A Romanian Wine Tasting in Bucharest: One Silly Question, Then Rară Neagră
Short answer
What do you learn at a Romanian wine tasting?
At this 3rd Space Bucharest tasting, wine educator Mirela Mateescu explained that the mouth-watering feeling after a sip is acidity, and that acidity is what makes a wine taste crisp instead of flat. Guests also learned that Rară Neagră, a dark-skinned Romanian grape known for velvety reds, can become a rosé, a sparkling wine or a white Blanc de Noirs.
I asked a room full of near-strangers one question:
“If you were a boxer, what would your entrance song be?”
The answers at our Romanian wine social:
- Eye of the Tiger (a classic)
- Roar by Katy Perry (not that intimidating if you're a man 😄)
- Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J (strong pick)
- The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel 🤨
People laughed.
Shoulders dropped.
Strangers started talking like they'd met before.
Then the wine
Wine educator Mirela Mateescu took us on a journey through Romanian wines — and she did it the way you'd want someone to: with stories, not tasting notes read off a card.
My favourite lesson?
You know that watering feeling under your tongue after a sip of wine?
That's a good thing.
It's acidity. The more acidic a wine, the more crisp and mouth-watering it tastes. Acidity gives wine its zest. Without it, wine tastes flat and dull.
A red grape that makes a white wine
The one that surprised the room: Rară Neagră, a dark-skinned grape best known for velvety reds, can also end up as a rosé, as something sparkling — or as a Blanc de Noirs, a white wine made from dark grapes, with barely any contact between the juice and the skins.
Several people said afterwards they'd been choosing their non-reds wrong for years.
People work the same way
A few hours at a table with new friends, a silly question, a good story. That's the zest.
Without it, life starts to taste a little flat too. No amount of scrolling fixes that.
The good news: it's easier to find than you think. Sometimes it just takes one good question and a glass of Rară Neagră.
“Last Thursday I went to my first wine tasting organised by Eric Melchor… and it felt like the perfect start to my ‘say-yes summer’.”
“It was truly captivating, engaging, and completely unlike any other wine tasting I've attended. I made some lovely new connections, and the first collaboration is already on the way!”
Thank you Mirela Mateescu, Anastasia Lucinschi, Roberto Tedeschi, Laura Balan and every guest who made this another wonderful 3rd Space Bucharest social. 🍷
Want to be in the room for the next one? See what's coming up, or read the rest of the recaps.
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