Vinalia x Davino, Fetească Neagră

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.

Romania’s premier native red grape variety, Fetească Neagră is believed to hail from Moldavia, though its parentage and precise origins remain largely unknown. The grape is celebrated for its distinctive, structured, and ageworthy reds that reach the pinnacles of achievement for Romania’s contemporary fine wine industry. Fetească Neagră wines feature brooding, inky tannic structures, complemented by black and blue fruit flavors and underscored by more savory medicinal herb tones.