The wines from this part of the country were appreciated as early as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when they travelled to the Imperial Court in Vienna. The tradition of wine-growing has continued to date, so that, according to ONIV, the Crisana and Maramures Wine-growing region gathered, in 2011, around 2,650 hectares of vineyards. In 2013, MADR announced that the nible wine production of the area was of 103.2 thousand hl. Located to the southwest of the country and climbing to the north, it includes the vine plantations from the hills of Crisana, Maramures, the depressions of Silvania, Oradia, Arad and those on the sands of the Tisa Plain. The delimitation is made to the south by the town of Minis, Arad county, and to the north by the wine-growing certer of Hamleu, Satu Mare county. The wine-growing region of Crisana and Maramures includes two vineyards: Crisana and Minis.
(a) The Crisana Vineyards
The locals boast a 400-year-long history of wine-making, a tradition which also reflects in the names of the villages from the Crisana area :the Wine Valley, the Satu Mare Vineyards, Ardud-Vineyards, Halmeu-Vineyards, Orasu Nou-Vineyards, Turulung-Vineyards, Jacului Vineyards, Apei Vineyards. The characteristic natural factor is the area of the Fast Cris, bordered to the north by the Plain mountain, the mellow hills close to the plain and the influence of the central-European climate, which determines a certain diminishing of the temperature resources. As such, the average annual temperature is of 9.6 degrees Celsius, with a total rainfall of 626 mm and a number of 1301 hours of sunshine. The structure of the soils is diverse, and it includes brown, eu-mezibasic soils, brown argillo-luvial, argillo-luvial chernozems, grey sould and regosoils.
The Crisana vineyard produses grapes for all types of white and red wines. The whites are: Muscat Ottonel, Sauvignon, Traminer rose, Grey Pinot, Royal Fetească, White Fetească, Italian Riesling, Rhine Riesling, Chardonnay, Mustoasă of Măderat, and he reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot noir, Black Fetească, Grand Burgundy, Syrah.
(b) The Miniș Vineyards
The Minis vineyard was attested in documents early in the 9th century, but archaeological proofs show that viticulture was practised here for the first time by the free Dacians. Over time, the vineyard has progressively developed, with wine ensuring 80% of the invomes of the domains and of the citizens in the 15th-16th centuries. Depending on the suzerainty (Ottoman or Austrian), the surface under vine cultures varied between 700 hectares in 1652 and 2100-2800 hectares in 1746. In the subsequent preiods, the vinegrowing surface has continually expanding, reaching 6540 hectares in 1880. Between 1907 and 1944 the winegrowing surface varied bertween 5570 and 6248 hectares.
Three forms of relief define the area: the Zarand Mountains (800 meters), the Western Hills (350-150 meters) and the Arad Plain. The climate is moderate, temperate-continental, with mild and short winters, early springs, warm summers and long autumns. The average annual teperature is of 11.2 degrees Celsius, the total annual rainfall is of 644 mm, and the total number of sunshine hours is of 1490. The eu-mezobasic and lovial brown soils are representative. Brown typical eu-mezibasic sould predominate on the slopes at the contact with the plain. To the north of the vineyard, the prevailing soils are brown argilloluvial and regosoils. The Minis vineyard produces several types of wine: Italian Riesling, Royal Fetească, Muscat Ottonel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cadarcă, Mustoasă of Măderat, Grand Burgundy, Pinot noir, Oporto, Sangiovese.