Definition: Romania

White grape varieties:

Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling (actually Italian Riesling, with mediocre results), Rülander, Sauvignon, and Gewurztraminer. Also present are Feteasca Alba and Feteasca Regala for dry whites, and Grasa and Tamiioasa (a Muscat) for sweet whites.

Red grape varieties: Feteasca Neagra, Babeasca. Feteasca Neagra has a herbaceous flavour and can produce full-bodied wines with an ageing potential of around ten years. Romanian reds are often highly tannic. Thanks to the cool climate, whites are generally superior in quality, especially those that manage to retain a little residual sugar.

Romania has eight wine-growing regions comprising 50 appellations. The classification is a mixture of French concepts and considerations borrowed from Germany:

- DOCs designate wines of controlled origin (in French, VSO: wines of superior quality with a designation of origin);

- DOCCs are the best wines, which are assigned quality levels according to the ripeness of the grapes (in French, this is VSOC: wines of superior quality with indication of origin and degree of quality); among DOCCs, grapes that have reached full maturity receive the DOCC-CMD label; late harvest grapes are labelled DOCC-CT, and botrytised grapes DOCC-CIB.

Here are the highlights of the main vineyards:

Murfatlar Hills:

Located in the centre of Dobruja, this is Romania's most promising vineyard. The vineyard (2,000 hectares) is planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris and Muscat Ottonel.

Among its wines, Murfatlar prides itself on producing the best Romanian dessert wine. Old gold in colour, with an alcohol content of 16-18% vol., it has a light bouquet of orange blossom and a honey flavour.

In Muntenia (north-east of Bucharest), the Dealul Mare vineyard (15,000 hectares) consists of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Feteasca Alba, Italian Riesling, Tamiioasa and Muscat Ottonel, producing the wines most loved by Romanians. In particular, the Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon reds from the Calugareasca Valley are slightly heavy and powerful wines, one might even say wild.

Olténie:

The Olt Valley, which descends from the Transylvanian Alps to flow into the Danube, produces a renowned white wine on its left bank: Dragasani. And on its right bank, Cabernet Sauvignon: Samburesti.

Tarnave:

In central Romania, the banks of the Tarnave, planted with Sauvignon, Feteasca, Pinot Gris, Italian Riesling, Traminer and Muscat Ottonel, produce various types of white wines, including dry, semi-dry and sweet. The "Perle de Tarnave" is made from Feteasca.

Moldavia:

This is Romania's largest vineyard, occupying diverse soils and subject to varying climatic conditions depending on the location, and therefore producing several types of wine:

The Cotnari vineyard mainly uses the Grasa grape variety, which is related to Furmint and is easily susceptible to noble rot, as well as Feteasca Alba and Tamaiioasa. Cotnari is a dessert wine obtained by raisining, or even botrytisation in good years, fermented and aged for several years in oak barrels. This light sweet white wine (13 to 15% ABV) with a honey flavour contains at least 50 grams of residual sugar and ages very well.

Cotesti: reds made from Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon; good whites made from Feteasca, Riesling and Muscat;

Nicoresti: reds from Babeasca, Feteasca Neagra, and also Merlot;

Odobesti: whites from Feteasca, Muscat Ottonel, and Aligoté;

Panciu: fresh whites.

Banat vineyard:

this vineyard with Timisoara as its capital. The part of the vineyard located on the plain produces mediocre whites; on the other hand, the stony terraces produce a good red: Kadarka.

http://www.echange-roumanie.com/vins_roumains.htm

http://www.finecomvin.com