Learn A Little Hebrew

Problem
I am travelling down in a gondola at a resort in Romania and I ask a couple of ladies what language they are speaking. Hebrew. Alas, I struggle to red Hebrew, despite attempts to learn the alphabet (which is slightly similar to both Greek and Russian).

Answer
However, I have five minutes confined to a cage with them. If they are willing I can learn ten, twenty, even thirty words of common, everyday conversational useful Hebrew.

Story
I decided learning a few words was a great idea. It was too good an opportunity to miss.

Besides, it is much more interesting to engage one or both in a session about language, than for me to stay silent.  I hate standing like an unwanted idiot whilst two strangers converse together in a language which I do not understand.

Here are my results at translating:

Hebrew - English
(ch is a harsh ch sound like Scottish loch, or clearing your throat.)
Arochat boker - breakfast
boker - morning
boker tov - good morning
litrahot - goodbye or see you soon
maher  - hurry
layut-layut - slow down
kamer - how much?
Anglia - English
Ivrit - Hebrew

The Israeli girl told me: "The quickest way to learn a language is to be in the country and hear people speaking the language. If you want to learn Hebrew, volunteer to work on a kibbutz."

I'd heard of working in a kibbutz as a way of earning a free holiday, or learning about life on a kibbutz. Now there's a much better reason. To learn to speak Hebrew.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have written other posts on learning Hebrew,  Greek, Romanian and  RussianPlease read and share links to my other posts.

Romania, Roumania or Rumania?

Problem
How do you spell the country's name? Who has the right to say how it should be spelled? Do we have to use the same name as that used by the inhabitants of the country?

Answers
Let us be logical. When I started my degree course in Philosophy at University College, London, we were taught that to say that something is the case does not mean that it ought to be the case. That seems like an obvious point. However, there is a school of thought that is traditional and says, 'what's the hurry', 'this is how it has always been done,' and 'if it ain't broke don't fix it.'  Some like to build and embellish. Other take the view that one should be simplifying.

I read, probably in Wikipedia, that the name before WWII was Roumania in Roumania. The Americans, following Webster who simplified spelling to make it easier, adopted the spelling Rumania, which was how it sounded to them.

The 'Roumanians' preferred the o spelling because that reflected their origins, related to the Romans. The double letter OU spelling only has the advantage that it reflects both points of view. I am gradually moving towards the idea of Romania.

Now I am finding that spell checker keeps changing the spelling to Romania. That settles it!

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Medieval Farm Fare and Treehouse Bedrooms At A Family Run Farm in Romania

The round windows on the left are the farm hotel bedroom windows enjoying views of the countryside.

You could sit here forever.

In the distance are circular buildings with thatched roofs.

The canopy where we are sitting is also thatch.

Problem
Where can you see the real Romania, the old countryside, but still enjoy modern plumbing and creature comforts?

Answer
The Farm complex.

Story
We arrived just before a storm. We had time to enjoy sitting outdoors under a wooden canopy, watching the animals and focussing our eyes on the distant hills.

Casserole Lunch
When it rained we went indoors.

The farmhouse lunch was filling and satisfying. Heavy bread bread soaking up the vegetable and meat stew.

The complex of buildings provides non-stop entertainment. There's something to look at, at every turn.

The dining area spreads over two buildings and the outside. The family, we met the father and son,  and their helpers are busy bustling about, carrying trays of food, lots of banter, friendly chat, information about how they breed animals, plant crops, create the old style buildings.

Bedrooms
I asked to see the bedrooms. You have a choice. adjoining the dining room is a long corridor with bedrooms. Those on the field side have a view of the fields.

On the road side, no windows. Not sure I'd like that. The whole point of being in the countryside is to enjoy the countryside. However, if you were on honeymoon, or having a couples weekend, you might enjoy the privacy of a room without windows.

Alternative accommodation is in the tree houses. Very popular. Fully booked. So we couldn't get to see inside one.

I loved it. Normally I like the city and culture and like to take a quick look at a country scene, snap a picture and move on. But I think you could pass a night or two or longer here. Every piece of furniture, every piece of equipment, has a story which the family owners are glad to share.

Ferma Dacilor Inn
T o h a n i Gura
Vadului 107302
Romania
Tel: +40 728 757 048
www.fermadacilor

Find them on Facebook and TripAdvisor.
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=ferma%20dacilor
https://www.tripadvisor.co/Hotel_Review-g7127809-d7722787-Reviews-Ferma_Dacilor_Inn-Gura_Vadului_Prahova_County_Southern_Romania.html

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Quick Tip On A Wine Museum in Romania

Problem
Where can you learn about the history of wine?

Answer
Wine Museum - Museul Crama 1777

Str. Valea Largă, Valea Călugărească, jud. Prahova, Romania.

Tel: 0244.235.470

Entry fee: 4 lei per person.

Ten parking spaces.

Tastings on request.

Str is short for the Romanian for street, like the Italian strada. J u d is short for the physical and administrative area, like the word jurisdiction, like a county. Valea is the vale or valley.

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Green Vines, Red Labels and Red Wines: Aurelia Visinescu Vineyard and Winery

Problem
Romania is the fifth largest producer of wine in Europe and has eight wine regions. Where do you go to learn about Romanian wines and vineyards? Whilst I would have loved to visit Moldova, in the far north East, the region of sweet wine made from botrytised grapes, I was happy to take the easy way out and drive two hours from Romania's capital, Bucharest, to Dealu Mare on the south-facing slopes of the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. (I was on my way to spend a week's holiday hiking with Java Lava In Exile, ex-pats, based in beautiful historic part of the city of Brasov.)

Answer
Dealu is Romanian for hill. Mare means great.

We had previously written from England to three vineyards, stating our credential and interests. We were invited to one, by Aurelia Vivinescu's winemaker at D o m e n i i l e Sahateni. ( I inserted spaces because spell checker inserts domicile.) D o m e n i i l e means the domains. Sahateni is the name of the village.

Aurelia Visinescu is the name of the female Romanian owner. We were told that when we met the oenologist, Serban Gheorghiu. He was standing at the end of the drive as we drove up, with a big smile. (I mean he was smiling, but so were we, seeing him standing there ready to greet us.)

Serbian showed us the vines. We discussed the picking. The number of harvests in different parts of the world. The grape varieties.

The red flowers are decorative.

Your tour and tasting can be adapted to your budget and interests. What is there to see? Outside, you drive in through the vineyard. He will walk you around and talk about it. He will point out what you can later read in the brochure, that the vines at ground level near the winery are whites and Pinot Noir, growing up the slopes. The late ripening reds are at the top of the slope.

You probably know the international grape varieties they grow: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah. In the Communist era wine production was run down. Afterwards, rejuvenating the wine growing area, the decision is whether to go for the popular international varieties of grape, and compete with the rest of the world, or whether to focus on the unique local grapes. It seems they are doing both.

Currently most sales are still local. But the producers and sellers have a growing market in the UK. So British visitors are warmly welcomed. They want you to try and buy and spread the word that Romanian wines are wonderful.

Native grape varieties are Feteasca Alba, Feteasca Neagra, Romaneasca, Tamaiosa. Feteasca means little girl. Alba means white. Neagra means black. (White and black grapes.)

Voila - the grapes.

Inside, the usual series of locked doors unlocked leads you to the huge metal containers and smaller wooden barrels. You can look at the labelling.

Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Downstairs are the cool cellars for maturation.

The barrel room. Photo courtesy of Aurelia Visinescu Winery.

On the ground floor is the shop and tasting room for small groups of members of the public where you can buy a bottle or two.

You can see the name Aurelia Visinescu on the barrel in the shop. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Photo by Angela Lansbury.

There's her name again, Aurelia Visinescu on the label on the front of the bottle and the attached tag.

Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Upstairs is a large room for large or small groups to sit down and try a series of wines. The fee depends on the numbers of wines you want to taste. If you are buying or promoting wines, or a large group paying for a visit, you will probably get crisp or bread and cheese or salami.

Photos by Angela Lansbury.

Now you must try our red wine. (Everything is red.)

A large red folder, the colour you will recognize on labels, tells you about the different wines. Most people run through the gamut of red wines.

The names are:
Nomad (Merlot)
Artisan
Karakter
Anima

However, I asked to try a rose wine, a sparkling wine and a sweet white wine. Jolly good too, aromas and flavours of melon.

Finally, for overseas visitors who are here on business, the winery has built a few very nice motel style rooms which are saved for people such as big buyers.

Photos by Angela Lansbury.

The whole place is an oasis of calm and cleanliness, as well as warm friendliness, honesty and open-ness.

I loved it. I am sure you will, too.

We saw the vineyard, the winery, had a tasting, and left in time for a late lunch nearby. What else is in the area? Follow the wine trail signposts. S.E.R.V.E. is a wine co-operative.

The room was so pretty and clean I was sorry I was not a VIP international buyer and did not qualify for a room. Eventually they may expand into a hotel. Meanwhile, there's something equally interesting around the corner.

We asked for a recommendation for lunch. On the oenologist's recommendation we drove to a medieval style farm and restaurant (serving some of the wines we had just seen) with motel rooms - and treehouse rooms! More about that in the next post.

Winery
127535 Sahateni - Buzau,
Romania
Tel: +40 21 211 09 77
Email: export@domeniilesahateni.com

The winery is in Sahateni village, 7 km North East from Mizil on National Road B1, Ploiesti-Buzau.

(Ploiesti is the town next to the airport at the capital city, Bucharest.)

www.aureliavisinescu.com

You can buy wines from this winery and read blog posts about the winery from
vincarta.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to my posts.

Tiptree Mustards, Jams, Tea Rooms, Museum Video and Shop

Problem
What if you can't remember anything about the trip you took to a factory?

Answer
Ask others who were on the same trip.

I asked a member of my family what he remembered about our trip to the Dijon mustard factory tour in France - several years ago. He said: "Somebody told us that making mustard in the quantities needed requires vast areas of land for mustard growing, more than they have. They grow mustard in Canada. The seeds are dropped from aircraft to be sown. The harvest is shipped or flown to France and made into French mild mustard."

Perhaps the situation has changed or developed. I looked in my fridge and found we had French mustard. M o u t a r d e in French.

A further hunt revealed a small jar of T i p t r e e mustard - by Wilkin and Sons Ltd. I associate Tiptoe with jams. 

We probably bought the little pots as a Christmas present at the Wine Society show room in Stevenage, which has lots of other regional and seasonal foods and wines for sale just before Christmas at a special event for members of the wine society. (It costs about £40 to join and they have wine tasting events, dinners and more at Stevenage and other places around Britain.) 

The label on the Tiptoe jar clearly states HOT English mustard. 

Problem
How can I visit a mustard or jam factory in the UK?

Answer
At the moment you can visit Colman's but not T i p t r e e. (I had to insert spaces because an automatic spell checker changed the word to tiptoe!)

I found the tiptoe.com site which says they have tea rooms. Under FAQ I found this:

"We have an informative video in the Tiptree Jam Museum that shows the factory operations. The museum is free of charge and open seven days a week at the Tiptree site.

We hope to offer farm tours over the Summer months . "

You can see a ten minute video in the T i p t r e e Tea Room.

• Tiptree Jam Shop & Tea Room, 
• Factory Hill, 
• Tiptree, 
• Essex, 
• CO5 0RF.
• Tel: 01621 814524
• E-mail: tiptree@trooms.com

For more information see the tiptoe website:

Their website has recipes including one for cheesecake:
http://tipcloud.mvad.co.uk//assets/fres/banana-and-toffee-cheesecake.pdf
You can also buy online from them assorted jams, honey, rhubarb and other liqueurs, tea towels and an insulated travel mug.
tiptree.com

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my previous posts on mustard factory visits in the UK and France and the Mustard pot museum in America. Please share links to my posts.

A Day Out with bargain shopping at UK's Poundstretcher, Poundland or second hand in Europe

Poundland in Harrow, N W London. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
Where can I buy on a budget when out for the day or away on holiday? Usually I look at goods at stores far away in the UK and think, I'm not driving that far. It's too much time and effort. The cost of the petrol outlays the savings in post and packing. I also have trouble persuading my family that shopping is a valid way to spend a weekend or holiday.

Answer
Later in the year on a bright day, when I want to get out, I am thinking, where shall I go? At this point I wish I had thought to keep a list of stores out of town which have bargains, or items I'd like to see before deciding whether to order on line.

I could make a note of the store, search for a good restaurant or place of interest in the area, then present to the family the place of interest, with my shopping diversion as an optional add on.

UK
What inspired this thought? Today's bargain in the UK.

JACK AND JILL WOODEN BENCH SET | Poundstretcher

Pound stretcher emailed me. Their website lets you type in your postcode and find the nearest store. They are a a discount store. They stretch your pounds, so items can be well over £1.

This is where you will get larger items such as this garden furniture.

If you want a store where everything is a pound, try Poundland.

Poundland in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

You'll also find factory shops all over the UK, such as the Denby factory in Derbyshire, and factory outlet shopping complexes. A budget clothing store is Primark.

Charity shops include Oxfam and St Luke's. Oxfam and other charities also have online websites and sell through ebay.

In the UK on line you will find (alphabetically) : ebay;  gumtree; preloved.co.uk ; vented.co.uk; and several more websites.

EUROPE (countries listed alphabetically)

BULGARIA

Mania has many second hand shops in Bulgaria's capital Sofia and other towns .

See 

website: maniastores.bg

Bg stands for Bulgaria, not bargain!

FRANCE
Look for troc.com

GERMANY
In Germany look for flea markets in summer called Flohmarkt. (I typed f l e a. I came back and found spell checker had sneakily changed it to fly when I wasn't looking!)
Markt is German for market.

GREECE
Bulgarian shop Mania has opened a couple of branches in the capital of Greece, Athens.

HUNGARY

Hada has about sixty shops.

ROMANIA
Bulgaria's Mania has moved north into the adjacent country of Romania and opened a couple of shops in Romania's capital city, Bucharest.

In Romania as we drove out through Brasov I noticed stores called Second Hand (yes, written in English), operated by a company called Humana.

Second Hand Humana shop, Brasov, Romania. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

http://www.humana-slovakia.org/en/second-hand-clothes/why-second-hand-clothes

In the UK we had some controversy.  Charities distributing collection bags for collections made for second hand goods. Many donors assumed the goods went directly to needy people, or the charity's shops. Some donors were disappointed, or angry on learning that that the goods were being sold by a third party which took a profit.

Whether you want to support registered charities, discount stores, or just want to buy second hand clothes and goods, up to you.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several other posts on shopping for bargains and discounts and charity shops in the UK, Europe, and Asia including Singapore. Please share links to your favourite posts.

French and English Mustard, Museum and Shops in England, France and the USA

Colman's Mustard jar. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
What's the difference between French and English mustard?

Answer
English mustard is stronger. That's a surprise isn't it? You would expect the French mustard to be stronger, the English mustard to be a poor watered down imitation. But no, that is not the case.

Who Hates Mustard?
If you hate mustard, think again. Don't only provide it for other people, members of your family, parents or grandparents, neighbours, friends, visitors, customers. You are missing out on the flavour enhancing properties of mustard.

If you are lucky, and visit England or an English restaurant, or even a hot dog stand, you may find that you are given a hot dog with a mean, small amount of mustard. This is good because it means you gradually learn you can tolerate a tiny amount of mustard and actually grow to like it.

Learning To Like Mustard
If you don't like mustard, you will be glad to know that the French mustard is less of a shock to your tongue and tastebuds. It enhances your perception of the flavour of your meat or food.

As a child I hated mustard. Growing up in England, we always had English mustard. As a child I was attracted by the colour. I took a large blob. I sucked it into my mouth. What a shock!

Years later I learned that French mustard was milder. I discovered from an aficionado that you don't use mustard liberally like a s a u c e. You can spread it thinly on the bread over hot dogs and sausage sandwiches and meats. Then it does not overwhelm. Like salt, a little is good, enough to add a piquant bite and enhance the flavour.

What a discovery. What a delight!

You would think that English mustard would be made in England and French mustard would be made in France. One day I looked at a mustard pot label and found that my assumption was wrong. I could only assume that a large mustard company had bought up in another country and expanded its big and successful business.

Mustard in England comes in little pots with yellow caps. It seems a shame to throw them away.

The Mustard Moral
The moral of the story is, too much mustard can be too much of a good thing. Many people take too much mustard and end up leaving lots not he plate. It is often said, quoting a mustard manufacturers, that th mustard makers make their money from the amount of mustard left on the plate!

To save money, and shopping trips, and persuade somebody new to mustard to like it, be sparing in the serving. It's not being mean, it's being sensible. You can add more later.

How long should you keep mustard? The back label of my English mustard pot tells me after opening to keep it in the fridge for up to 3 months. The label also reveals that what I think of as a family firm has been bought up by one of the big boys, Unilever.

Other mustards are made by own labels such as Marks and Spencer. Mustard and Dill sauce.

Saving Mustard Bottles
Americans are great at recycling. I subscribe to several recycling and craft sites. Every now and then I discover or re-discover a post showing what you can do with plastic caps from pots.

You can make traffic light signals for the house - showing that people are in or out. You can make a decorative patenred board for the wall of a restaurant or bathroom or kitchen or children's room or conservatory. You can used the tops embedded in a wipe clean table top for a conservatory or garden or sell it at a craft show as a novelty for sisters or pubs.

Bottle Vase
I use a small mustard bottle for a miniature vase when I have cut a rose stem short so that the rose is too small for a large vase. A small mustard bottle makes a container for a huge rose flower head in the centre of a table when you don't have space for a large vase.

You would want to keep the label if you imagined that your pot would eventually be in a museum of items from this century.

If not, you can move the label.






Recycling Caps
You can put plastic caps into a recycling bin but it seems such a shame not to use those perfectly formed circles. What can they make? Table tops. Magnets. String and cap curtains.

Home Made Mustard
I used to be shy about taking too much mustard in a restaurant. I did not want to waste it. I thought that a mustard pot is quite expensive if every customer takes a spoonful. Than I was in a gourmet restaurant and asked about the mustard. The waiter called the manger who told me that the restaurant made their own mustard.

Afterwards we diners discussed it. I asked, How to they do that? Do they grow their own mustard and cross in a window box and dry the mustard seeds and grind them up? Surely not!

My companion replied, "No. They probably buy mustard powder in bulk and mix it up themselves. That was it is fresh and doesn't dry up and go off and get congealed and contaminated by the customers' cutlery."

When you are in a gourmet restaurant you may be told that they make their own mustard.

Mustard Factory Tours
You can visit mustard factories and mustard factory shops in England and France.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186342-d318638-Reviews-Colman_s_Mustard_Shop_Museum-Norwich_Norfolk_East_Anglia_England.html
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187109-d3376808-r233211898-
https://www.colmans.co.uk/our-history
La_Moutarderie_Fallot-Beaune_Cote_d_Or_Bourgogne_Franche_Comte.html
https://uk.pinterest.com/explore/plastic-bottle-caps/

Mustard Pots
You can buy mustard pots at the mustard museum shop in Norwich. Many department stores have sets of condiment contains, paper, slat and matching mustard pot in ceramic or silver. See and bid for a new or vintage sterling silver mustard pot with a hole in the side of the lid and a matching little silver spoon on ebay.

American Mustard Museum in Wisconsin
You can see many mustard pots and buy them on line from the Mustard Museum in Wisconsin, USA. If you are in the USA, the museum is free. Something different.
https://store.mustardmuseum.com/category/mustard-pots?display=list
Mustard day is August 5th, 2017!

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to posts.

The Story of French Kir and Visiting a Cassis Factory in Dijon France

Problem
What is kir? What's the difference between kir and kir royale? Why is it called Kir?

Answers
Kir is made from a dry white wine plus sweeter creme de cassis, blackcurrant liqueur which adds colour. Kir royale is made instead with a drink such as champagne with bubbles. Somehow the bubbles are a distraction and  I always find that kir royale is slightly disappointing. Plain Kir made from Aligote has a stronger flavour and is as the Coca Cola ads say 'the real thing'. 

Cassis
In France an authentic kir will be a mixture of Alight dry white wine and creme to cassis, a sweet liquor, blackcurrant being the ingredient, a faint flavour, and the colour. Add more of the cassis to get a stronger colour. 

Story Of Factory Visit And Buying Cassis
We first stopped in Dijon, probably in the late nineteen seventies or eighties, driving south to ski in Chamonix or visit my parents who spent winter at their one bedroom flat in Southern Spain in Marbella. On the long drive from Spain back to the UK a stop in Dijon was a welcome lunch break. 

We read about cassis and saw the signs and map and guidebook references and went to visit the Cassis factory. Cassis is French for blackcurrant. Creme de Cassis is the drink, the spirit (strong alcohol content). 

From my visit to France I remember clearly being told that Canon Kir was the man who made the drink popular. Not so long ago either. He died in the late Nineteen Sixties.

For many years we would make a point of stopping in Dijon to buy cassis or Alight or both at the local supermarket or factory, looking for the best price. Alight was hard to find in England. If you found it, the price was higher than what you would pay in France. Also there was the fun of opening the new bottle and telling neighbours of friends the story of how and where we had bought it.

When we ran out of Alight we tried making kir with other wines. The result just wasn't the same. After that when we ordered kir in a restaurant, if it tasted wrong, we knew it had not been made with Aligote. The first time that happened I asked to see the bottle afterwards. Once alerted to the problem, I started asking if they had alight, or which wine they used, before ordering the kir.

Oddly, at first the best place to be of getting a kir was on the British ferry across to France. I suppose they had many French passengers, or passengers from Britain such as ourselves who were keen on drinking authentic French drinks. 

French Kir and Cassis

For a detailed look at the story of French kir from Dijon, in the Burgundy region, where the ingredient of kir, creme de cassis is made, see:
http://www.pressreader.com/uk/france/20151201/281543699787229

Driving Through France
One of the things I most enjoyed about driving through France was the brown signs adverstiting the main attractions as you approached every city or small town on the motorway. You could immediately see whether the place had attractions you wanted to visit.

Now the rest of the world is starting to catch up, but slowly. America and France are the best places for signposting attractions for motorists.

You can get a lot of good information from the French tourist board in London. But be aware that the phone number for tourists is a premium rate number.

What France does best is list all the attractions on a sign before you reach a city, so you can decide whether you want to stop and turn off at the next exit.

America's great strength is the way that individual attractions give a series of tempting signs. After you have passed the last exit beurre the attraction, you get signs saying, You have missed ... and Turn back here to visit ... I used to find this amusing. It felt like you were having a conversation with a smiling sales person.

Cassis - the town
Cassis and Kir are from Dijon in France but if you do a google search for Cassis and tours you will find there is also a small fishing town or village called Cassis with vineyards.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have many more blog posts on wine.

Wine Trail Itineraries and Wish lists for Romania

Wish Lists
1 Azuga - Rhein Cellars, 

Stop in the town of Azuga for lunch and wine tasting at Rhein Cellars.

2 Danube Delta: Sarica Niculitel vineyards; Murfatlar vineyards.
East of Bucharest, on the Black Sea:

Sarica Niculitel vineyards
Try local wines such as Aligote, Feteasca Regala and Pinot Noir. (Noir is French for black. I know aligote as the rough, dry wine sweetened with blackcurrant juice to make kir in France. I visited the cassis factory. I remember the overwhelming aroma of alcoholic blackcurrant, which the French call creme de cassis.)


2 Murfatlar vineyards
Try a selection of wines: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Muscat Ottonel.

Iasi
Fly to Iasi from Bucharest  or take the express train and rent a car. Drive to the old Cotnari vineyards. Take a wine tasting tour and sample some of Romania's sweet white wines: Grasa de Cotnari, Feteasca Alba and Tamaioasa.

Tips
For more ideas of wine itineraries see:
http://romaniatourism.com/sample-itineraries.html
romaniatourism.com/romanian-food-wine.html#romanianwines

Stop in the town of Azuga for lunch and wine tasting at Rhein Cellars.
http://www.info-turism-azuga.ro/en/tourist-resources/tourist-attractions/wine-road-azuga-rhein-cellars

Iasi
Fly to Iasi from Bucharest or take the express train and rent a car. Drive to the centuries old Cotnari vineyards. Take a wine tasting tour and sample some of Romania's sweet white wines: Feteasca Alba, Grasa de Cotnari, or Tamaioasa.

3 Iasi - Cotnari vineyards.
Fly in from Bucharest or from Vienna or take the express train from Bucharest to Iasi and rent a car. Drive to the centuries old Cotnari vineyards. Take a wine tasting tour and sample some of Romania's sweet white wines: Grasa de Cotnari, Tamaioasa and Feteasca Alba.

Tips
For more ideas of wine itineraries see:
http://romaniatourism.com/sample-itineraries.html
romaniatourism.com/romanian-food-wine.html#romanianwines

Romanian Wine Tasting In Restaurants In Bucharest

Problem
Where can I try Romanian wines?

Answers
1 Starting in Bucharest, at any restaurant. The waiter or wine waiter will be delighted to help you.

2 Drive north of Bucharest for an hour or two and you will come to a wine route signposted on the roads around Dealu Mare. (Vineyard described in next post.)

Stories
1 Our first Romanian drink was when we arrived in the capital, Bucharest, on Thursday night in June 2017 and checked into our hotel, the Scala Boutique Hotel. Our welcome drink was highly alcoholic, a spirit. The hotel's restaurant was closed because of lack of staff. I knew that if I drank spirits I would not be able to walk to the nearby old town for dinner.

My free drink was dark red. Strong stuff. So I added water.

Why not? You add water to whisky because it is too strong to drink neat, or even on the rocks, on melting ice.

Welcome drink at the Scala Boutique Hotel. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

2 Bucharest Old Town - Crama Damneasca Restaurant

C r a m a means winery. The restaurant name contained the word Crama, winery.  The same word, Crama, was on the label of the bottle of wine we ordered.

Look at the label below. We sat over our dinner deciphering it. Add the letter u to the end of the word and it is like of.  So Basilescu would be of Basil? More likely the winery of the basilisc or dome. 

The grape is Feteasca alba. Alba means white. 2015 was the year it was bottled. So it is a two year old wine in 2017, a young wine, likely to be sharp as well as dry. 

Vin is wine, like the French word vin, as in the French vin de table, table wine, or vin o r d i n a i r e meaning ordinary wine. 

Alba means white. So it is a white grape. 

Sec is dry. Cu like a short form of the Latin word cum means with. 

DOC for Denumire de Origine Controlata, translates the English Denomination (name) of origin controlled. That is like a trademark on the name. 

3 La Vinuri

Opposite the opera house was newly opened tapas and Wine tasting Bar, La Vinuri. Not cheap, though it might be good value.

4 Artisan wine, on the menus of restaurants, is from a winery we visited the next day.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.