Moldovan Hills has ten sub-regions, including Panciu, Coteşti and Odobeşti. Its vineyard belt runs between the Moldavian Subcarpathians, the curved Carpathians, the Prut valley and the lower Siret valley. Growers contend with cold winters, late frosts, hail and heavy rain. Panciu made its first traditional-method sparkling wine in 1969, using a second fermentation in the bottle. Its wines are associated with high acidity. Cotnari's white grapes include Grasă de Cotnari, Fetească Albă, Tămâioasă Românească and Frâncușă. In favourable years, noble rot concentrates the grapes for sweet wine. Bohotin grows Busuioacă and makes wines ranging from dry to sweet. Nicorești is associated with reds based on Băbească Neagră and Fetească Neagră.
10 named areas
Inside the region
Explore the wine-growing areas of Moldovan Hills.
- 01BohotinNo producers listed yetBohotin makes aromatic Busuioacă in white, red and rosé styles. The wines range from dry to sweet, within a continental setting of chernozem and brown-red clay soils.
- 02CoteştiNo producers listed yetCoteşti in Romania's Moldovan Hills makes aromatic whites and fuller, oak-aged reds. Riesling can be lively and fruity, Traminer brings rose and citrus notes, and Fetească Neagră makes more substantial reds.
- 03CotnariNo producers listed yetCotnari is known for whites from Grasă de Cotnari, Fetească Albă, Tămâioasă Românească and Frâncușă. Its sunny slopes and autumn conditions support sugar accumulation, and favourable years can also bring sweet wines from grapes concentrated by noble rot.
- 04Dealu BujoruluiNo producers listed yetDealu Bujorului grows local and international varieties. Its light, aromatic Șarbă and fuller Merlot offer a clear contrast, while the area's viticultural research station dates from 1977.
- 05HuşiNo producers listed yetHuşi has documentary wine references dating to 1436. Its wines fall under the protected DOC Huși designation, which may be supplemented by approved single-vineyard names.
- 06IanaNo producers listed yetIana is a protected DOC wine origin in Romania's Moldovan Hills.
- 07IaşiNo producers listed yetIaşi is one of Romania's oldest vineyard areas within Moldovan Hills, with viticultural roots in the second half of the sixteenth century.
- 08NicoreştiNo producers listed yetNicoreşti is a Moldovan Hills wine area with two vineyard centres, Nicorești in the south and Buciumeni in the north. Its reds centre on Băbească Neagră, Fetească Neagră and Rubiniu de Nicorești blends.
- 09OdobeştiNo producers listed yetOdobeşti is a dedicated vineyard area in the eastern Moldova wine region, within Moldovan Hills.
- 10PanciuNo producers listed yetPanciu is a Moldovan Hills wine area associated with high acidity and classic sparkling wine. Fetească Albă, Fetească Regală, Șarbă, Galbenă de Odobești and Muscat Ottonel grow alongside international varieties.