Category: Food
Romania’s Alcohol Laws
Posted Wednesday, May 27, 2009 by Jhane Reifsteck
Beer in Romania often costs less than the bottled water at restaurants and bars. That may have some effect on the amount of alcohol consumed in Romania, but according to my student counterpart here in Cluj, Bianca Turcus, the laws seem pretty similar to those in the United States.
Drinking and driving is illegal and also serving alcohol to minors is against the law. There is no minimum drinking age, but the purchase age is eighteen. However, we haven’t seen anyone asked for identification or proof of age when purchasing alcohol. Turcus mentioned that in order to make more money, a club in Cluj started a teen night. The city ended up not allowing the club to do this.
The drinking laws regarding driving seem to be better enforced. The driver that took us to the vineyard last week told us that he does not even drink when he’s off work because he can’t have any alcohol in his system. That’s probably a good thing. It’s easy to imaging how out of control a driver would be on the Romanian roads if they had alcohol in their system. Romania has one of the highest number of deaths resulting from car accidents in Europe. According to Eurostat, Romania has 130 deaths per million people, and the other countries topping the list are from Eastern Europe as well. Malta and the Netherlands had the lowest rates with 29 and 43 deaths per million.
Other people I’ve talked to have said that it is considered okay to have a drink during the work day or for business men and politicians to keep bottles of alcohol in their desks. You would think that in a country where beer is cheap and people appear to be laid back about drinking, there would be more problems. However, we have yet to see or hear of any real issues with violence or fatalities from alcohol consumption or abuse.
Touring and Tasting Romanian Wines near Ploesti
Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 by John D Paul
On Friday, two of us toured the Halewood vineyards and estate in the Delau Mare region of Romania, north of Bucharest. Halewood is a British owned wine company which produces several wines, including Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, sparkling rose, Merlot and a wine native to Romania called Feteascu Negra. Halewood is considered one of the “new” wineries in Romania, which began to grow in the late 1990s when privatization of the wine industry began in earnest.
The Delau Mare is considered Romania’s best region for red wines. Halewood wine executives Mihai Chitic and Valentin Resteman led the vineyard tour. We saw nearly 150 hectares of planted vineyard where the grapes are still very tiny, less than the size of a peppercorn, caper or BB. Chitic told me he believes there is great potential to increase the sale of Romanian wines, especially to the US, if the wine owners did a better job marketing their products overseas. The Halewood executives say the company currently exports about 62% of its wines.
Surprise! Guess what food this is
Posted Thursday, May 21, 2009 by Kirstin Skurka
Our first dinner in Romania was excellent. Most of us dined on ricotta filled mushrooms, stuffed chicken breast, salmon and pasta. Karis decided to be adventurous and try something very strange. Can you figure out what it is? She described the taste as being “excellent” but the texture “not so much”....
p.s. we were at an Italian restaurant
No Romanian wines in UI wine class
Posted Tuesday, May 12, 2009 by John D Paul
A wine appreciation class at the University of Illinois does not sample wines from Romania. The Food Science and Human Nutrition class is one of the most popular on the Urbana campus. It teaches students, who must be 21 years of age, to appreciate wines from around the world.
The class, FSHN 304, is titled Introduction to Wine Science. The class, often called “wine appreciation,” is taught by enology specialist Bradley Beam, who has a background in horticulture and grape growing and wine production. The students meet each week at Bevier Hall on the University of Illinois campus to sample a variety of wines. They must first take notes on the sensory characteristics of the wine including the “nose” or aromas they detect in the wines including odors from oak, vanilla, rubber, fruits, grasses, berries and even leather. They examine the color or clarity of the wines and then sample a small taste of the wine. The students also learn about the value and importance of wine production in the US. Beam says he has used many wines from Europe, Australia and South America in the class, but not wines from Romania, which are considered unknown by many American consumers.
UI Enology specialist Bradley Beam teaches wine class:
UI Enology specialist Bradley Beam teaches wine class
Bringing Romania Wines to US
Posted Wednesday, May 06, 2009 by John D Paul
Romanian wine makers are eager to export more of their products to wine consumers in the United States but they realize they face an image problem. Romanian wine does not get the notoriety or publicity that other European wines enjoy. Romanian Importer Cristian Soare of Terra Firma in St. Charles, Missouri is confident a change in image would cause more Americans to consider Romania’s wines.
Cristian Soare of Terra Firma Wines speaks about Romanian wines:
Cristian Soare of Terra Firma Wines speaks about Romanian wines
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