Region 03
The Muntenian & Oltenian Hills
Heat and drought — the southern hills below the Carpathians are Romania's premier red-wine country. Limestone, sun, and centuries of tradition.
The land
Two things define this region: the heat and the drought — perfect conditions to produce high-quality Romanian wines.
The history of wine making in Muntenia and Oltenia is impressive. Ancient proof of wine making — more than 2000 years old — has been found here, attesting to ongoing activity since then. It is the birthplace of Crâmpoșie Selecționată, Negru de Drăgășani and Novac grapes.
Today this is one of the biggest centres of Romanian wine-industry development. On one hand, the old vineyards are being reborn — many owners reclaimed their domains taken abusively by the communists. On the other, many new wineries have been inaugurated lately.
The region's famous Romanian wines are the reds, produced from indigenous grapes like Fetească Neagră, Negru de Drăgășani, Novac, and the white local Crâmpoșie Selecționată.
Dealurile Munteniei și Olteniei has nine D.O.C. areas: Ștefănești, Sâmburești, Drăgășani, Banu Mărăcine, Mehedinți (European wine-growing zone C1), and Pietroasele, Cernătești, Dealu Mare, Segarcea (European wine-growing zone C2). And — yes — this is also where the real Dracula lived.
From the cellar
Meet the makers
Founded in the late 1990s by Romanian, French and Italian investors. Works two of the most important sites in southern Romania: 160 hectares at Stârmina, Mehedinți, near the Danube, and 50 hectares at Sâmburești, Olt. Vinified at Crama Bolovanu and Crama Stârmina.
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One of the oldest continuously-working estates in Dealu Mare. In their words — "Since 1773, Tohani has drawn skilled people who loved the vine, worked it, and understood it." A private wine library of over 100,000 collection bottles.
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Founded in 1991 (first commercial vintages in 2000), Davino farms around 89 hectares in Ceptura. Manual ploughing, strict yield management, hand thinning, and a minimum of 30 months in Romanian oak for the top reds.
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