Dealurile Moldovei

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The area has a platform foundation, and surface levelling has occurred on Mio-Pliocene sedimentary rocks arranged in a monocline dipping southward and south-eastward.
• Differential erosion has produced a cuesta relief developed on Sarmatian sandstones and limestones.
• The relief is divided into four plateau subtypes corresponding to the three sub-regions: the Suceava Plateau, the Moldavian Plain, and the Bârlad Plateau, the last of which comprises two further subtypes.
• The eco-climate, subject to strong East-European influences, has relatively high helio-thermal resources, while water resources are limited.
• In winter, the mean minimum extreme temperature recorded is -29.1 °C, falling as low as -32.5 °C at Răcăciuni.

• Prince Alexandru cel Bun established the offices of cup-bearer (paharnic) and warden (pârcălab) for the vineyards of Cotnari.
• The scholar Dimitrie Cantemir noted in his Descriptio Moldaviae that the vineyards between Cotnari and the Danube were so productive that a single pogon yielded four to five hundred measures of wine, and that the wine of Cotnari was considered the finest.
• In 1646, the Catholic missionary Marcus Bandinus recorded in the Codex Bandinus that the southern part of Moldavia produced so much wine that at harvest time a vadră sold for four coins, and in winter for six or seven.
• During the pre-phylloxera period, local grape varieties were selected and distinct variety blends were assembled for each wine-growing district, cultivated using simple techniques.

• The wines produced in this area range from dry to sweet or liquorous, in white, rosé, and red styles, forming a broad spectrum within the region's wine production.
• They are generally light-bodied, not particularly extractive wines, with moderate alcohol, slightly acidic in the northern part of the area, with an acidity peak in the central zone.
• Red wines are lightly coloured in the northern part of the area and deeply coloured in those produced in the south, reflecting a clear zonal differentiation in colour.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Romania

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-RO-A1591
• Official trade body site — Oficiul Național al Viei și Produselor Vitivinicole (ONVPV) — IG Dealurile Moldovei