Vâlcea County is located in the South – Central part of Romania, in the North of Oltenia region and settled on the Southern side of the Southern Carpathians. It has a 5,765 sq km surface, occupying 2.4% of the Romanian territory. The relief includes all the forms, ranging from 2,300 m high mountains, in the North, to the Under-Carpathian hills and then to the Olt Valley, with some tens of meters altitude in the Dragasani area. Located at a medium altitude, in the middle of the under-Carpathian hills and having a mild climate, Valcea county is renowned for its vegetables and fruits. In the Dragasani there is a wide variety of wines and also dessert grapes. The fruit trees are among the most varied, from plum trees and apple trees to hazel and nut trees. Well represented are also the cereal crops (corn, barley, wheat), vegetables and fruits. The best represented agricultural sectors from Valcea County are the wine-producing and fruit trees ones, first of all due to the hilly relief and adequate climate. The agricultural activity in Valcea county is assisted in the territory by two research institutes: Dragasani Wine – Producing and Making Research Facility, located in the middle of one of the most important wine producing areas in the country; the vineyards in this region are among the renowned and oldest in the country; and the second research institute: Râmnicu Vâlcea Fruit Trees Production and Research Facility.

BRIEF HISTORY

The fruits and the grapes have been used as nourishment from earliest times. The archaeologists, who have been lately concerned with the beginnings of vine and fruit trees growing, consider that based on the results revealed following the diggings, the inhabitants of the Neolithic communities had grown fruit trees and vines in the vicinity of their houses. The inhabitants of Neolithic communities such as Cucuteni were among the first to grow vines.

Vâlcea County is known for the DRAGASANI vineyard, it has a history rooted deeply and intermingled with the history of the Geto – Dacians. Tonic, lightly acid and with a persistent bouquet, the popularity of Dragasani wines out crossed the country’s borders a long time ago.

Here you can still find old Romanian vine seedlings like Braghina, Gordan or Cramposia. This latter wine accompanies perfectly the meals during the period of fasting before Easter.

The first documents on the wines and vines in Dragasani date back in the XIVth century. Mircea cel Batrân, Neagoe Basarab, Mihai Viteazul, Matei Basarab, Constantin Brâncoveanu and others, rulers of Wallachia, render to churches, monasteries and make beneficences to the army chiefs, entire villages with lordly benefits never lacking vines and wine production.

Features of the wines from Dragasani

• Italian Riesling is a white wine, of yellow – greenish color, but which in time can become straw – colored; it contributed to improving the reputation of the wine producing area, originally designated as Dragasani.
• Sauvignon managed to stand out as one of the most expressive Sauvignon wines in the country. It is produced especially as a semi-sweet and sweet wine.
• Chardonnay is a new breed introduced in the crops in the area.
• Pinot gris is a dry white wine, of superior quality, which stands out for its attractive harmony, given by the balance of its major components.
• Feteasca regalã is a dry white wine which keeps its yellow – greenish color for a long time. Moderately alcoholic, the wine is remarkable for its non-aggressive acidity.
• Romanian Tãmâioasa, a glory of Drãgãsani vineyard, holds an honorable place in the range of the Romanian flavored white wines.
• Cabernet Sauvignon is a bright red wine, with a good balance between alcohol, acidity and phenol compounds, vigorous and attractive.
• Pinot noir is a red wine, adequately colored, which is added up with a subtle dry fruits taste.
• Merlot is a red wine, with different intensities, with strong purple shades persisting for a long time.

In the Oltenian cuisine, lots of dishes are prepared: chicken, vegetables, leek, mountain spinach or dock soups; pork or fish are often cooked, and rather rarely beef or game. Soups soured with cabbage or tomatoes juice are appreciated, and the mainly used herbs and spices are parsley and lovage. The gorge soup is preferred with horseradish and vinegar, without garlic. The Dishes pertaining to the Oltenian cuisine: chicken in white sauce with polenta, tomatoes filled with meat or only rice, Oltenian tochitura, corn in the oven, pork greaves, leek dish, Oltenian sausages, quince with chicken breasts, “mici”, mince meat rolled in cabbage, pork in the pan, “pomana porcului”, cured fish. Orchards from Valcea The fruits, because of their high content in vitamins, minerals, easy to assimilate carbohydrates, acids and other active elements stand for an indispensable element in people’s rational diet.

The economic and cultural importance of growing fruit trees can consider the following approaches:

• capitalization on the domestic and foreign market;
• raw material for the processing industry;
• climatic function for the soil conservation;
• occupation of a part of the population in the fruit trees growing activity.

The development of the fruit trees growing activity in the last 20 -25 years has been clustered around the most favorable areas, thus as regards the surfaces and the total number of grown fruit trees, the main clustered areas have been cultivated in the under-Carpathian area of Oltenia and Muntenia, especially in Arges, Vâlcea, Prahova, Buzau, Dâmbovita, Olt and Dolj counties.

There are orchards of: apple trees, pear trees, plum trees and cheery trees. The fruit trees are kept in the same area for a long period of time during which they extract from the soil large quantities of nutritious elements. Due to the soils abounding in these substances, the quality of the fruits is also a special one, these fruits enjoying a good local reputation and beyond.

Contacts:

• Viticola Dragasani S.A., 509 Tudor Vladimirescu Street, Dragasani, phone 250 810051,
• Centre of Wine Producing and Making Research Dragasani, 64 Ferdinand Street, Dragasani, phone 250 810640.
• Dragasani Wine Producing and Making Research Facility, Dragasani, Vâlcea County, tel. +40(250)810640