Chateau Vartely

Avoid this place if you don’t want to be treated with hostility. A nightmare experience. On May 17, we visited Chateau Vartely, guided by online information indicating the presence of an ATM on site – which we needed at the time. The gate was open, but there were no staff members in sight, and absolutely no signs or clear directions for visitors. We slowly drove in just to get our bearings – no parking signs, no entry indications, nothing. Shortly after, as we were already turning around to leave, a guard suddenly ran toward our car and started yelling uncontrollably. He didn’t speak, didn’t ask questions, didn’t request an explanation – he screamed accusations at us, saying we were rude, uneducated, and had no business being there. Despite our calm attempts to explain that we simply followed map directions and found no signage, he continued shouting aggressively. This wasn’t a simple communication issue – it was a complete lack of respect for visitors. Chateau Vartely might look like a nice winery on the outside, but what happens beyond the gate is far from welcoming. Emotionally unstable staff, zero organization, no signage – everything reflects a chaotic and deeply unprofessional environment. I strongly do not recommend this place. Avoid it if you value a civilized experience.

The tour of the winery and the tasting were the best we encountered in Moldova and we visited 7 different wineries, including the most well known. Our guide Silvia was very professional. We did not book accommodation at Vartely on this occasion but the villas look great, we will definitely be back another year in September or October when there are grape harvest events going on.