Romania 2009

[Timber]

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wines in Romania. Ironically enough I never really had any good Romanian wine until coming to Thailand. Here I found a few bottles at great value which I'm sure some of you guys have tried with me before.

The most common varietal in Romania originates from Moldova, both the region (NE Romania) and the country. It is referred to as Feteasca which can be both red and white. I found the white to taste very similar to a pinot gris, being generally bright, herbaceous and dry without being overly acidic. In the red variety it is a deep ruby, the fruit tones are heavy but it is also tannic enough for someone who prefers dry reds. They often fortify and harvest late for sweeter versions of it, although I stayed away from this as I like mine on the dry side.

The following photos were taken at Bucium Winery near the town of Iasi in North Eastern Romania near the Moldovian border in the region of Moldova. It was a vertical tasting of Feteasca Alba, Feteasca Regalla and Riesling. We also did a tasting of their sparkling and some of the brandy and cognac style liquors. We were lucky to get the opportunity to be given a private tour by the director of the vineyard who happened to be a friend of an uncle. It was quite an afternoon and I slept very well that night.



Last years harvest getting some love from the barrel before bottling.



Some pretty big barrels, almost enough to last me all year



The best of the best, this is their stash of late 80's Feteasca Alba and Reisling...which to my delight we got to sample later on.





The tasting room.



First up we tasted from the 06' vintage, some feteasca alba.



Then its corresponding varietal from the 86' vintage. We proceeded to do this for several whites.







And then the bubbly.



Then the hard stuff. The one of the left is from apples but taste like cognac. The one on the right is from grapes and is similar to grappa but with less diesel fuel.



Overall it was a pretty tough day but we made it somehow.

[Fabian]

Great thread, Timber. With all that enthusiasm I just hope you don't open a romanian restaurant in Bangkok.

From where were you flying to Dubai? The connection is not always that bad, I have only three hours in Dubai.

[Fabian]

Great stuff Timber. I made a couple of trips to Romania back in the 80s. Believe it or not we were delivering second hand artificial limbs to hospitals there. Amazing country but I didn't rate the food much at the time. We must have visited the wrong places. I remember one place where the menu was "meat or not meat".

I don't think you have been to the wrong places, there probably changed a lot.
I remember there wasn't much available in Yugoslavia outside tourism areas about 1980 or in Poland a few years later.

[alphagirl]

Looks like it was a fantastical trip my friend

[Timber]

Great thread, Timber. With all that enthusiasm I just hope you don't open a romanian restaurant in Bangkok.

From where were you flying to Dubai? The connection is not always that bad, I have only three hours in Dubai.

I think Romanian food is better left in the home although some of the cabbage and minced meat dishes would probably work for Thais...as long as I put some sugar and chili on the table.

We flew from Istanbul to Dubai, could have got a shorter layover but ended up getting really cheap tickets this way, get what you pay for I suppose.

[bsnub]

Great thread, Timber. With all that enthusiasm I just hope you don't open a romanian restaurant in Bangkok.

From where were you flying to Dubai? The connection is not always that bad, I have only three hours in Dubai.

I think Romanian food is better left in the home although some of the cabbage and minced meat dishes would probably work for Thais...as long as I put some sugar and chili on the table.

We flew from Istanbul to Dubai, could have got a shorter layover but ended up getting really cheap tickets this way, get what you pay for I suppose.

Dude love reading this thread and looking at the pics. I feel like I am watching Anthony Bourdain or something. Have you seen the show No Reservations? If not you should check this link out;

YouTube - ArcApex's Channel

I think they are all there..

[chassamui]

Excellent thread, just brilliant. really enjoyed it, thanks.

[Timber]

Have you seen the show No Reservations?

Anthony Bourdain is my hero, can't get enough of his books, shows etc.

Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone. I got some more pics sorted so will add to this thread asap.

[Mid]

One waiter with eight dinnerplates...WoW

fwiw , nine for mine

top thread timber