Description
Wine House
Casa Vinicola Luca is a family-owned business with a history that traces back through the annals of time. The modern history has been harsh on the members of this family. The Soviet regime confiscated all their family property and deported a significant portion of the family to labor camps in Siberia. Only great-grandfather Petru escaped deportation because he happened to be on the vineyard that fateful night, and lacking a car at the time, he had to remain on the vineyard for several days to finish the work. The vineyard saved him. Upon his return, he found his house occupied by Soviet officers instead of his loved ones. He fought to bring his family back home and largely succeeded in convincing the regime that they were not “class enemies” or “traitors.” Upon their return, they were allocated a barn where they used to store their tools for tending to the land and the vineyard. There, they carried on with their lives. Grandfather Grigore continued the tradition, producing wine throughout his life, albeit under domestic circumstances, as private ownership was not permitted, and entrepreneurship was forbidden at the time.
The era of Perestroika found father Ion in one of the country’s largest wine cellars, known as Cricova, where he collaborated with his son Vasile to create some of Moldova’s most renowned wines. Son Ion continued the family tradition, and after extensive travels around the world, he decided to reclaim what had been taken from them by the Soviet regime: the production of wine under their own name – Casa Vinicola Luca. In 2014, they launched the CARPE DIEM wine series, primarily made from native grape varieties, but also incorporating some international varieties, and recognition followed swiftly. Each year, Carpe Diem wines receive accolades in numerous national and international competitions, making them the most decorated small wine producer in Moldova for many years.
