“Wine is bottled poetry” so said the Victorian poet and novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. Wine is many things to many people. It’s a placeholder or a simply hedonistic pleasure.
We love wine. We love wine culture, and we always love wine in the best company. From tasting evenings dedicated to wines from various renowned wine-growing areas in Romania, to day trips for visiting famous wineries or newly discovered vineyards, there is nothing about wine that you should try at least once.
Romania has one of the oldest wine making traditions in the world, its viticulture dating back more than 6000 years. Due to the hot dry summers, the location proved to be successful and the grape vineyards thrived.
According to a legend, Dionysus, the Thracian god of wine, was born in what is now Romania, and Plato declared its vineyards to be the best in the world. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus, among others, clearly mentioned that the wine was made in the area north of the Danube. Its wines became so famous that in the first century B.C., king Burebista ordered that all the vineyards be destroyed to discourage possible invaders. Of course, his own people were not so easily deterred and soon new vineyards flourished. Wine trading was also flourishing, with large quantities of Greek amphorae discovered around the Carpathians. In the 1st century A.C., the Romans brought better vine cultivation techniques and new grape varieties.
Romania, with a classic continental climate, epitomized by hot summers and very cold winters, has a very diverse territory. The North-East regions are famous for the aromatic white varieties because of cool misty conditions. The Black Sea coast influences winemaking in the Murfatlar region with varieties such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Southern regions of Dealu Mare leading down to Oltenia are better for the red varieties with warmer soil conditions, all aspects helping the ripening of the grapes; meanwhile, Transylvania has a very Germanic influence seen in the Rhine varieties.
In the past years, many vineries Romania followed the model of other important vineyards from Europe, and not only, to open up the winery to tourists and to take them deep into de heart of wine-growing regions to introduce them to the local wines, the wine-growers, and the vineyards, but also to the local cuisine cause you cannot have wine without good food, the cultural heritage, and other regional tourist attractions. A visit to a vineyard remains a unique experience that allows guests to combine the discovery of new wines with the exploration of a region!
Thousands of years ago, in the historic regions that make up today’s Romania, grapevines were growing wild. The Vitis Silvestrii species, for example, was autochthonous in the oak forests, and it was the foundation of the famous Dacian grapevine. Romania is today the 13th largest wine producer worldwide and the 6th largest in Europe. The country is home to more than 250 wine cellars, but only 140 of them produce and sell bottled wine. Wine tasting sessions can be organized at most of the Wineries, with the most important departure cities being Bucharest, Iasi, and Cluj-Napoca.
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The only currency used is the Romanian leu. Despite being a European country, euros are not accepted anywhere in Romania.
If you’re into luxury accommodation and expensive meals, these costs will be higher!
Tipping is expected as Romanian waiters are paid a very low wage, so be sure to also factor this in when drawing up your budget.
Regardless of your country of origin you need proper and valid passports.
More information can be found here:
http://romaniatourism.com/entry-requirements.html.
For US Citizens:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Romania.html.
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