Novak

The picture here is complicated and worth stating honestly. "Novak" is a brand, not a standalone winery. The underlying company is Tartcomvin Ltd., a "specialised enterprise for primary wine production" in Tartaul village, Cantemir district, southern Moldova - built on a facility dating to 1977. Andrei Novak took over the operation in 2004 and created the Novak line as the premium tier. The company's total vineyard holdings are reported at over two hundred hectares (the "25-30 hectares" figure that circulates refers to the parcels reserved for the Novak label). Processing capacity is up to ten thousand tons of grapes per season, with current throughput of two to three thousand tons. This is not a garage operation.

That said, the indigenous variety work under the Novak label is genuine and interesting. Alongside international varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, Pinot Noir) and traditional Moldovan grapes (Rară Neagră, Feteasca Regală), Andrei has championed the revival of varieties that some experts believed were lost entirely. Alb de Onițcani is an experimental 1960s Moldovan crossing originally intended for distillation; Novak was the first producer to vinify it seriously as a table wine, and it turns out to be naturally disease-resistant and capable of real interest. Floricica, Copceac and Legenda are other revived names in the portfolio. In 2018 a Novak Alb de Onițcani/Rkatsiteli blend won gold at Mundus Vini Summer Tasting - the only Moldovan gold that year.

Andrei is a member of the Moldovan Small Wine Producers Association (Vin de Autor), and his stated philosophy is "Everyone wants to become big. I, on the contrary, chose to be a small producer, but of a very high quality." Whether that framing holds up against the Tartcomvin production numbers is a question worth keeping in mind. The variety work is real. The "small producer" positioning is marketing on top of an industrial base.