Wine Law

THE EVOLUTION OF ROMANIA’S VINE AND WINE LAW 465 I.2. Medieval Period In the medieval period, all the regions of today’s Romania continued to be areas of vine cultivation and wine production, and those who owned the vineyards were the rulers of the “countries” (parts of the area inhabited by Romanians). In Moldova, for example, viticulture reached its peak in the 15 th century, during the reign of Ș tefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great), who created the position of “cupbearer” at the royal court. During his life, he was responsible for overseeing the vineyards and good wine production. New varieties of vines were brought, local ones were selected, and wineries were set up to preserve larger quantities of wine. Simultaneously, monasteries became vinification centers, especially since wine was present in church rituals, being part of the mystery of communion and religious symbolism. I.3. Modern Period In 1862, Romania owned approximately 100,000 hectares 8 of vines, reaching, in 1883, about 150,000 hectares, the growth rate of the cultivated area being maintained even after this date. This was followed by the invasion of phylloxera , insects that destroyed a considerable part of Europe’s vineyards, affecting Romania as well. Despite this natural disaster, in 1900, there were still about 152,000 hectares cultivated with vines. The particularly close ties Romania had with France during the second half of the 19 th century and the beginning of the 20 th century also contributed to the recovery of the vineyards after the phylloxera ‘s destruction. With the help of French advisers, some very good quality varieties such as Merlot , Chardonnay , Pinot Noir , Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc were brought to Romania, successfully cultivated even today. Local varieties were also recovered. The growth of vines in a scientifically organised way has been done since the end of the 19 th century, when the Pietroasa Grapevine Nursery (1893) was born, the first in Romania. A few years later, in 1907, the first Elementary School of Viticulture was established, and, in 1924, the foundations of the first Viticultural and Oenological Research Center in Romania were also laid in Pietroasa 9 . 8 1.00 hectare = 10,000 square meters. 9 The research carried out in Pietroasa (located in the hills of the Curvature Subcarpathians, in Buzău County) over time has been carried out on a wide range of topics, which has evolved according to the needs of viticulture in its various stages of development. Initially, these researches referred to the study of varieties in order to establish the assortment of fruiting vines and rootstocks, to the production of viticultural planting material by grafting method and to the study of management forms and pruning systems to combat vine manure. Later, they expanded, also focusing on the problems of improving the vine variety by creating