A city with a vineyard inside it
The wine road of Oltenia, from Craiova
Craiova is one of the few Romanian cities with working vines inside the city limits, and it sits half an hour from the old Crown Estate at Segarcea. South-western Romania grows more red than the rest of the country, which is why the house red on a Craiova wine list is usually from thirty kilometres away.
Banu Mărăcine, on the edge of town
Most cities that claim a vineyard mean one in the county. Craiova has one on its northern edge — the Banu Mărăcine centre, which belongs to the University of Craiova and works as a teaching and research estate as well as a producer. It is the reason oenology is taught here at all, and the reason a Craiova wine list reads differently from a Bucharest one.
Segarcea, which is the serious trip
Twenty-nine kilometres and about thirty-five minutes south, the Domeniul Coroanei estate is the one to build a visit around. It was one of the Crown Domains created in the 1880s, and the winery building went up between 1906 and 1908; after a long decline it changed hands in 2002 and was rebuilt.
What makes it worth the drive is not the history but the planting. Southern Oltenia is warm enough for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Fetească Neagră to ripen properly, and Segarcea leans into that in a way most Romanian estates — which are overwhelmingly white — do not.
Visits are by arrangement, not drop-in. Prices are not published. Ring before you go, and settle who is driving before you leave: Romania's drink-drive limit is zero, and this is thirty minutes on a county road each way.
See the Segarcea page for distances and contact.
Further out
Drăgășani, in Vâlcea, is the region's heavyweight and about two hours from Craiova — the DOC that revived Crâmpoșie Selecționată and Negru de Drăgășani, two grapes that had nearly disappeared. If you are serious about Romanian wine rather than about an afternoon out, this is the one to plan properly, with a bed at the end of it.
Sâmburești, in Olt, built a reputation on Cabernet Sauvignon well before Romanian reds were taken seriously.
Both are a different undertaking from Segarcea. Segarcea is an evening; these are a day or a weekend.
Drinking it in the city
You do not have to leave Craiova to do this properly. The restaurants and wine bars along and around Calea Unirii pour Segarcea by the glass as a matter of course, and a tasting in the city before you decide which estate to drive to is the sensible order to do it in — the reverse of what most people try.
Frequently asked
Is there a vineyard in Craiova itself?
Yes — Banu Mărăcine, on the city's northern edge, which belongs to the University of Craiova and works as a teaching and research estate as well as a producer. It makes Craiova one of the few Romanian cities with working vines inside the city limits.
How far is Segarcea from Craiova?
29 km by road and about 35 minutes driving, measured from Piața Mihai Viteazul. It is the closest serious wine estate to the city and the only one on this page you can reasonably do on a weekday evening.
Can you just turn up at Domeniul Coroanei Segarcea?
No. Visits are by arrangement rather than drop-in, and tasting prices are not published online. Call the estate before you drive out. Also decide who is driving before you leave — Romania's drink-drive limit is zero.
What wine does Oltenia make?
More red than most of Romania. The south is warm enough to ripen Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Fetească Neagră properly, which is what Segarcea is known for. Further out, Drăgășani in Vâlcea revived Crâmpoșie Selecționată and Negru de Drăgășani, and Sâmburești in Olt built its name on Cabernet.
Where can you taste Oltenian wine without leaving the city?
The wine bars and restaurants on and around Calea Unirii pour Segarcea by the glass as standard. Tasting in the city first and then choosing which estate to visit is the sensible order — most people do it the other way round.
Before you go
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