Glassware

A glass determines how much of Fetească Albă's restrained fragrance actually comes through. The variety is quiet: apple, hawthorn, a hint of hay, none of it shouts. In too wide a glass, it evaporates within seconds. Codru calls for a narrow glass.

A narrow white wine glass that tapers slightly toward the top helps: it directs the few aromatic compounds toward the nose instead of losing them in the bowl. Serve at eight to ten degrees Celsius, colder than many people think, because at room temperature the already delicate fruit suddenly seems flat and the alcohol too forward. Twenty minutes in the fridge is enough.

A different rule applies to the sparkling wine from Cricova. A flute or a narrow tulip glass holds the perlage together longer than a flat coupe, the kind you might recognise from old films. Perlage refers to the chain of carbon dioxide bubbles rising in the glass, and the finer and longer it lasts, the more careful the bottle fermentation was. A wide coupe destroys exactly that.

The red cuvées made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot need more room. A round-bowled glass with a wide opening lets the tannin soften and the alcohol dissipate before the first sip reaches the tongue. Sixteen to eighteen degrees is enough; any warmer makes the wine feel heavy.

A word on decanting. Most wines from Codru are meant for immediate drinking and don't need a carafe, but a few-year-old Cabernet cuvées or a sparkling wine from Cricova with extended lees ageing benefit from half an hour of air before the first glass. That opens up what was kept closed for so long in the tunnels.