Beci Drinking

Every house in one of Moldova's many villages has a 'beci', which translates as cellar. It is a place that is cool an dry and it is used for the most part to store food. The walls of the beci (pronounced loosely like the word for a female dog) are lined with jars full of preserved fruits and vegatables. The Moldovans will pickle anything... let me tell you nothing opens up the sinuses like watermelon and has soaked in salt and vinger for several months.

The other fixture in the Moldovan is at least one large wooden barrel of homemade wine. I think I explained in an earlier posting that Moldovan tradition holds that the sun's energy is captured in grapes and therefore is present in wine. Indeed the homemade wine can be a bit on the strong side, and it's not made for sipping. There is a small round wine glass that is fill to the top which is given to the drinker who proposes a toast such as Noroc, which means luck, or Fi Sanatos which means be healthy. Then he or she shoots the whole glass and then it's some one else's turn. These pictures are taken in the beci of a friend in the village of Milestii Mici. The first picture is of me siphoning the wine from the barrel from a rubber hose. You suck until the wine reaches your lips and then it flows automatically. You don't have to siphon the wine every time, expecially if your party is drinking fast; but once the drunk talks begins it's all down hill from there.... For those of you who cringe at the tought of germs that must be passed by such a method, the glass that we were drinking out of that night was sitting upside down on a pole and was 'cleaned' out with a rain soaked rag... hence the expression be healthy.