In Moldova, local cognacs are called divins, and KVINT is one of the most famous drinks outside the country. The trademark is represented by divins of different aging times, spirits are made from autochthonous and European grape varieties. A common feature of all drinks is a fruity-chocolate aftertaste.
About the manufacturer. Tiraspol wine and cognac factory is the oldest enterprise in Pridnestrovie. It was founded in 1897, and at first it was only a cleaning warehouse, where grape vodka was made from local wine materials. Only 40 years after its foundation, divins began to be produced here – the enterprise reached a new level, pouring spirits of 1938 into oak barrels for aging.
Today, the plant is a recognized leader in the Moldovan alcohol industry, whose drinks successfully compete with products of European brands. The enterprise has its own raw material base – on the left bank of the Dniester, 30 varieties of grapes are grown on two thousand hectares.
In the cellars of the plant, 11 million liters of cognac spirits are stored and aged, which are from one to sixty years old. A wide age range allows you to create original and recognizable blends by specialists and connoisseurs.
The plant produces 20 million bottles of alcohol annually, including 30 kinds of divins from spirits aged from three to fifty years. In addition to cognacs, the company produces wines, din, brandy, calvados, vodka.
The company is part of the Sheriff holding, which unites about twenty Pridnestrovian companies. The holding’s CEO is Oleg Baev.
Interesting facts about Quint
- KVINT is an abbreviation, “Cognacs, wines and drinks of Tiraspol”.
- The drink is exported to Russia with the name “cognac”, to the United States with the name “brandy”, and to all other countries as divin.
- The enterprise consists of six workshops and covers an area of 6,5 hectares. The plant itself has 300 employees, and another 900 are employed in the company’s own vineyards.
- The main grape varieties from which cognac spirits are made are the Moldavian “Suruceni white” and “Magarach’s first-born”, the European “Bianca”, “Riesling” and “Aligoté”, the French “uni blanc”, and “colombard”.
- The oldest distillate of the Tiraspol cellars has been stored there since 1951, and the most aged drink is the fifty-year-old “KVINT Prince Wittgenstein”, named after the count, and since 1834 the most illustrious prince, Lev Wittgenstein, who is considered the father of viticulture on the left bank of the Dniester.
- The museum of the plant keeps a bottle of wine that has been in space – Tiraspol wine was taken by Russian cosmonauts with them to the international space station, and then returned it as an honorary exhibit.
- Divin “Quint” received a blessing in the Vatican from John Paul II.
- The image of the Tiraspol wine and cognac factory is on the five-ruble banknote of Pridnestrovie.
- The company produces a series of kosher wines and divins, in the production of which Israeli rabbis take part, monitoring all stages of the beverage production process.
Types of cognac “Quint”
All divins are served unchilled – 20-22 °C. Experts and gourmets believe that Quint goes well with olives, lean meats and cheeses, so it can be served, for example, for dinner, and not just as a digestif.
Kvint VS, 3 years old (40%). An ordinary drink of light amber color is created from alcohols aged three and four years, it smells pleasantly of vanilla and spring flowers. The taste is soft, tart. The aftertaste is of medium duration with tones of cocoa, grapes and raisins. In 2015, this drink received silver at the 2016 World Spirits Competition in San Francisco, and in 2016 – gold at the Tastings competition in Chicago.
Kvint VSOP, 5 years old (40%). A golden amber divin with caramel and chocolate blossom aromas. Velvety taste with notes of raisins and astringency of oak. Pleasant chocolate-fruity aftertaste. In 2014, the drink received WSC gold in San Francisco, and in 2015, three International Review of Spirits gold awards in Chicago, Hong Kong and Belgium.
Kvint VSOP, 6 years old (40%). A deep amber color drink with a light aroma of grape flowers and a mild taste, which harmoniously combines notes of raisins, dried apricots, cocoa beans and vanilla. Long aftertaste with a tart-oak aftertaste. Divin in 2016 was awarded the WSC silver medal in San Francisco.
