Feteasca Neagra red wine - from scratch

Terraces cleared for replanting March 2017 - new caption shows vines in May 2021

Feteasca Neagra 2020 onwards

Background

This is a chronology of our project to produce a very special wine.
We have 2 hectares of terraced vines in the famous Dealu Mare region of Romania that have been in the family since the 1930’s. It is in a local valley called Valea Nucetului or "valley of the walnut trees". Having reclaimed the land from co-operative control in 2011 we began to restore and cultivate the existing vines. We had moderate success and learned from our mistakes developing a respect for the complexity of agriculture.
In 2017 we replaced the indigenous Feteasca Neagra vines, with new vines of the same Romanian variety, but cultivated in Italy with a higher disease resistance.
2020 was the first year these new vines produced a significant harvest. Challenging year with some hail damage in June and periods of drought. Production turned out to be 800kg which was well below predictions. On the plus side the sugar was high, boosted by strong sunshine in the latter stages.
2021 yielded 1.5 tonnes. The weather was more forgiving with a better yield and the sugar level was good.
2022 yielded just 0.9 tonnes after unexpected damage from mildew in the latter part of the season. However the quality is exceptional and we predict an alcohol level of 14.8%.
Our aim is to produce a single vineyard, superior quality wine.
Feteasca Neagra is difficult to cultivate and often produces low yields but high quality.
We manage the vines organically This variety is very susceptible to mildew due to the thin skin on the grapes However, our new vines are much more resistant. The vines get natural fertilizer and are worked with a horse drawn plough as the terraced rows are difficult for large machines. The harvest is handpicked.

Special Wine plan

Wine club

This project is very much a labour of love and our main aim is to try to develop an exceptional wine every year that can be enjoyed by our family and friends. The wine is unique and unusual and we are willing to take some risks to make it special.

We would also like to find other people who would be interested in buying a few cases every year in the UK to share in our wine adventure. There are some boutique Romanian producers experimenting with high quality wines, sometimes unfiltered and natural, but very little reaches the UK.

If you would like to be contacted when we have the latest wine available please look at the final page for email details.

Mobile 07899 753270