Romanian Drink – Wine, Beer, Liqueur & Spirits

Romanian Drink – Wine, Beer, Liqueur & Spirits

Read my Blog Posts about Romanian people, festivals, reasons to visit & foods by clicking on the links below:

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Traditional Romanian Dishes Part I : Salads, Soups & Starters

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Traditional Romanian Dishes Part II: Grilled Meats & Fish Dishes

Traditional Romanian Dishes - Part III - Mains, Stews & Sides

Traditional Romanian Dishes - Part IV - Romanian DESSERTS

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Top 10 Reasons to Visit Romania

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TOP 10 Romanian Dishes Everyone Should Try at least once

Beer:

Ursus – A popular commercial Romanian beer, light, dark and unpasteurized options.

Silva – The most commercially available Romanian craft quality beer. They have a blonde and a dark larger, the pale ale is the closest to a true craft beer of the three.

Zaganu – Also a popular Romanian craft beer with both dark and blonde options.

Ciuc Beer – Probably the easiest to find beer. It’s an easy drinking, malty brew. Definitely a big mass production larger.

Romania Wine

Romanian wine is relatively unknown internationally. But with a great climate for growing grapes, and grape varieties endemic to Romania, you’ll be excited to discover some new flavors.

In recent years the region of Drăgășani has become much more popular for wine growing and their stand-out grape Negru de Drăgășani is making some delicious berry fruit, bold red wines. This is a newer grape that has come into being from parent grapes Băbească neagră (A Moldovan/Romanian variety) and Negru Vîrtos a Romanian grape that is no longer cultivated.

This new Romanian wine only came into being in 1993, so it’s an exciting new variety. Avincis winery makes a couple of wines with this grape. A higher end pure wine, and a more affordable but still an excellent blend with Merlot (pictured below). Avincis has over 40 hectares of planted vines, as well as a large visitor centre and tasting room. Perched on top of Dobrușa hill, you can enjoy your wines with panoramic views. They even have accommodation options.

Fetească Neagră – Is probably the most famous Romanian Wine variety. It grows through much of Romania and Moldova producing a dark ruby wine with black currant characteristics. You’ll find it on most menus and every supermarket shelf.

Fetească Albă – The white Romanian wine variety that is also endemic to the region and easy to find. Used for both sparkling and still wines in Romania & Moldova.

Some other Romanian wine varieties to look out for:

White: Tămâioasă Românească (sweet & semi-sweet wines), Grasă de Cotnari (Grown only in the Cotnari region since the 15th century), Galbenă de Odobești

Red: Băbească Neagră (Light-bodied, fruity wine)

Spirits

Some fortified drinking before or after dinner.

Pălincă, Țuică & Rachiu

Pălincă – A fruit brandy originating from the Austro-Hungarian empire in the middle ages. The most common varieties are pear, plum, and apricot. Pălincă has a serious kick, commonly around 45% ABV, you can find it over 70% on occasion.

Țuică – Specifically a plum raki and traditional to Romania. This spirit is produced once the wine harvest is complete, from October to December. After 6 to 8 weeks of fermentation in barrels, the plums mix is then distilled. As well as commercial production, Romanian families in the countryside often produce their own. It’s customary to drink one shot, only before a meal, and not after.

Rachiu – The Romanian version of raki. This drink originates from Turkey (where it may also be called arrack) and is popular throughout the Balkan region. In Romania, the word refers to any raki that is not Țuică (made from plums). So you will find Rachiu made from pears, other fruits and even from grains.

Fruit Liqueurs

Romanian fruit liqueurs are all made in the same way and are produced from whatever fruits are in season. It’s common for these style of liqueurs to be mostly homemade. So finding a commercial product (like Saber, above, stocked in Carrefour in Bucharest), or seeing them in restaurants is less common. If you manage to get invited to someone’s home in the country, then you’ll probably be in luck!

Production is simple. Take fruit of your choice (I like the sour cherry “vișine” the best). Add the same weight in sugar. Leave to ferment for a few days, then add vodka or Țuică and leave to mature for 100 days at room temperature. Then filter out the fruit and drink the beautiful colored liquid. My father-in-law makes some very tasty and strong Vișinată (cherry liqueur) & he makes sure to give me one shot every morning as soon as I'm awake. He says that it helps in maintaining a good digestives system, and i do not argue with him on that 👏👏👍👍🍻🍺🍹🍸🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍹🍹🍷🍷🍷........