Romania is one of the more captivating countries of wine. There, Viticulture is ancestral. And since the end of the communist period, the country has taken a great new start in its wine production.
The cult of Dionysus
Romanian people were already cultivating vines, thousands of years ago. The cult of Dionysus, indeed appeared on the bank of the Danube, where the Dacians, ancestors of the Romanians, dedicated themselves to the culture of the vine, according to the historian Xenopol. As early as the 7th century B.C., large areas of vineyards could be admired there.
A brutal stop however occurred during the communist period. Winegrowers were expropriated, and the land requisitioned by the government, in order to form a large national cooperative responsible for producing a national wine.
But following the fall of the regime, at the end of the 1980s, Romanians rediscovered their land and its potential.
And as it entered the European Union in 2007, Romania received fundings, which also affected the wine sector positively. The renewal of the material and the acquisition of modern and efficient techniques followed.
European varieties
and Feteasca Neagra
Cadarca
There are the classic European grape varieties (Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Muscat Ottonel, Gewurztraminer, Muscat of Alexandria and Chasselas) but also many indigenous varieties such as Feteasca Neagra, or Cadarca (red).
Four main regions
It is possible to find vineyards almost everywhere in Romania, and many households produce their own wines, especially in the countryside.
But the four main regions producing wine are Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldavia and Dobrogea.
Extent of the vineyard
Today Romania vineyards extend over 200,000 hectares.
