Feteascǎ Fetiaska, or Feteaska, means ‘young girl’ and is associated with three important eastern European vine varieties. The ‘royal’ Feteascǎ Regalǎ was (just) the most planted variety in 2013 in romania where it produced crisp, scented whites from nearly 13,000 ha/32,000 acres of vineyard. Total Romanian plantings of ‘white’ Feteascǎ Albǎ, which almost certainly originated in moldova and is often used for sparkling wines, were said to have grown to 12,633 ha/31,203 acres. In neighbouring Moldova and ukraine, statistics do not distinguish between the two pale-skinned Feteascǎs, which are typically blended and sold simply as Feteascǎ. The dark-skinned Feteascǎ Neagrǎ, whose red wines show potential when well vinified and yields are severely restricted, was much less common and planted on just over 2,500 ha of Romania and is also grown in Ukraine. dna profiling suggests that the dark-skinned Feteascǎ is a particularly old variety and may not be related to either of the light-skinned ones. (In Romanian, Feteascǎ, meaning young girl’s grape, contrasts directly with bǎbeascǎ, grandmother’s grape.)
