After the restoration of the vineyards in
the end of the XIXth century and its extension by the communist system in the sixties,
Romania has become the largest producer of wine in the Balkans and the fifth
European country in terms of wine area (after Spain, Italy, France and Portugal).
The first planting had favored French grape varieties, notably Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
and Pinot Noir. In the sixties, the emphasis was on the indigenous grape varieties.
Romania possesses thus an excellent "raw material": healthy vines and old enough
and fluctuated grape varieties. In these conditions, Romania would be particularly good
investment. However, following the socialist management methods, its wine industry has a
great needs for modernization. The creation in 1992 of Vinexport, an agency whose
objective is to promote and to commercialize Romanian wines abroad, bodes well for
the future.
Romania has a climate characterized by
the hot summers and rigorous winters. The Black Sea brings a moderating influence, while
Carpatians obstruct the cold, northern air mass. As a general rule, the northern regions,
Moldavia and Transylvania are the most propitious to the white wine production, while the
best red wines originate from Muntenie and Dobroudja.
White wines can be very good to
exceptional.
Red wines have a suppleness that is regarded as a quality and they are often slightly
sweet. However, with the hot fermentation, wines tend to show a bit cooked aromas, and a long maturing in the oak does not favor
the freshness. Nevertheless the excellent quality of the grape compensates generally for
failures of the vinification.
Pinot Noir gives particularly remarkable results. With the modernization of cellars,
Romania will become, without any doubt, one of the first sources of Pinot Noir wine
in Europe.
In red, the best indigenous grape variety
is Feteasca Neagra. It gives robust wines, beaming and fruity from their first flush
of youth, and they keep well. Babeasca Neagra produces more light wines while Cadarca is
employed for more ordinary wines westward of the country.
In white, Feteasca Alba is of a first-rate quality. Omnipresent Riesling is of the variety
Italico and not the Riesling of the Rhine. The best sweet wines are generally
coming from Grasa and Tamiloasa; Traminer, Muscat Ottonel and Kekfrankos are employed
for style and quality.
Among French vines, the most cultivated are, in red, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir
and Merlot, and, in white, Chardonnay .
Dealu Mare, at the foot of the
Carpatians, is the most important one wine-producing region. The softness of the climate
allows the production of good red wines that are not very tannic.
In Oltenia, Gragasani, on the left bank of the Olt, and Arges, to the north-west, they
produce dry wines of acceptable quality, but their sweet wines are a first-rate quality.
Furthermore, wines from original Cabernet Sauvignon to Sīmburesti are praised as well.
Rumanian Moldavia is a region of white wines. Bucium, white wine based on Aligote and
Traminer can appear particularly delicious. Nicoresti is considered for its Babeasca
Neagra and Cotesti for its Pinot Noir.
Cotnari is nicknamed "pearl of Moldavia" and it produces the most known wine of
Romania. It concerns a white liqueur-like botrytized, that, for a certain period, enjoyed
the same prestige that the Hungarian Tokay.
In Transylvania, the first wine-producing region is the Tīrnave, in valleys of Tīrnava
Mare and Tīrvana Mica. The altitude is higher and the climate is fresher. White grape
varieties dominate; Traminer in dry, semi-dry or sweet succeeds particularly well.
Murfatlar in Dobroudja rivals with Dealu Mare for the production of excellent red wines;
fruity and robust.
To know more about Romanian wines, visit the site : Romanian Wines
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