Vinalia x Davino, Fetească Albă

Davino is highly regarded as one of Romania’s top wineries, praised for its work with Eastern European native grapes. Founded in 1997 by Dan Balaban, Davino was only the third private winery in the aftermath of the 1989 revolution. Winemaker Bogdan Costachescu, at Davino since 1998, champions low-intervention winemaking and sustainability, with full organic conversion of the winery expected by 2028. Master of Wine Caroline Gilby calls Davino “Romania’s wine aristocracy,” with its wines consistently used as reference samples by top universities.

Romania boasts a winemaking history that spans over 4,000 years, beginning with Greek settlers in the Dobrogea region. The Dacians upheld this tradition, producing wines so esteemed that King Burebista ordered their vineyards uprooted in the 1st century BCE to deter invaders. Today, the Dealu Mare appellation, located near the Carpathian Mountains, is renowned for its high-quality wines, particularly reds known for their complexity and structure. While what is today Romania has changed hands over the course of millennia, winegrowing has remained a constant.

One of Romania’s premier white heirloom varieties, Fetească Albă most likely is autochtonous to the historic Moldavia region. Its name means “white maiden,” though it bears little relation to the Hungarian Leányka, which shares the same translation. Fetească Albă yields a diverse set of wines, fermented into both still and sparkling examples with wines ranging from bone dry to lusciously sweet. It is recognized for its elegant, ripe orchard fruit flavors of melon rind and yellow apple skin.