Budjak Vinaria
Our story
A young family winery between the Black Sea and the salt lagoon of Burnas, in the region of Budjak. Three things make our wine what it is: the people who work this land, its history, and its soil and sun.
The vineyard
Seven hectares of vines on the shore of the salt lagoon Burnas. We started planting them in 2019, and in 2025 we picked our first crop and made our first wine.
Besides the wine grapes, we also grow table grapes: white and dark varieties.
- 7 haof vines on the shore of the Burnas lagoon
- 2019we started planting the vines
- 2025first harvest and first wine
White
- Telti-Kuruk
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Pinot Gris
- Muscat Ottonel
Red
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Cabernet Franc
- Merlot
- Pinot Noir
Table grapes
- White and dark varieties, sold fresh
History
Budjak is the south of Bessarabia, between the Danube, the Dniester and the Black Sea. Wine has always been made here. After 1812 the steppe was almost empty, and settlers began to arrive. The first German colonists came in 1814, and in 1822 winemakers from the Swiss canton of Vaud followed, bringing European grape varieties and their knowledge of the vine. Bulgarians, Gagauz, Moldovans, Ukrainians, Albanians and Jews lived alongside them. Between the two world wars, the region was part of Romania.
The village of Bazarianka, where our winery stands, was a German colony. Our vineyards lie between the former resort of Bad Burnas, today’s Lebedivka, and the Burnas lagoon. People came here for the sea air and the healing mud of the lagoon.
Each of these peoples left something behind: songs, dishes, houses, and their own way of making wine. We live among that heritage and carry its story on.
Land
Few vineyards anywhere sit this close to both the sea and a salt lagoon. Around us lie the Tuzly salt lagoons, Burnas, Alibei and Shagany, now a national nature park.
Summers here are long, hot and dry. Southern Bessarabia gets only about 300 mm of rain a year, so the vines reach deep for water, giving fewer grapes with more flavour. Underfoot is southern chernozem and loam.
By day there is sun and the wind from the steppe; at night, the breeze off the sea and the salt lagoon. Fine salty spray settles on the leaves and berries and gives the grapes their own saline, mineral tones. Nature gives us everything we need, so we add nothing artificial.
Telti-Kuruk was grown here in the old days: an ancient local grape that today survives almost only in the south of Odesa region. We are bringing it back on our land and have only just picked our first berries. We are one of the very few who cultivate it.
People
We are a small team, and for us wine starts with people. We tend every vine by hand, bring in the harvest together, and make our decisions around a shared table. We know every row in the vineyard and everyone who works in it.
We feel the same way about the people who drink our wine. What matters to us is not selling a bottle, but that it ends up on a table among good company.
