Equinox wines are made from grapes grown in our own small 5 hectare vineyard, located close to Olanesti village, on the hills overlooking Nistru valley.
The wines express the potential of the location, with its microclimate and great soil diversity, even though the area planted is rather small. The grapes are grown organically, because we strongly believe this method allows us to make wines that showcase the terroir.
Our red varietals are the indigenous Rară Neagră and Feteasca Neagră along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Merlot, Malbec and Saperavi. In addition, there are three white varieties planted – Fetească Albă, Fetească Regală and Chardonnay, as well as a few vines of Băbească Gri and Pinot Gris. The first parcel was planted back in 2002 with Cabernet Sauvignon. The very next year we planted Shiraz, Malbec and Merlot. Since indigenous varietals were difficult to source, around the same time we started our own selection and grafting of Rară Neagră from old vineyards near Olanesti village.
The first parcel of Rară Neagră was planted in 2005 using our own selected vines. A few years later indigenous varieties were available on the market so we extended the area planted under this variety. The first wine under Equinox label was released in 2006, with only 800 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon yielding from the first parcel.