Romanian varietal wines you’ll fall in love with, so you need to know how to identify them at a local table

The vine nurseries of Romanian universities always keep more than 100 indigenous grape varieties in culture for teaching purposes, and in the last 20 years a trend of recovery and revaluation of local grapes has reappeared. You will discover on the shelves, as well as in the restaurants, some local wines that you will fall in love with, as did the judges of the great international wine competitions that constantly award them medals. They pair perfectly with various Romanian dishes and can give you a key to the Romanian way of life.

Of the purely Romanian white grape varieties, the most common are:

  • Fetească albă [feˈte̯askə ˈalbə] – an ancient white variety with fine aromas of vine flowers, moderate acidity and velvety taste. It is found in all Romanian wine-growing regions;
  • Fetească regală [feˈte̯askə reˈɡalə] – white variety created in the last century and a half from crossing Fetească albă with another ancient variety, Frâncușă. Fetească regală results in more tannic and robust wines than most white varieties, with aromas of green apples, grass, wild flowers. It has very good productivity and has spread to all regions
  • Crâmpoșie [krɨmpo’ʃie̯] – this name designates, when used alone, an ancient white variety found in Oltenia, south of the Southern Carpathians, characterized by good acidity and moderate body and pleasant fruity aromas. In the last century, it has given rise, through crossbreeding, to two other distinct varieties: Crâmpoșie selecționată – aromatically similar to its ancestor, but more efficient in production; Crâmpoșie aromată – characterised by a more expressive Muscat-type bouquet – a variety with which the ancient Crâmpoșie was crossed to create the aromatic Crâmpoșie;
  • Zghihară / Galbenă [zgi’harə / ‘galbenə] – ancient variety found in eastern Romania, with high productivity, good acidity and fresh grassy, floral and white fruit aromas;
  • Frâncușă [frɨn’kuʃə] – an ancient white variety, found in north-eastern Romania, characterized by high acidity, supple body and herbal and white fruit flavours;
  • Grasă (de Cotnari) [ˈɡrasə (de kotˈnarʲ)] – name usually accompanied by the specification “de Cotnari”, where the variety is most widely grown (experts say it is the same as the Hungarian Furmint) gives rise to consistent wines with aromas of dried apricot, quince and honeycomb and which become more complex after 1 year from harvest. In exceptional years, when noble rot (the beneficial form of Botrytis cinerea) appears, wines with a longevity that can exceed half a century are born.

Among the international varieties that have become almost identifiable as Romanian as a result of their duration in culture and consumption, but also as a result of the fact that the mutations developed in Romanian vineyards are very different from the original, it would be useful to note one white and one rosé:

  •  Tămâioasă românească [təmɨˈjo̯asə romɨˈne̯askə] – aromatic white variety from Muscat á petits grains blancs, with aromas of acacia and lime blossom and tropical fruits, it is most often vinified in demisec (medium-dry), demidulce (medium-sweet) or sweet versions. When the grapes are touched by noble rot, it gives rise to exceptionally expressive and long-lived wines, comparable to Tokaji or sweet Sauternes;
  • Busuioacă (de Bohotin) [busuˈjo̯akə (de bohoˈtin)] – is an aromatic pink variety reminiscent of the sweetness of rose and basil, according to some scholars a Muscat de Frontignan, while others consider it a local mutation of Muscat á petits grains blancs. Certainly, according to many international tasters, the grapes grown in Romania (especially in the east-north-east and in the Dealu Mare area, south of the Carpathian Mountains, in the microclimate of Pietroasa) give rise to wines with a Romanian… personality.

*** Dry white (and rosé) wines from Romanian varieties are most often consumed with dishes such as: aubergine or boletus zacuscă; smoked trout paste; cheese such as curd or telemea (white) cheese or cheeses kneaded and preserved in sheep’s stomach or in pine bark; vegetable stews and onion stew with chicken meat; chicken ciulama; beef belly tuzlama; minced poultry rolls in vine leaves, served with sour cream or yoghurt; pies with salted cheese and dill or green onion tails; grilled or baked mushrooms; baked or grilled fish.

Sweet, semi-sweet white and rosé wines are usually accompanied by spreadable pasta made from poultry liver, pan-fried chicken nuggets or desserts such as papanași made from cottage cheese dough fried in oil and served with jam and cream, sponge cakes, fruit tarts, cookies, cherry or cherry cookies or baked pastries with sweet cheese and raisins (pancakes, poale-n-bâu, alivenci) – often served with cold cream on top.

The Romanian black grape varietal wines you’ll come across most often are:

  • Fetească Neagră [feˈte̯askə ˈne̯aɡrə] – grapes are grown in all Romanian wine-growing regions, yielding medium-bodied wines with characteristic cherry and prune flavours;
  • Băbească neagră [bəˈbe̯askə ˈne̯aɡrə] – grown mainly in eastern Romania, but plantations are also found in Dobrogea and southern Oltenia regions. It produces supple red wines with cherry aromas. You will often find wines of this variety on the Romanian market under the name of Rară Neagră [ˈrarə ˈne̯aɡrə] – name used in the Republic of Moldova;
  • Novac [no’vak] – grown almost exclusively on small areas in Oltenia, south of the Southern Carpathians, it has been recognized in recent decades as a cross between the ancient Negru Vârtos (extinct) and the Georgian Saperavi. Novac wines are medium-bodied and characterized by cranberries aromas;
  • Negru (de Drăgășani) [ˌneɡru (de drəɡəˈʃanʲ)] – has also been approved in recent decades and also from Negru Vârtos and Saperavi, but yields more concentrated wines than its Novac sibling, with typical aromas of black cherries, blueberries and violets.

*** Salted and smoked pork, sheep or beef pastrami warmed in the oven or grilled, smoked sausages and cheeses, pork sausages with rice wrapped in pickled cabbage leaves and served with sour cream and mămăligă, goulash stews, red meat roasts in the oven, minced mutton and beef pies pan-fried or baked – all go well with most Romanian red wines.

Photo credit: Călin Stan

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