A taste of Romania

Romania has about 180,000 hectares (c 445,000 acres) under vine, down from a pre-war peak of 240,000 but only about a quarter of that area produces wines of commercial quality; much of it is for very local consumption. According to an agreement with the EU, this can rise to 230,000 ha but from the perspective of an export market, it seems they might do better to further improve the existing vineyards rather than necessarily plant more. In general terms, 2003 and 2007 are good vintages (2003 was hot, with low yields, as in many other parts of Europe, so some...