Cotnari Vineyards

Cotnari is the commune's residential village in Iași County, Moldova, Romania.

The Cotnari region is best known for its vineyards, which produce Romania's nationally recognised wine, Grasă de Cotnari. Grasa de Cotnari is a Romanian grape variety that has been grown since the 15th century.

The grapevines are medium-sized, cylindroconical, and sometimes branching, with compact and homogeneous berries that are greenish-yellow in colour and have rust marks on the sun-exposed side. It has been grown in the old vineyards of Cotnari since the era of Stephen the Great.

The grapes are removed when they are past maturity and infested with grey rot (Botrytis cinerea) to make the wine. The resulting wine is a premium white, dessert, demi-sec, or liqueur wine with a high sugar concentration of around 240 grammes per litre and a strength that occasionally approaches 15 degrees.

The creation of organic sweet wines with a high percentage of raisins from Grasa grapes that have experienced the botrytization phenomena requires the use of particular technology. They necessitate a great deal of labour and hard dedication, much like gold hunters in the gold sands.

Picking the ennobled (raisin) berries individually, or portions of grapes with a significant percentage of raisin berries, is preferred. After selecting the grapes, the raisins can also be separated.

The raisins are thoroughly crushed, avoiding smashing the seeds, until a paste is created. In an amount of 1 kilogramme of paste to 3 litres of must, combine the produced paste with the must obtained from the Grasa variety but from unstemmed grapes.

The oldest wine in the cellar is Grasa de Cotnari from 1956. The initial price per bottle is 600 euros. This wine was planned to be placed in the National Bank's coffers.

Grasa de Cotnari and the other Cotnari wines have received multiple awards in international and national wine contests where they have participated.

There is no better delight than discovering Cotnari wine, and correctly tasting it produces extraordinary sensations. If you have the chance to try this drink, you will not be disappointed.