📍 Cotnari

Cotnari is a historic wine area in eastern Romania, in Moldavia, on the hills around the town of the same name in Iași County. It is part of the Hills of Moldavia (Romania). Vineyards are known since the Middle Ages, and Cotnari wines were served at the court of the Moldavian rulers.

The area is famous for white wines. The main grape is Grasă de Cotnari (Kövérszőlő); alongside grow Fetească Albă, Tămâioasă Românească and Frâncușă. Sweet wines are especially prized: when warm days and mists arrive in autumn, the berries develop noble rot and concentrate sugar, and make a thick wine with aromas of honey, flowers and dried fruit.

The slopes are clayey and the climate continental. Besides sweet wines, dry and off-dry whites are made. Cotnari wines are traditionally drunk at festive tables. Moldavia has other areas too, such as Iași and Huși, and beyond the Prut river lies the Republic of Moldova. Sweet Grasă de Cotnari is served with desserts, fruit and cheese, and dry wines with fish and poultry. Old cellars of Cotnari are cut into the hills, and winegrowing villages survive in the surroundings. A trip here combines well with a visit to Iași, the cultural centre of Moldavia.