Romania in THE SOTHEBY’S WINE ENCYCLOPEDIA

Articolul din enciclopedia reputatului Tom Stevenson este scris cu o obiectivitate de care pot da dovada doar strainii. Noi ne-am gasi 1001 de circumstante atenuante- ei nu., vad prin industria vinului din Romania ca prin paharul de degustare.
Cu toate acestea, concluziile, prudent ascunse printre randuri, sunt clare si de bun-simt: Soiurile indigene ar trebui incurajate, vinurile obtinute sunt cam "rustice", dar promit. Odata ce problema clonelor va fi rezolvata, cand soiurile vor fi cultivate numai in zonele recomandate, iar vinificatori mai competenti vor fi angajati- atunci(si numai atunci) Romania nu va putea fi oprita sa-si ia locul pe care-l merita (nu spun care) in lumea vinurilor.

Imi permit un citat pe larg, in scop academic:

"Romania has at least as much potential as any other Eastern European winemaking country. It has a growing reputation for Pinot Noir, particularly from the Dealul Mare region, but has received a fraction of the foreign investment that Hungary has enjoyed, and needs both financial and technical expertise to compete internationally.

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN ROMANIA has been a lack of consistency. Since the early 1990s, we have seen flashes of
promise—from exciting Gewürztraminer from Transilvania to deep,
dark, brooding Cabernet Sauvignon from Dealul Mare, only to
see some of these wines followed up by vintages of barely vin de
table quality. Only a handful of wineries have received significant
foreign investment and expertise, and it is no coincidence that
they generally make the best wines in Romania today.
MORE IMPORTANT THAN RUSSIA
Viticulture and winemaking is an old tradition in Romania, dating
back 4,000 years. In Europe, only France, Italy, Spain, and Germany
are bigger wine-producing countries. Romania is significantly more
important than Hungary or Russia in winemaking terms. As in
Bulgaria, there was a massive planting program in the 1960s,
when the country was geared up to supply Comecon states with
bulk-blending fodder, but most wine today is purchased and
consumed on the home market. After the fall of Ceausescu in
December 1989, the area under vine increased, going against the
trend of other Eastern Bloc wine-producing countries. However,
much of the replanting saw vinifera varieties being replaced with
hybrids, as the new private owners did not know how to look
after their vineyards—or if they did, they could not care less—and
hybrids are much hardier, yielding the highest volumes for the
least effort. This expansion continued until 1995, when it started to
decline. Both new planting and the replanting of old vineyards now
represent less than two percent of the total area under vine, with
a staggering amount of land planted with hybrids (estimates vary
wildly between the official 75,000 acres and external observers’
297,500 acres). Furthermore, despite privatization, almost 23
percent of the vineyards still belong to the Romanian state. There
are now eight wine regions encompassing 37 winegrowing districts,
and vineyard registration is slowly coming into operation in
preparation for Romania’s EU membership in 2007–2010. The two
largest wine-producing regions, Moldova and Mutenia, together
account for more than 60 percent of all Romanian wines.
THE FUTURE
Despite the difficulties of the past and accession to the EU, which
will present the growers with as many problems as solutions,
Romania has an excellent future—if it can be grasped. According
to pre-membership agreements between Romania and the EU, all
hybrids must be removed by 2014; although, on past experience,
this will no doubt be extended. And extended. And extended.
Far more important than replanting hybrid vines with vinifera is
to ensure that only the best vineyards are replanted and that an
emphasis is put on growing the best indigenous varieties, such
as those of the Feteasca˘ family: Feteasca˘ Alba˘, Feteasca˘ Neagra˘,
and Regla˘. Other potentially interesting local varieties include
Ba˘beaska˘, Busuioaca, Francusa, Galbena˘, Grasa˘, and Ta˘maîoasa˘.
Most wines currently produced from these grapes are a bit rustic,
but they do show promise. Once the clones are sorted out; the
vines are grown in the best-suited sites, at low yields; and skilful
winemakers are employed to hone the style of the wines they
produce, there will be no stopping Romania taking its rightful
place in the world of wine."

Tom Stevenson, THE SOTHEBY’S WINE ENCYCLOPEDIA, Fourth Edition, 2005, Dorling Kindersley Limited, London, pg. 420-421