Ana, Daniela
A icle — Published Ve sion
Na u e’s alue: E idencing a Moldo an e oi h ough
scien i ic in as uc u es
E hnos
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Leibniz Ins i u e o Ag icul u al De elopmen in T ansi ion Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale)
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Ana, Daniela (2024) : Na u e’s alue: E idencing a Moldo an e oi h ough
scien i ic in as uc u es, E hnos, ISSN 1469-588X, Taylo & F ancis, London [u.a.], Vol. 89, Iss. 2, pp.
237-252,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/00141844.2022.2163274 ,
h ps://www. and online.com/doi/ ull/10.1080/00141844.2022.2163274
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/286133
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Na u e’s Value: E idencing a Moldo an Te oi Th ough
Scien ific In as uc u es
Daniela Ana
Resea che , Leibniz Ins i u e o Ag icul u al De elopmen in T ansi ion Economies (IAMO), Halle,
Ge many
ABSTRACT
Te oi can inc ease he exchange alue o wine in compe i i e ma ke s in global
capi alism. Relying on e hnog aphic esea ch in Moldo a, his a icle shows how alue
is p oduced h ough in as uc u es ha e idence he en i onmen al ea u es o a
wine’s place o o igin in he o m o e oi . In hese p ocesses, gene icness and
uniqueness p o e o be mu ually cons i u i e. While he So ie wine indus y used
e idencing in as uc u es such as labo a o ies and measu ing de ices o p oduce
decen and affo dable able wine, old in as uc u es ha e been adap ed and new ones
in oduced o e idence e oi h ough analyses o soils and yeas s. The ocus on
scien ific in as uc u es o alue connec s new and his o ical ma e ialis app oaches in
he concep ualisa ion o human-en i onmen ela ions. I con ibu es o a new
his o ical ma e ialis unde s anding o alue by highligh ing he in e ela ion o poli ical
economic, en i onmen al and echnological dimensions in he making o e oi ,
h ough e idencing, measu ing and s anda dising physical ea u es o he en i onmen .
ARTICLE HISTORY Recei ed 5 May 2021; Accep ed 22 Decembe 2022
KEYWORDS In as uc u e; Moldo a; soils; e oi ; yeas s
In ea ly 2017, Moldo a’s Na ional Office o Vine and Wine (ONVV) o ganised a
se ies o wine as ing e en s in he capi al ci y o Chișinău ha i called Descope ă
e oi în paha , Romanian o ‘Disco e he e oi in he glass’. This was one o
he p ojec s de eloped by s a e ins i u ions and p i a e wine ies wi h he aim o
e o ming p oduc ion and discou ses in he Moldo an wine indus y in he a e ma h
o he Russian ban on Moldo an wine impo s imposed in Ma ch 2006.
1
The fi s Des-
cope ă e oi în paha session was conduc ed in a es au an in he ci y cen e by
Ș e an, who p esen ed himsel as a winemake and hobby-sommelie . While he las
p epa a ions be o e he as ing we e being w apped up by he wai e s, Ș e an ga e
© 2023 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.
o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k
is p ope ly ci ed. The e ms on which his a icle has been published allow he pos ing o he Accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y
by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
CONTACT Daniela Ana [email p o ec ed]
ETHNOS
2024, VOL. 89, NO. 2, 237–252
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/00141844.2022.2163274
he as ing pa icipan s a c ash cou se on he his o y and meaning o ‘ e oi ’as i was
unde s ood in F ance and cap u ed h ough he Appella ion d’O igine Con ôlée sys em
ha ‘became a model o local o igin p o ec ion h oughou he wo ld’. Ag eeing o his
model, Ș e an sha ed wi h us wha we can unde s and h ough e oi : ‘ he soil comes
fi s , hen he manne in which g apes a e being aken ca e o , and hen he ime o
ha es – his [knowledge] belongs o echnology’.
2
We hen as ed six e oi wines,
one o he fi s o which was Neg u de Pu ca i; i was p oduced a he Pu ca i
wine y, my main field si e o e hnog aphic esea ch,
3
and his ed wine was specially
p esen ed as boas ing ‘ ame’and a ‘ enowned e oi ’.
As Pu ca i conside s i sel o be he oldes wine y in Moldo a, ounded a he begin-
ning o he nine een h cen u y and ecognised ac oss wo cen u ies h ough nume ous
p izes and medals in in e na ional wine compe i ions, he wine y seemed sui ably
selec ed o exempli y he p esence o e oi on Moldo an lands. A e he 2006
emba go, Pu ca i con inuously unded esea ch and consul ancy in i s ineya ds
and wine y in o de o e idence and ha ness he local e oi , as well as using he
concep in ma ke ing campaigns mean o popula ise he wines i p oduces.
One o he aspec s o e oi ha Ș e an enume a ed – he echnological knowledge
and i s mobilised in as uc u es used in p oduc ion p ocesses om he ineya d o he
glass –is he ocus o his a icle. How is alue p oduced h ough e oi and wha is he
ole o in as uc u e in his p ocess? I look specifically a he manne in which e oi is
a icula ed by e idencing en i onmen al cha ac e is ics o place, accep ed o be a he
ounda ion o quali y wine p oduc ion by Moldo an scien is s and winemake s alike.
This special issue p oposes he in oduc ion o he concep ‘in as uc u es o alue’
(Lamme and Thiemann, his issue), which seeks o cap u e how ag icul u al com-
modi ies a any s age (p oduc ion, exchange, consump ion) a e ‘p ocessed’in o p odu-
cing alue and becoming p ofi able h ough a dialec ic o uniqueness and gene icness
ha is cap u ed h ough a ma e ialis app oach, making a b idge be ween he di e ging
adi ions o his o ical and new ma e ialism (see Cas ee 2002; Choa 2018; Howa d
2018; Ana 2022). I a gue ha e oi -making p ocesses equi e legal and scien ific
in as uc u es, which ha e he ole o quali ying p oduc s h ough a dialec ic o s an-
da disa ion and singula isa ion p ocesses. Such in as uc u es o e idence ha e he
capaci y o connec ‘poli ics, science, echnologies, and objec s like genes, plan s, geo-
physical su oundings, and human bodies and p omo e diffe en o ms o e hical-
poli ical easoning’(Calkins & Ro enbu g 2017: 254). In as uc u es o e idence
assemble diffe en elemen s in p ocesses o p oduc ion which a e mean o c ea e
cohe ence and alue. Like o he in as uc u es, hose e idencing he unique and
he gene ic shape alue by ‘ ela ing pa icula pa s o la ge wholes’(Lamme and
Thiemann, his issue).
Looking a e oi can be especially e ealing o unde s anding how in as uc u es
a e in eg al o p oducing alue, al hough a a fi s glance his seems coun e -in ui i e.
Te oi has been in e p e ed by winemake s o adhe e o he na u al cha ac e is ics o a
place (Ba ham 2003), a he han o science and echnology. While e oi is unde -
s ood by winemake s as a con e gence o he soil and geological ea u es, clima e
and local knowledge and echnology which endow a wine wi h unique p ope ies
238 D. ANA
(Demossie 2011; Teil 2012), hey also concei e i as a way o le ing ‘na u e’speak
h ough he wine. So he human in e en ion is, a leas a a discu si e le el, p esen ed
as minimal, ye impo an , ha nessing he ‘ as e o a place’ o winemaking (T ubek
2008). Keeping in mind ha humans and local know-how a e a pa o he winemake s’
unde s anding o e oi and ha e been ex ensi ely discussed in he an h opological
li e a u e on he opic (Ba ham 2003; Ulin 2007; Demossie 2011), he e I ocus
ins ead on wo elemen s o a ineya d which speak h ough he Pu ca i e oi
wines: soils and yeas s.
Soil classifica ion and yeas selec ion a e wo p ocesses in which na u al elemen s
a e e idenced and used o al e ed in such a way as o cap u e he as e o place, o
he e oi as e. They a e na u al endowmen s o a ineya d which a e in i ed o
‘speak h ough’ he wine (Demossie 2018). Winemake s and wine scien is s employ-
ing scien ific in as uc u es analyse in de ail which ype o soil is p esen in e e y
co ne o he 260 hec a es o Pu ca i ineya ds. A e wa ds, he spon aneous yeas s
appea ing on g ape be ies a e collec ed and analysed in o de o selec only he
yeas cul u es mos sui able o g ape juice e men a ion. In o he wo ds, o enable
na u e o speak h ough e oi wines, a complex p oduc ion cho eog aphy is o gan-
ised by winemake s wi h he help o in as uc u es o alue.
I s a wi h a discussion o he main deba es in ma e ialis app oaches and explain
he concep o ‘in as uc u es o alue’in ela ion o he p ocess o e oi -e idencing
analysed in he a icle, along wi h he economic and cul u al aspec s ha combine o
make e oi a powe ul diffe en ia ion ool in p ocesses o alua ion. Fu he , I de ail
he p ocesses o e oi -making wi h he help o scien ific and legal in as uc u es ha
e idence cha ac e is ics o soils and selec ed local yeas s. I hen discuss he p ocess o
making wines om a pos -So ie wine egion in e na ionally ma ke able h ough
esponses o he unequal p essu es o emula e and e idence e oi ideologies.
Finally, he a icle shows ha in he p ocess o e idencing e oi h ough in as uc-
u es o alue, gene icness and uniqueness appea as mu ually cons i u i e s a egies,
hus con ibu ing o deba es in economic an h opology on he unde s anding o alue.
Te oi , In as uc u e and Ma e ialism
The concep o ‘in as uc u es o alue’is b inging oge he app oaches in his o ical
and new ma e ialism in a c i ical manne (Lamme and Thiemann, his issue),
al hough he aim is no o me ge bo h app oaches seamlessly. In as uc u es o
alue ac a he as a b idging concep be ween he wo ypes o ma e ialism, highligh -
ing aspec s in bo h heo e ical app oaches ha can be combined p oduc i ely.
New ma e ialis app oaches o e oi show us ha he egime o exis ence among
scien is s and winemake s is con es ed (Teil 2012) bu ha , ne e heless, winemake s
make decisions elying on composi e scien ific p oo s o e oi (B awne 2018;
Ce omà 2011); h ough scien ific in as uc u es, hese p ope ies a e selec ed o e i-
denced in o de o p oduce wine wi h a unique local as e and possibly wi h a highe
ma ke alue. His o ical ma e ialis app oaches o e oi enla ge he pic u e o how
alue is p oduced; hey unde line he poli ical economic dimensions o wine quali y
ETHNOS 239
and alue – o example, p i a e p ope y egimes make possible he monopoly claims
o e oi uniqueness (Ha ey 2002) and capi al accumula ion ac s as a base o p es ige
claims (Ulin 1996;2007) ha s eng hen he global hie a chy o alue (Jung 2016;
Demossie 2018). Analysing he Pu ca i e oi h ough he lens o in as uc u es o
alue shows us in a simila ein ha he scien ific classifica ion and selec ion o ine-
ya d elemen s suppo s he monopoly claims o uniqueness, which allow he Pu ca i
wine y o belong o he highe anks in he global hie a chy o alue.
App oaching he Pu ca i e oi wine om he poin o iew o in as uc u es o
alue shows us as well a close link be ween p oduc ion, ci cula ion and consump ion
o he p oduc . En isioned as a unique, high-quali y p oduc , Pu ca i wine is p oduced
h ough scien ific and manual labou in a manne allowing o he ‘ as e o place’ o be
cap u ed. This p oduc ion p ocess enables in u n he ci cula ion o Pu ca i wines in
ma ke segmen s which ha e highe alue han hose o cheape , able wines. The con-
sump ion ha ollows may be influenced by his ci cula ion (o exchange) le el, whe e
ma ke ing s a egies a e deployed. Fo a e oi wine, his ini ial ‘p epa ing he g ound’
s age, which is done h ough scien ific and legal in as uc u es, is mos ly in isible and
na u alised. As such, he assembling and classifica ion wo k ecedes in o he back-
g ound, and he consume s a e usually in o med abou he quali ies o he en i on-
men and clima e in he egion whe e he ineya ds a e loca ed and abou how
hese allow he p oduc ion o unique wines (on he ma e iali y and p oduc i i y o
in o ma ion in as uc u e see Lamme , his issue). Some imes hese quali ies a e p e-
sen ed by winemake s as a ‘gi en’in he wo ld, some hing bes owed upon a commu-
ni y o in ne s by di ini y (Demossie 2018) o by he na u al o de (Ulin 2013).
Howe e , analysing he in as uc u ing p ocesses behind diffe en ia ed wines shows
us an in ense wo k o classifica ion and e idencing, which can also depend on he
amoun o capi al a wine y o a wine egion has al eady accumula ed.
Fu he mo e, an h opologis s and sociologis s ha e poin ed o wo impo an
app oaches o decons uc ing he image o a e oi unchanged om ime immemo ial
(Demossie 2011). Fi s , coming om a new ma e ialis app oach, Gene ie e Teil
(2012: 478) obse es ha e oi is in e p e ed diffe en ly by scien is s and winemake s:
scien is s conside e oi o be a cons uc , ‘an un ounded no ion’, while winemake s
conside i o be ‘ eal’. She a gues ha esea che s should engage wi h e oi a he
han dismiss i s exis ence on adical empi icis g ounds; a e all, ac o s in ol ed
wi h e oi (winemake s and consume s alike) g asp e oi and engage wi h i as
wi h a e y eal objec .
His o ical ma e ialis app oaches show ha , aside om he scien ifically con es ed
egime o exis ence o e oi , plain poli ical-economic d i e s and he posi ion in he
global hie a chy o wine alue explain a i udes o accep ing o dismissing e oi (Ulin
2013; I çaina e al. 2016; Demossie 2018). In he case o Moldo an winemake s, p o-
duce s a he pe iphe y o he winemaking hie a chy o alue, we can obse e ha e i-
dencing e oi scien ifically is hei way o showing hey belong o and a e becoming
compe i i e in he in e na ional wine ma ke s whe e e oi wines a e mo e p es igious
and p ofi able han mass-p oduced, gene ic wines. Cul u al-symbolic amewo ks such
as P o ec ed Denomina ion o O igin (PDO) quali y schemes, o which Eas e n
240 D. ANA
Eu opean wine p oduce s need o adhe e in o de o be ecognised as unique, a e ways
o show a ‘cul u al’alliance wi h a way o unde s anding and e idencing quali y.
In as uc u es ha E idence Te oi
The bo de -c ossing legal-scien ific in as uc u e used in a icula ing and e idencing
e oi in Pu ca i is cons i u ed by an a ay o modules such as old and new soil analy-
sis labo a o ies, new p oduc ion echnologies and se s o s anda ds and yeas plan s
ab oad, among o he s. These scien ific p ocesses o e idence ga he ing a e in e me-
dia ed by diffe en in as uc u es (see also Sippel, his issue). They help in p oducing
dis inc i e wines in a ma ke field s uc u ed by a poli ical-economic logic o alua ion.
Looking a soils d aws a en ion o he ex a p ofi ha can come om land, by
claiming monopoly en o unique e oi s (Ha ey 2002). E idence o a p es igious
e oi is ga he ed h ough ollowing he p ocedu es o acqui ing a PDO label.
Second, by analysing he selec ion o mic oscopic o ganisms ha li e and o he wise
mul iply spon aneously on he soil and on he g apes, one can gain a deepe unde -
s anding o he manne in which alue is ex ac ed om he en i onmen . These
wo componen s con ey uniqueness o he wine ha is p oduced om hem as
much as hey con ey eassu ing gene ic ea u es, which align he p oduc wi h in e -
na ional quali y s anda ds.
The ‘T u h ulness’o Te oi : Soil Mappings
Winemake s inc easingly seek ‘ he au ho i y o he map’ o e idence scien ifically he
soil and bed ock p ope ies in hei ineya ds, and in his way hey can inc ease he
alue o hei wines (Skinne 2020: 87). He e I d aw a en ion o he scien ific and
legal in as uc u e which helps wine egions o diffe en ia e and endow a e oi
wi h du abili y. Explaining he e idencing o he Pu ca i e oi h ough scien ific
in as uc u es wi hin local esea ch p ojec s, he wine y’s chie p oduc ion office ,
Alin, sha ed in an in e iew:
On he esea ch segmen , we a e in ensely de eloping he soil esea ch side, he clima e, in a
wo d – he e oi . We a e in ol ed in p ojec s wi h he ONVV, USAID; we wan o de elop
he soil esea ch h ough a ho ough s udy. We ha e sen he soil samples [ o he Soil Ins i u e
labo a o ies] o see i s componen s, we ha e me eo ological s a ions in e e y sec o . We a e ol-
lowing he clima ic p ocesses, we wan some hing b oade . (Chișinău, July 2017)
Comp ehensi e soil mapping was ca ied ou on he Pu ca i es a e in he la e 2010s
in he amewo k o wo p ojec s which had he common pu pose o finding ou which
g apes g ow bes on Pu ca i soils and o a ou hose g apes wi h he mos consis en
a ie al ypici y.
4
One p ojec conce ned he compila ion o a file o a Pu ca i P o-
ec ed Designa ion o O igin (PDO) label, and he second p ojec , called ‘Bes
G apes’, was de eloped oge he wi h he ONVV; bo h se ou o efine knowledge
abou diffe en ineya d spo s on he Pu ca i es a e, and in ol ed he moni o ing o
wea he , g apes and i icul u e s yles, soil mapping and a chi al esea ch.
5
ETHNOS 241
A he ime o my fieldwo k in Moldo a, o y wines wi h he P o ec ed Geog aphic
Indica ion (PGI) label we e p oduced in he coun y, bu he e we e no PDO labels ye .
Acco ding o Eu opean legisla ion, PGI is a less s ic con ol o o igin han PDO: a
PGI label equi es only ha a leas one phase o he wine p oduc ion akes place in
he designa ed egion. Fo he PDO label, an ini ial sec ion o he file is conce ned
wi h he his o y o he p oduc ion p ac ices in he place.
6
In he case o wine, he
oldes winemaking p ac ices ha can be aced in he designa ed pe ime e a e
equi ed in he pape wo k. Nex , he in as uc u es o he g ape p ocessing and
wine bo ling need o be placed in he designa ed egion
7
(on he impo ance o
gene ic bu in-si u bo ling in as uc u e o ‘singula ising’I alian ino na u ale, see
K üge , his issue).
8
Then, ‘ he link wi h he geog aphical a ea’– he influences o
local geology, pedology, clima e and hyd og aphy on he p oduc –need o be docu-
men ed and included in he file. These a e de ails ha p o e he uniqueness o a egion
and o i s p oduc , bu a he same ime hey ac as a s anda dising p ac ice.
Indeed, Vic o , he di ec o o he wine y, who is also ained as an oenologis and
wo ked as an in e n a Pu ca i du ing his s udies in he 1980s, said ha he mo e
complex analyses ca ied ou in he ineya ds se ed o legi ima e he Pu ca i wine-
making a ea by emula ing s anda ds al eady ecognised a in e na ional le el:
We wan o make a PDO egion ha is u h ul, ha co esponds o he mos igo ous in e -
na ional equi emen s –F ench s anda ds –meaning somehow o copy hose es ic ions o he
F ench: yield pe hec a e, as e, quali y, in e na ional compe i ions, medals. Because we do no
ha e his p ac ice in Moldo a, i lacked in he pas , his is why we ha e o do i now, and I
belie e he p ac ice o he F ench is he bes . I ook hem a ew hund ed yea s o c ea e his
sys em and i wo ks e y well. (Chișinău, July 2017)
Vic o ’s wo ds sugges an implici dis ancing om So ie p ac ice, when he wine
as e om indi idual plo s was less impo an han affo dable, mixed- in age wine
and an inclina ion owa ds mo e closeness o he ecognised Appella ions sys em.
The s udies ca ied ou in he 1930s and 1940s in some egions in he So ie Union
–p ima ily Geo gia –we e mean o delinea e pedo-clima ic ‘mic ozones’and find
he mos sui able g apes o hese a eas (Walke & Manning 2013: 204), a p ac ice
which seems o ha e much in common wi h e oi a a fi s glance. Bu he no able
diffe ence be ween F ench e oi and So ie mic ozones was he p ope y sys em
and he size o he mic ozones. While in Geo gia he delinea ed a eas we e la ge
and i was common o g apes om diffe en plo s o land o be mixed in he p o-
duc ion p ocess, in F ance he p ope ies we e p i a e and small, and mixing g apes
om diffe en plo s iola ed he defini ion o e oi .
9
In pos -So ie Moldo a, in he case o he Pu ca i wine y, e idencing in as uc-
u es ha e been mobilised o p o e he p esence o he in e na ionally ag eed scien ific
ea u es o ‘p ope ’winemaking en i onmen s. Mo eo e , he PDO s anda ds a e
implemen ed a a na ional o egional le el, so he equi emen s a e gene ic bu
wha is con eyed o each egion is unique. By adop ing e oi and ca ying ou he
measu emen s which make he claims o a ‘unique e oi ’possible, he winemake
makes a dis inc ion be ween he pas , which was socialis and Eas Eu opean, and
he p esen and he u u e, which belong o Eu ope and he global wine ma ke .
242 D. ANA
In cases whe e a PDO applica ion is success ul, he quali y scheme ac s as legal
in as uc u e in es ed wi h au ho i y in ma ke s and expe ci cles. This au ho i y
allows a wine y o sell i s wine a a highe p ice, and in mos o he cases, p oduce s
o PDO final p oduc s ea n a highe g oss p ofi han hose o s anda d p oduc s
(A e é 2013: 9). A PDO ce ifica e a ached o a wine is a oken o ecogni ion o
he quali y o a p oduc ha is s ongly linked o a espec i e egion.
The second p ojec in ol ing soil es ing was named ‘Bes G apes’and exemplifies
u he how he uniqueness o a wine e oi is e idenced h ough scien ific wo k.
When he ONVV, oge he wi h he Soil Ins i u e in Chișinău, began o ca y ou geo-
mo phologic and pedological e alua ions o expe imen al plo s plan ed wi h g ape-
ines in h ee egions, one o hese egions was Pu ca i. In sp ing 2017, I me a
ele ision eam in he Pu ca i wine y ineya d ha was filming a epo abou he
p ojec wi h soil scien is s and wine ma ke ing specialis s om he ONVV. The lead
soil scien is explained he soil da a ga he ing p ocess, which had become mo e
complex in he p esen . In he fi s ins ance, measu emen o slope o ien a ion and
e ain shape was ca ied ou o he delinea ion o he demons a i e plo s. Nex , indi-
idual plo s we e mapped h ough GIS, gene a ing bo h wo-dimensional and h ee-
dimensional maps. The final p oduc o his analysis was a se o digi al hema ic
maps o he ineya ds, showing digi al models o he ineya d landscape wi h measu e-
men s o land o m, slope, sun exposu e and al i ude. A pedological digi al map was
also gene a ed. A e all he da a we e ga he ed, including a chi al me eo ological
da a ( eco ded since So ie imes h ough he 1990s by a me eo ological s a ion in a
neighbou ing illage), sa elli e imaging, new slope measu emen s and mapping, he
scien is s delimi ed plo s o soil and dug soil p ofiles.
10
On he Pu ca i es a e, six
plo s o land measu ing 4.25 hec a es each we e delinea ed and plan ed wi h h ee
local g ape a ie ies and h ee F ench ones.
Ini ially, jus o one yea , he beha iou o he ines was obse ed in o de o g asp
which soil ga e he bes exp ession o he g apes (Rozloga e al.2017). The e a e in e -
na ional desc ip ions o each echnical g ape a ie y which sugges wha as e, smell
and colou a balanced a ie al wine should ha e, and hey a e compa ed o wha is
he bes esul locally. In his way, a ecognisable as e is mixed wi h a local nuance,
leading o a ypical Pu ca i e oi as e in he wines. Li iu, he lead soil scien is ,
old me la e du ing a isi I paid o he Soil Ins i u e ha his kind o scien ific in es-
iga ion is e y much in he beginning s ages and ha many wine ies in Moldo a
canno affo d i :
[Abou ] he soil …eh, hey [Moldo an winemake s] a e jus abou o wake up. Bu s ill, he
ha es g ows on he soil. I does no g ow on a hyd oponic suppo which you migh use
o pu he g ape ine on. By ha me hod, you can be su e you won’ ge wine. [The g ape ine]
depends on he quali y o he soil, also he ha es …and on some nuances ela ed o mic o-
elemen s, his is wha he quali y depends on. And, o example, Pu ca i wine has i s own con-
di ions, i s own soils, i s own bed ock wi h hei co esponding con en . A Ungheni, a h ee
hund ed me e s al i ude, you ha e ce ain condi ions, a se en y-fi e o wo hund ed me e s
o he s …The quali y, he diffe en exposu es, whe e he e is mo e sun, many hings ma e :
a complex o ac o s which in he end influence he [wine] quali y …e e y plo needs o
ha e i s own cha ac e is ics, so ha he p oduc ion he e is good. (Chișinău, July 2017)
ETHNOS 243
The Pu ca i wine y mobilised legal-scien ific in as uc u e o e idence he na u al
endowmen s in he ineya d ha Li iu men ioned. Th ough his, he wine wo ld
came o lea n ha he soils and bed ock in Pu ca i we e pa icula ly sui able o
making ed wines, as was al eady men ioned in Tsa is and F ench documen s om
he nine een h and ea ly wen ie h cen u ies (Ana 2022: 47), his ime wi h mo e com-
p ehensi e scien ific backup. Pu ca i would also en e his o y as he fi s wine egion in
Moldo a wi h a PDO label, a de ail which gi es he wine y a unique posi ion in he
coun y. Bu he p ocess o acqui ing a PDO label was a s anda dised one, which
asked o gene ic ea u es o be e idenced in he ineya d and la e in he wine.
Wha is unique is ela i e o ime and space, because a he Eu opean o global
le el, he same ea u e is a gene ic one.
The Moldo an wine indus y, in he decade a e he loss o a big pa o i s long-
e m ma ke pa ne (Russia), is a specifically e oca i e case o explain u he how he
dialec ic be ween uniqueness and gene icness akes place in he c ea ion o ma ke
alue. Al hough wine has been p oduced comme cially on Moldo an land o cen u-
ies, he coun y is e y new in in e na ional ma ke s. The s a egy explained o me by
ONVV expe s (a he na ional le el) and by Pu ca i employees ( e e ing o he s a -
egy o hei company) is o b ing o he o e specifici ies o Moldo an o Pu ca i wine –
o example, desc ip ions o i s unique e oi o he use o indigenous g ape a ie ies.
A he same ime, hey s i e o cons uc pa allels o exp ess alliance wi h classical
wine egions a ound he wo ld, in o de o o ien he consume o his new wine
which migh end up on hei able. This s a egy o mixing he local and he unique
wi h he in e na ional and gene ic o become commensu able enough o he
ma ke (see Ha ey 2002: 96; Ka pik 2010: 11) is no jus a discu si e ac . I en ails
adap ing p oduc ion p ocesses and he ma e iali ies in ol ed in he p oduc s, and
in as uc u es a e c ucial in his ans o ma ion. The esul is a p oduc wi h added
alue. Looking close a one o he Pu ca i wines can u he subs an ia e his dialec ic.
The choice o g ape a ie ies o be moni o ed is ied o Pu ca i’s ma ke ing s a egy
o i s main a ge ma ke s,
11
which elies on he balance be ween he unique and he
gene ic in wine. In his sense, Pu ca i has s a ed o make wines ha blend local and
in e na ional g apes, adop ing he endency o plan mo e indigenous g apes –wha
Mon e escu and Handel (2019: 317) call ‘ a ie al e oi ’–whe e dis inc iden i y
does no come only om he en i onmen al and echnological ea u es o he land,
bu also om he connec ion o a g ape a ie y o i . Pu ca i’s ed Vinoho a wine is
a elling example; made om 51% Ra ăNeag ă(‘Black Ra e’) and 49% Malbec, i is
desc ibed in he English-language leafle as ollows: ‘Vinoho a in Red is he exp ession
o local and in e na ional spi i s ha mony, euni ed in a Moldo an and A gen inian
inous dance. Un epea able cha ac e is ansposed by combining he na i e a ie y
Black Ra e and classic Malbec om A gen ina’(sic). In making his kind o wine,
which ies o cap u e he ‘Moldo an spi i ’and combine i wi h a classical g ape
(an A gen inian a ie y g own in Pu ca i), he obse a ions o he soil scien is s and
hei classifica ion wo k in he Chișinău labo a o ies helps by iden i ying he mos sui -
able plo s o Ra ăNeag ăand o Malbec, espec i ely. The unique and he gene ic in
244 D. ANA
is based on Chap e 5 o my book Labou is ou B ead (Ana 2022), which i sel benefi ed om help ul
commen s by Ch is Hann. All emaining sho comings a e my own. Language edi ing was suppo ed
by he Czech Academy o Sciences.
Disclosu e S a emen
No po en ial conflic o in e es was epo ed by he au ho (s).
Funding
The esea ch o his wo k was unded by he Max Planck Ins i u e o Social An h opology in Halle/
Saale, Ge many.
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