experiment with home winemaking after graduating from the Technical University of Moldova as a wine technologist.
Located in Causeni, the home winery was born from amateur equipment and the desire for creating quality wines that would emphasize the peculiarities of local terroir. Over a couple of years of amateur activity the winemaker has planted several hectares of vineyards, and taken professional courses in Germany and Romania, which resulted in multiple gold medals at the national home winemaking competition Golden Barrel from 2004 to 2014.
In 2011 Gogu Winery officially becomes a registered small winemaker, and the enterprise begins upgrading the equipment. The first commercial wines produced on a professional level have hit the shelves in 2014 and have rapidly garnered acclaim among local wine connoisseurs, who have distinctly praised the refreshing Sauvignon Blanc. Professional wine judges have also appreciated the quality of wines produced by Gogu Winery, a fact that was confirmed by 16 gold medals awarded at such prestigious international competitions as Berliner Wine Trophy, Asian Wine Trophy, Mundus Vini, International Wine Contest Bucharest, and others.
In 2017 alongside the production facility located right at Gogu family’s homestead, a wine tasting room was constructed, which allowed the visitors to taste wines directly from the cellar in combination of local cuisine. The tasting room has rapidly become a local attraction and was made part of numerous wine tours. At the same time, construction began at a separate production facility, which would allow making larger quantities of wine and accommodating even more guests.
Geographically, this zone makes part of the Stefan Voda region, which encompasess winemakers from the Southeast of Moldova. The combination of a large number of sunny days and hilly landscape creates a unique terroir, which influences the character of virtually any grape variety grown in this region.
While the vast majority of winemakers from this zone put a stronger emphasis on red grape varieties, which allows them to obtain an intense flavor and unique aroma in their wines, Ilie Gogu has decided to favor white varieties when planting his vineyards. Such varieties as the indigenious Feteasca Alba. Feteasca Regala, Viorica and Riton, as well as European Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, have rapidly drawn attention thanks to their rich aroma.
Meanwhile, the red varieties have not been forgotten at Gogu Winery, which also grows such varieties as the European Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec, the legendary Georgian Saperavi, and local Feteasca Neagra.
Wielding the experience of both home and professional winemaking, and after visiting numerous producers in Europe, Ilie Gogu has put a really strong emphasis on the production techniques when it came to making his own winery. Despite a very modest starting volume, when building the equipment for Gogu Winery, a very close attention was drawn to international standards of grape processing, controlled fermentation, and final product storage and maturation. From this point of view, the winery adheres to a modern philosophy, which puts a strong emphasis on high quality, stability, and sanitation at every production stage.
However, despite a modern approach to the technical aspect of winemaking, the main idea in the philosophy behind Gogu Winery is the desire to communicate the local traditions and peculiarities of the region where the grapes are grown. By employing the terroir’s character to the max, the winemaker obtains a very bright aroma and intense taste in common varieties, relying primarily on the landscape, soil, climate, and exclusively using wild yeast when fermenting the grapes.
This allows creating truly local wines saturated with everything that forms the unique character of the Causeni terroir, and makes them bright, memorable. By combining modern technologies and traditional values, Gogu Winery creates truly distinctive, unique wines, each wielding its own distinct character.
Gogu Winery
str. Păcii 87, Căușeni, Moldova
info@gogu.md
+373 798 25 409
