Vin acru

Domnul Pascal, the head of the Mereseni vineyard, came to the school today to talk to the teachers about the upcoming grape harvest. A heavy-set man, he looked tired and defeated, and he spoke in a fashion that layed out the facts describing the wine industry's situation without trying to induce sympathy.

The facts are harsh. Russia has banned Moldovan wine imports since March, closing a large majority of Moldova's export wine market. Pascal said he saw no end in sight. Because of Russia's ban, many wine factories in our county of Hincesti have closed for the year; Mereseni's factory will be running only one assembly line. On top of the ban, the crop is small this year. I think that this is due to a combination of an unusually dry summer, the deep frost from last winter and the vineyard owners' lack of interest in putting resources into a crop that they won't be able to sell for a profit.

Another new circumstance is complicating this year's harvest. Normally, students in village schools work for a few weeks to help with the harvest. The youngest students, in fifth grade, are some of the hardest workers and use the money they earn to buy clothes for winter and other necessities. Earlier this year, however, the Moldovan Parliament passed a law requiring students to be at least 14 years old in order to work in the fields, while also requiring 11th graders to stay in class. This creates a labor strain on the vineyards, since they depend on the student labor to quickly collect the grapes.

The facts are lined up this year against Pascal and others who depend on the wine industry, and they are partially hurt by the industry's current inefficiency. Right now, nearly every village has its own crop and its own wine factory. This system was fine when there was a large market for wine, but it is unsustainable now when it becomes harder and harder every year to make a profit. I think that the wine industry will bottom out soon and transition into agribusiness funded by wealthy Moldovans or foreign companies. These corporations could finance technological improvements such as tractors (not used much since the end of Soviet times) and irrigation, which would help the crop output. This seemingly inevitable transition, however, is still years down the line. In the meantime, at least some of my students are off to the harvest for another year.