130 Years of Castel Mimi: Crafting Excellence in Moldovan Wines

Business Review spoke with Adrian Trofim, co-owner Castel Mimi, for a special interview celebrating the 130th anniversary of Castel Mimi, a name that translates into excellence in Moldovan wines and a symbol of resilience, innovation, and international recognition. In this exclusive conversation, we delve into the remarkable journey of Castel Mimi, exploring its rich history, the challenges it has overcome, and its commitment to producing world-class wines.

Much has been said about Castel Mimi, especially this year when it hosted the European Political Summit. It is one of the most imposing buildings in the country and a remarkable architectural monument. But before we talk about its success and achievements, we’d like to learn how you acquired the castle and how the Trofim family came to own the winery.

Before I answer that question, I want to emphasise the fact that Castel Mimi is a family business in which we are all united and involved. Each of us has their role and responsibilities in the business. While some of us may be more visible in public, and others less so, it doesn’t mean that only one of us is involved in managing the castle. All four of us are equally involved and put in the same amount of effort. Our father, Iurie Trofim, is the one who motivates us and sets the best example of good business management. He started this business and knows all its ins and outs. He is our strongest pillar and our harshest critic.

Now, to answer your question, we were all born in the village of Bulboaca. Our father began working at the winery when he was still a child, whenever he had the chance. He would be there on weekends, after school, going to the warehouse and working as a porter. He studied law, and after completing his degree, he was invited to work as a legal expert at this winery, which at that time was owned by the Timosenco collective farm. Later, he became its administrator. At that time, the company had a debt of 5 million dollars and very little wine in its cellars. The factory workers, who were also its shareholders, had not received their salaries in six months.

What year was this and what caused this situation?

Because the workers were not receiving their salaries, the company’s shares were distributed to the employees, as was the procedure at the time. The year was 1998 and my father decided to buy their shares so he could efficiently manage the company. He gathered the 1,500 shareholders, who were residents of the village, and made the proposal. In just a few days, he had the majority stake in the company, taking out a bank loan in his name with an interest rate of over 50 percent.

Did that solve the crisis?

Yes, but other crises followed. The company’s main goal was to export wine to Russia, where 99 percent of the wine was being shipped. The first embargo in 2006 completely disrupted our plans. Fortunately, we didn’t lose money like other wineries. Of the 250 producers on the market at that time, 120 went bankrupt. We tried to find other markets in Europe, but I must admit that the quality of our wine was lower back then, and we weren’t accepted. That’s when we decided to distil all the wine, and this wine distillate was sold at a profit. This allowed us to purchase new, state-of-the-art equipment. We were also the first in Moldova to import equipment from France and start making high quality wines.

You found a solution back then, but the embargoes continued. How did you overcome them?

In 2013, when the second embargo occurred, it was an even tougher period because it happened right before the grape harvesting season. Grape growers were protesting in the Grand National Assembly Square. At that time, the administrator of our company went in front of them and said: “Come to Bulboaca, we will buy all your grapes.” And that’s what happened. In 2012-2013, we bought as many grapes as possible from the market. We processed tens of thousands of tonnes of grapes and hired three wineries to assist us. We had export distillation contracts that allowed us to survive. All the profits were reinvested in the company to modernise it. The general modernisation began in 2010, and later in 2012-2013 we started renovating the winery, which became the largest renovation project in the country. We all decided as a family to restore a building that would remain in history.

Was that when you decided to restore the castle?

We discovered by chance what a historical and architectural treasure the castle held. We were visited by a potential partner from China who came to the castle for our wines, but after seeing it, asked my father to make him a shareholder. Since this was a family business, my father initially refused, but later wondered what could have prompted the Chinese partner to make such a proposal. For a week, my father walked around and revisited every corner. We knew about the castle and the old building that belonged to Boyar Constantin Mimi, but we knew very little about the history of the place. That’s when my father searched through archives and found out who Constantin Mimi was: the last governor of Basarabia, who was also believed to have been the saviour of winemaking in the Republic of Moldova in 1904.

Everything was covered in plaster; when we cleaned the facade, we found beautiful stone underneath, in a different colour. That’s when we had a family meeting to decide whether to invest our earnings in a house, a car, or gradually invest in a building that would be left to our children. You already know what we decided to do. All profits from wine sales were invested in reconstruction. We had businesses in other countries, but they were sold, and the money was brought back to the country and invested in Castel Mimi.

What was the total value of the investment?

We haven’t disclosed it yet, and in truth, we don’t even know it. We stopped at a certain point, but my father said he didn’t want to calculate it because it would still belong to us. We looked for the value to recover the investment, and he told me simply, “Work for 50 years. In 50 years, you have to recoup the money invested.”

What is the Trofim family most proud of today? The restoration of the Castle or a prosperous business in the field?

You know, prosperity in winemaking is somewhat utopian. Very few wineries in Moldova and other countries become highly profitable quickly and can boast very high revenues. It’s a very complicated business because you plant a vine today and it takes seven years before you can make good wine from it. There’s even a joke among winemakers: “If you want to become a millionaire, start as a billionaire because investments will eat you up.”

To get back to your question, today we can proudly say that we are the calling card of the Republic of Moldova in the world of tourism, according to the Wine Travel Awards. We also have a wine event in Europe – VinOpera, established by INTERVITIS, a part of the Council of Europe. We’re proud to be among the top 15 wineries in the world in terms of beauty and tourism.

Let’s stay on VinOpera for a bit. The International Classical Music Festival recently held its sixth edition and offered free access. What are your intentions in organising such events?

We prepare for VinOpera for a year, signing contracts with various artists in advance to ensure that the event will be at the highest level. This year, we partnered up with the Constantin Mimi Foundation, through which we implemented all our social projects. For the first time this year, we organised the festival in three locations, with the Varnita and Bulboaca villages hosting free concerts for their residents. At Castel Mimi, of course, there were higher costs, and we had to charge an entrance fee to cover at least some of the expenses. This event is not profitable, even though the tickets were quite expensive—and we don’t want it to be profitable. Because when the event is so great, the goal should not be profit; you shouldn’t cut corners on comfort, organisation, stages or artists. The purpose of VinOpera is to promote classical music and opera music in the winery. Wine is a noble drink and so are classical and opera music.

Let’s now go back to the beginning of this summer, when Castel Mimi hosted the European Political Council Summit. What advantages has this event brought you?

We are proud that confidence in the future of Moldova has increased to the same level as when the visa regime between the EU and Moldova was liberalised. This pleases us because we hosted a great event, which required seven months of preparation and a significant investment.

Did you receive financial support from the state?

I want to point out that we were not financially supported by the state. The government did cover some services that we contracted for this event. It made no contributions to investments in our building, even though some of the improvements were made at the sponsor’s request to host the summit at the highest level.

Hosting the event brought more visibility and recognition for Castel Mimi.

Let’s get back to the wine. Where are Castel Mimi wines being sold now?

We are present across the world, from Japan to Canada. We even have a map in our office with pins indicating the places we’ve reached so far. Castel Mimi wines can be found on shelves in 20 countries, and we aim to continue expanding. However, the issue is that sales are declining. One reason is the war. We didn’t export to Russia ourselves, but previously, the European Union was doing so. Their wines remained in the EU, and this means that non-EU countries were pushed out from the shelves. For example, Poland and the Czech Republic received instructions to prioritise EU wines on their shelves, so our exports decreased significantly. Our production costs have also increased, partly due to the energy crisis. Glass has become more expensive, and so has everything else, including logistics. But European countries that used to export to Russia have received state aid and could offer more competitive prices than Moldova in the Polish and Czech retail networks.

During the Soviet period, there were massive wine volumes that got exported both in bulk and bottled. Do you intend to reach those impressive figures or are you focusing on a more select, high quality product for specific markets?

We have an internal average price indicator per exported bottle, and I don’t want to reach the quantities you mentioned because we wouldn’t be able to maintain the quality at such high volumes. Perhaps it will be possible someday, but for now, we have a target we aim to reach, and only after that happens can we move on to the next step. We position ourselves as a premium quality winery and aim to be among the highest-priced wines. I’d rather sell one bottle than ten.

What is the ratio between domestic consumption and exports?

30 percent of all our sales are made within Moldova, and a lot of that volume is consumed in the restaurant at the Castel. The most important export country is Romania, followed by Sweden and Japan. These are our three most significant clients—not in terms of the number of bottles, but in terms of value.

Which markets will you be targeting in the near future?

We want to reach the Northern countries, those that are more open to experimenting, countries that don’t just see Moldova as an ex-Soviet country with cheap and sweet wines. I’m talking about Poland and Hungary, where Moldova has a bad reputation, and the wines are perceived as being cheap. In their view, we should be the cheapest on the shelf; nothing else can be cheaper than Moldovan wine. But we don’t want Castel Mimi wines to be the cheapest in any country. We want to be appreciated because we put in more effort than producers from European countries. For us, the law is much stricter, and we need to be valued fairly. Our current target market includes the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the US, three countries with high wine imports that aren’t afraid of experiments.

As noted above, Castel Mimi celebrates its 130th anniversary this fall. How do you plan to mark this occasion?

We are going to launch a wine that I am confident to say is the result of an effort no other local winemaker has ever made. We’ve prepared extensively, and we’re about to launch it. It’s called “Negru de Bulboaca,” it’s made in limited quantities, and we will open it in a very exclusive setting on October 1st, alongside wine experts who will understand the high value of this wine.

What other projects are you currently working on that don’t necessarily involve wine?

I always have five projects in progress. One for image, one for profit, one for company development, one for cost reduction, and last but not least something new, a new business. Something that’s not directly related to wine, but connected to our brand. We are working hard on sustainability and making colossal efforts. Everything we build must be sustainable. If we install heating or cooling systems, they must be connected to renewable energy, not natural gas. For example, the hotel and spa area we are building will be completely covered by solar energy. That’s why we’ve doubled the number of solar panels: we want to be as energy independent as possible. In the summer, we reached 100 percent coverage. In August, we worked with zero kilowatts paid. We plan to expand; we are constantly growing and evolving.

As for wine, I can tell you the following: we are working on new wine editions that should be ready by the end of the year and early next year. We will soon launch a campaign to promote wines made from our native grape varieties. We want to create blends of foreign and native grapes so that we can promote them to foreign consumers. We want foreigners to get to know our grape varieties. For this, we encourage Moldovans, whether they are in the country or in the diaspora, to be ambassadors of the wines made from native grape varieties and to promote the country’s name: Moldova.

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