Geology and wine Sunday - #1

I am passionate about geology and I like a good glass of wine.  Some Sunday musing about the two seems like a good idea, especially that the elements of wine terroir (climate, soil type and topography) are all linked in one way or another to geology.
To celebrate my first blog post on geology and wine I went to Phoenicia and bought some Romanian wine.  The wines I can find in in the US stores are not the best, to get good Romanian wines I have to go to my favorite places in Romania; but at least Phoenicia caries my favorite types, which I show in the picture below, together with my Romanian placemat.

Feteasca Regala from the Jidvei winery in Transylvania (first bottle from the right) is what I would start a meal with.  This is a dry wine, lively, with a fruity flavor.  Its balance fits very well not only the nature of the Transyslvanian people, but also the gentle topography and, why not, the less tumultuous geologic evolution of the area.  While continental collision was taking place in the Eastern Carpathians about 15 million years ago, and volcanoes were erupting to the east 5 million years ago, the only geologic excitement in Transylvania was the slow and steady movement of salt.

Transylvania is tucked inside of the Carpathians like a hidden treasure, and the Jidvei winery is its crown jewel  (landscape pictures used here are from the winery website).  Jidvei area, because of its location, does not have the Carpathians protecting it against the cold air coming from the North.  The vineyards are located on the South facing gentle slopes of the Transylvanian hills, which offer more protection and good sun exposure.  Temperatures average about 9 deg C during the year, and the sunny days are plentiful throughout the grape growing season.
Next time you want something different, try a glass of Feteasca Regala from Jidvei and think about what gave its taste: the people, the climate, the geography and, why not, the geologic history.  Noroc!