Wow, and to my left, the most extraordinary sized barrels I presume containing wine.

Four thousand liters to your eighth house.

I'm Tessa Dunlop, and for assignment on the BBC World Service, I've come to Crickover,

the jewel in the Republic of Moldova's Crown, a giant state-owned subterranean winery.

How many kilometres of these underground streets are there?

120 kilometres.

It's as if it's Mother Nature's gift to Moldova to be the perfect place to keep wine.

We walk further underground, there's a heavy smell of fermenting wine in these wonderful oak barrels.

Ah, and in front of me a one-way sign suggests, oh, there's a lorry coming up behind us.

Sprada Shardone, a Shardone Street.

120 kilometres of sellers filled with wine, much of it produced for export, especially to Russia,

the industry's biggest market, but not a bottle is going there, as Russia has banned imports of Moldovan wine.

Moscow says it's all about quality.

The Moldovan suspect it's more about politics, a warning shot after the country made it clear it wanted to draw closer to the European Union.

The Republic of Moldova is a tiny country caught between the power politics of Europe and Russia,

a place where the tension between East and West is palpable wherever you go.

The embargo is certainly taking its toll at Krakow.

General manager Valentin Bodiu has to shift some 10 million bottles of wine every year.

Has the Russian ban affected you financially yet here in Krakow?

Yeah, Krakow approximately 30 per cent of our global product.

Approximately 3 million bottles being sailed in Russia.

So where will those bottles go now?

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