Sometimes you know a day is special. It was June 3, 2022 and we had come to Mediaș to celebrate the First International Fetească Regala Day. We did a morning visit to a nearby winery, ate lunch in town, and toured of some of Mediaș's historical wine sites, some of which are in the process of reconstruction. Later, over dinner there was a Fetească Regala wine tasting, and the launching of Octavian Isailă's book, Rebuilding of the old wine metropolis of Transylvania. Mediaș was an old wine-trade town, and hence has so much rich wine history. We were about to discover that not only was it a special day but also, we had come to a very special place, Mediaș. We were indeed most fortunate to get a glimpse into some of that history.
Restaurant at Traube Hotel, Mediaș © Spaswinefood
Our days in Transylvania's wine country were filled with vine-filled explorations. It was late evening, June 2, 2022 when we arrived at the Traube Hotel in Mediaș. Traube Hotel is a hotel filled with character, even the steep climb up to our room on the top level, with luggage, was well worth it.
Traube Hotel, Mediaș © Spaswinefood
After checkin we gathered in the street side restaurant for wine and an evening meal. Here we met up Octavian Isailă who next day would introduce us to Mediaș's wine history. I would later discover that the city has a viticultural history of over 800 years. It was the center of an area known as Weinland (Wine Country). His book is the first collection of documents from the late 1800's on that history. In the documentation he highlights the role of the Caspari and Ambrosi wine families. They were pioneers in the replanting with grafted vines after the phylloxera epidemic in Europe.
June 3, 2022 Mediaș
After a night's rest next day our wine explorations began at Frauendorf Winery.
Frauendorf Winery © Spaswinefood
At Frauendorf Winery, a young winery, we tasted some of their first vintages.
Touring Wine History, Mediaș © Spaswinefood
We were most fortunate to have Octavian Isailă share with us some of Mediaș's wine history. One of the restored buildings is a wine shop, The Wine Corner, established in 2017.
Mediaș: Time to Celebrate
International Fetească Regală Day, June 3, 2022 © Spaswinefood
Later over dinner at Hanul Greweln we enjoyed a Fetească Regala wine tasting, and Octavian Isailă launched his book on wine history of Mediaș. Clearly Isailă has undertaken a number of impressive projects to restore some of Mediaș's rich wine history.
Feteasca Regala Wine Tasting © Spaswinefood
Launching of Octavian Isaila's Book © Spaswinefood
Over dinner that evening how could I not get a sense of this special town Mediaș. Mediaș has such a rich wine history.
Time to Celebrate Mediaș © Spaswinefood
At that day with the celebration of International Fetească Regală Day it signaled the reclaiming Mediaș's wine history.
A few members of our group managed to check out the city's celebration of First International Fetească Regala Day at City Hall. I am sure there are more celebrations to look forward to in future years.
International Fetească Regală Day, June 3, 2022, Mediaș © Spaswinefood
For me celebrating the First International Fetească Regala Day, June 3, 2022 was a special honor. After a very brief introduction to the rich wine history of Medias we traveled onto Sighisoara where I concluded my Transylvanian wine travels. What a wonderful introduction to Transylvania wine country it was! My traveling buddies would spend one more night in Sighisoara, and then onto the Dealu Mare Wine Region however, we (Carol & I) were off to Cluj to travel onwards.
It was hard for this wine traveler to leave Mediaș, a city with such rich history. I did leave with an autographed copy of Octavian Isailă's first book on the town's wine history. I have since read and/or scanned the book that includes documents written in German, Romanian, and English. Despite my language challenges I still get a sense of how important Mediaș's wine trade was. Thank you Octavian Isailă for all your efforts to reconstructing this history. For most of us, just being part of the First International Fetească Regala Day, was a once in a lifetime experience. For sure Romania is for winelovers therefore I invite you to join me in my travels in Romania and elsewhere at Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon and at Spaswinefood on Twitter and Facebook. Special thanks to Razvan Stoenescu, and all of our wonderful Romanian hosts for making my vine-filled explorations so memorable.
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