Wine, Family & Everything That Matters

Why I’m Starting to Write

Ion Luca

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog!

I don't know how many people will read these first lines. Maybe a few friends, maybe people who know our wines, or perhaps someone who simply stumbled upon this page by chance. And maybe, a few years from now, someone will come back to this very first article, curious to see how it all began.

For some time now, I've been thinking about writing more.

We have Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and so many other platforms where we share photos, news, achievements, and beautiful moments. And they're great for that. But sometimes, a photograph doesn't tell the whole story. And some experiences simply cannot fit into a social media post.

For the past 15 years, we've been building a family business in Moldova. There have been years filled with challenges, mistakes, lessons learned, extraordinary encounters, and, fortunately, quite a few achievements.

This year, our winery received the distinction of Best Family Winery in Moldova. I'm incredibly proud of this achievement, but behind an award like this are 15 years of hard work, difficult decisions, people who helped us along the way, and hundreds of stories that have never been told.

And not all my stories are about wine.

They're also about family, entrepreneurship, Moldova, the people I meet, the projects I believe in, and the things that matter to me. About successes, but also failures. About what's going well around us and what I believe needs to change.

Sometimes I'll share stories. Other times, I'll ask questions. I'll probably express opinions that not everyone will agree with. And that's perfectly fine.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, nor do I believe my experience is necessarily a model for others to follow. But I've collected quite a few stories and lessons along the way, and I'd love to share them. Perhaps some will be interesting. Perhaps others will be useful.

That's how the idea for this blog came about.

I called it UNFILTERED, because wine is such an important part of my life, but also because I want this to be a place where I can speak openly, without having to squeeze every thought into just a few lines.

And I'd also love this blog to be a place where I can say thank you.

Over the years, so many people have helped me, inspired me, guided me, or challenged me with criticism when I needed it. People with whom we've created wonderful things together, like Feteasca Run, for example.

I don't always find the right moment to tell them how much their contribution has meant to me. Here, I'd like to have the space to do just that.

So, what will I write about?

I already have quite a few stories in mind.

About what it's really like to build a family business in Moldova and what I've learned from the mistakes we've made.

About what happens behind a bottle of wine and our adventures in international markets, from Norway to Japan.

About my family's history, about my grandparents who lost almost everything during the Soviet deportations, and how, generations later, we managed to rebuild our family's winemaking tradition.

I also want to write about the projects we're developing with Feteasca Generation, about people who are trying to make a difference in Moldova, and sometimes about the things in our society that frustrate me or make me proud.

In short, about wine, family, and everything that matters.

But I don't want to be the only one choosing the topics.

So, let me start with a question:

What would you like me to tell you about? What questions do you have for me?

About wine, family, entrepreneurship, Moldova, or anything else?

Leave your question in the comments. Who knows? Maybe one of my next articles will begin with your question.

#AskIon

Because, at the end of the day, the most beautiful stories aren't the ones we experience alone, but the ones we create together.