KVINT (acronym for ''Kon’iaki, vina i napitki Tiraspol’ia'' (" cognacs, wines, and beverages of

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the th ...

")) is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

and distillery based in

, the administrative center of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

. Kvint products are certified 'Made in Moldova'. Founded in 1897, the company produced only

vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...

until 1938, when it began producing brandies. It is the oldest still-operating commercial enterprise in the region. Locals consider KVINT a national treasure and a symbol of their country. Its factory is shown on the 5

Transnistrian ruble The rubla ( ro, рублэ, rublă, , plural ruble; russian: рубль) is the currency of Transnistria and is divided into 100 ''kopecks''. It is also known as the rouble in Commonwealth English or ruble in American English. Since Transnistria ...

banknote. KVINT is one of Transnistria's largest exporters, to Italy and China as well as Russia and Ukraine; its brandy has gone to the Vatican and into space. Transnistria lies east of the Dniester River. The grapes grown here are

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

variety. KVINT's award-winning Prince Wittgenstein brandy incorporates "

Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. Variants * Blanche: French * Bianca: Italian * Bianka ( Polish, Hungarian, Slovak, German, English, French, Icelandic, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, C ...

Aligoté Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines, especially in the Burgundy region of France where it was first recorded in the 18th century.winepros.com.au. Since it is tolerant to cold, this variety is also cultivated in Eastern Euro ...

, Pervenets of Magarach ervenet Magaracea

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

, Riton, Suruchensky White, Ugni Blanc, nd

Colombard Colombard (also known as French Colombard in North America) is a white French wine grape variety that is the offspring of Chenin blanc and Gouais blanc.winepros.com.au. This makes the grape the sibling of the Armagnac Meslier-Saint-François ...

" grapes. The company also grows traditionally European red grapes, such as "

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are n ...

, Ancelotti,

Saperavi Saperavi ( ka, საფერავი; literally "paint, dye, give color") is an acidic, teinturier-type grape variety native to the country of Georgia, where it is used to make many of the region's most well-known wines. It is also grown in R ...

, Viognier, nd Syrah (Shiraz)." The company was privatized in 2006 and is owned by the conglomerate Sheriff Ltd. Bottles are labeled "Made in Moldova" because Transnistria, landlocked inside Moldova, is not recognized as a sovereign country and bottles must be printed with the name of a country of origin. Its annual production is approximately ten million litres of alcoholic drinks. In 2014 its annual revenues were about $50 million, about 5% of Transnistria's

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

. KVINT obtained

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

9001-94 certification in 2000 and ISO 9001-2000 in 2003. The factory is one of only a few enterprises in the former Soviet Union which can assure a kosher production process. Daily tours on weekdays at 15:00 local time (conducted in English and Russian) are undertaken, and end with a sampling of six kinds of brandy.

References

External links

Official website (in Russian and English)
Companies of Transnistria Wineries of Moldova Drink companies of the Soviet Union 1897 establishments in the Russian Empire Food and drink companies established in 1897 {{winery-stub