The city of Pâncota from Arad County is located in the South - Western part of the Zărand Depression and it is a part of the Miniş - Măderat Vineyard, one of the oldest vineyards in Romania.
According to the local tradition, the name of the town Pâncota is associated with the Pelegului Hill and comes from the Latin word "hill corner" or "hill end". References about this settlement are found in the order of the Hungarian king Bella III who in 1177 built a Benedictine monastery and thus developed a recognized wine brand at the royal courts, although on the territory of Romania the beginning of viticulture is situated during the Dacian period.
The Benedictine Abbey had four defensive towers, a monastery, a church, annexes, stables and barns, it and was destroyed by the Turks in 1565. It followed a period of 130 years of Turkish domination in Pâncota, from which it remained an archaeological site of the former Turkish bath in the city, at the foot of the Pelegu Hill, where there was a spring of thermal water. In 1805 the Baron Iosef Dietrich bought the Pâncota domain where he built a baroque castle with a huge park, flowers and ornamental fountains, he planted the 4 sequoia trees brought from America to the Măderat vineyard, which today is a tourist attraction.
The Arad vineyard has two major wine-growing centers: Miniş (to the South) and Măderat (to the North), which is why it is called Miniş - Măderat area. The Miniş - Măderat vineyard covers a surface of 40 km and the favorable climate creates the best conditions to produce a high quality wine. The Pâncota wine cellar has brought to the attention of the consumers wines with personality, produced with the most modern technologies such are: Pâncota Red Wine, Mustoasa de Maderat, Cadarca de Miniş, Perla Zarandului, Pâncota White wine.
Mustoasa de Măderat is a local grape variety originating from the village of Măderat from Arad County and it has a controversial history of its origin. The professional literature suggests that it would be the same as the Lampor Feher Hungarian variety or that it comes from this variety. The grapes are a white grape variety with rusty dots, it makes a good quality sparkling wine and distillated beverages.
If you want to taste the famous wine once on the tables of kings and nobles who have not lost their value over time, we invite you to enjoy the Pâncota wine varieties.
Photo credit:
Alina Mafa
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