Purcari
05/2023: As exclusive supplier and strategic partner to the listed Purcari Wineries Group, Vetropack provides premium bottles for the renowned Negru de Purcari vintages and lightweight glass packaging for the new ‘Native’ organic wines – along with an extensive range of different containers for this successful Group’s growing spirits portfolio.
Wine has been grown in Moldova for almost five thousand years. Vineyards were already flourishing in many areas of the country by the end of the 12th century, and viniculture was established as an important sector of the economy. The mild climate, influenced by the nearby Black Sea, often evokes comparisons with France’s famous Bordeaux region; Moldova also has a very diverse range of fertile soils – Purcari alone has over 25 types on its terrain. Negru de Purcari, one of the Group’s red wines, found particular favour with Europe’s elites in the 19th century and was awarded its first gold medal at the Paris International Exposition in 1878. This wine won a high accolade again in the 21st century, when Decanter selected “Negru de Purcari 2019” as one of its Top Classic Wines of 2021. In the same year, Château Purcari won more awards than any other winery in the world, and this producer continues to attract attention from global wine experts – for example, because many of its products contain indigenous grape varieties such as Rara Neagră or Viorica.
The listed Purcari Wineries Group currently operates five production platforms in Moldova, Romania, and (most recently) Bulgaria, comprising four wineries and one brandy distillery. The Group’s annual sales increased by 22% in 2022 and it now has more than 800 employees, seven production sites and an area under cultivation of over 1,450 hectares. Vetropack – the leading European glass packaging manufacturer – supplies over 40 different types of glass container for Purcari’s various product lines, reaching an overall volume of 17 to 25 million units per year.
Catalina Turcanu, Senior Brand Manager at Purcari Wineries Group, takes up the story: “We are proud of our Group’s continuous growth. Although Romania is our main market with 53% of our sales, followed by Moldova with 21%, we also sell our wines and spirits to over 40 markets across the globe including Norway, the UK, the USA, Germany, France, Poland, and China – to name but a few.”
Local, innovative, and sustainable
Château Purcari, with its magnificent castle set amid the green hills of southern Moldova, is the flagship company of the Purcari Wineries Group. Its wines are produced in accordance with the strictest requirements of French viniculture. They are made exclusively from hand-picked grapes, using traditional processing methods under the special supervision of Italian oenologist Federico Giotto. The young wine passes through various stages of work in the cellar such as cooling, filtering and fermentation before it is matured in French oak barrels for at least 18 months.
Vetropack supplies 90 percent of the glass for the Purcari Wineries Group. Château Purcari alone purchases glass packaging for a total of 22 product lines, including different bottles for the four main wine categories: Reserve, Limited Edition, 1827 Collection, and Sparkling. When Vetropack acquired the nearby glassworks at Chișinău in 2020, the partnership was broadened to embrace a truly European perspective focusing on innovation and sustainability. With its two glass furnaces, Vetropack Chișinău offers the flexibility to produce a diverse range of glass packaging in two different colours.
«Thanks to local support from Vetropack, our logistics are more sustainable, we have access to packaging know-how, and we benefit from a shared understanding of our company’s growth.»
“The move from Italy (where our bottles were produced before) to Moldova opened up opportunities for us to collaborate much more closely. Thanks to local support from Vetropack, our logistics are more sustainable, we have access to packaging know-how, and we benefit from a shared understanding of our company’s growth,” Turcanu adds. “New bottles embossed with ‘1827’, the year of our foundation, were created in 2020 for the Reserve, Main and Limited Edition series – and they have definitely helped us to reach the very top of the rankings. The bottles play a crucial role in the premium segment because they underscore the complexity of the wine.”
Glass packaging benefits premium and organic wines
The Purcari Wineries Group is continuing its growth trajectory, with new products launched almost every year. “Vetropack is supplying us with a unique bottle for the latest addition to our ‘Wine Crime’ brand portfolio: the Wine Crime sparkling wine we introduced in 2023. Having such a flexible partner is a superb asset – not least when it comes to sustainability. We generally aim to make the bottles lighter so as to reduce the impact on the environment. We’re one of only a handful of companies in Moldova with a dedicated sustainability department. We’re investing in solar energy, modern resource-efficient equipment and – last but not least – organic and biodynamic wines,” Turcanu explains.
Purcari ‘Native’ is a new limited-edition collection of wines produced from grapes that are currently in transition to organic cultivation: they will soon become biodynamic wines. To carry out a product test in the region, Vetropack began by supplying a provisional glass packaging. ‘Native’ has already won a Grand Gold medal at Mundus Vini 2023; now that sales are expanding into the EU and beyond, these wines will be sold in a new lighter bottle which is also supplied by Vetropack. Thanks to an improved production process, the new lighter glass from Vetropack saves resources throughout the value chain without compromising on quality or robustness. For a typical 750-ml wine bottle weighing 400 grams, the weight reduction is 50 grams – so materials are saved and the process generates fewer CO2 emissions. And as an added benefit, Purcari Native is delivered in sustainable transport boxes.
Final words from Victor Bostan, Founder and General Manager of Château Purcari: “We are proud to have achieved such magnificent results! As our strategic partner for packaging, Vetropack has played a major part in this remarkable success story. We will continue our joint efforts to promote Moldova and its rich wine culture throughout the world – showing that these quality wines are created with great care and passion, by people who are absolutely devoted to their work.”
