An Embryonic WINE Industry

68 69 WINE & DRINK ROMANIA An embryonic WINE industry Aventis Vineyards The team at Recas Wines My memory of Romanian wine were a well and in 1994 Kenderman appointed him lease to buy option on 100 ha granted over few decent Pinot Noir’s from the Dealu MD of their Romanian set up with a brief to a five year period. With money from a group Mare region tasted back in the 1990’s make wine to a specification using flying of investors they dug up vineyards, replanted when wines from central Europe had winemakers. 1993 was the first vintage and and upgraded the winery. In order to keep the more distribution in this part of the world. from there they built up an extensive business cash flow moving they had to sell a hell of a My overall impression is of Romanian wine then fell off the radar, in Romania. lot of wine, which Philip, with his energy and rendered invisible by the rise and rise By 1996 Philip saw the potential for inherent sales ability was able to achieve. an embryonic wine industry of wines from the new world especially Romanian wine and decided to set up his own Philip who has a strong commercial head on during the 1990’s and into the noughties. business, he rented the winery at Recas with his shoulders re-invested all the income to with enormous potential. That said a recent visit to Romania has a view to producing varietal wines for the UK re-plant a range of French varietals that he re-acquainted me with a European wine market. The structure of the Romanian wine knew would have appeal in the U.K. He also Having emerged from the country that has enormous potential and industry at that time was pretty haphazard. started to plant some of the local varieties for a story to tell. After the 1989 revolution no one really knew the Romanian market. communist era, the country We flew to Timișoara one of Romania’s who owned the land. A programme was Today Cramele Recas is the biggest largest cities in Timiș one of the largest initiated to return the land to its original selling Romanian wine company on the UK and the wine industry are counties in western Romania situated close owners from the pre-communist days. It market with sales of over 300,000 cases to the Hungarian and Serbian border. Our first was an uncertain time, because of the land per annum. Their wines feature strongly in struggling to catch up. But stop was a visit with Englishman Philip Cox owning issues no one really invested in or many c-stores and supermarkets and they at his Cramele Recas winery. Philip, originally planted new grapes. So from 1985 to 2005 have also expanded into other markets such catch up they will, ... from Bristol started working for Kenderman, no new vines were planted in Romania and as Holland, Ireland and Belgium. On the a German wine company back in the early wine was made from international varietals home market they are the biggest producer JEAN SMULLEN 1990’s. His job involved buying bulk wine which had been there for some time. in value terms and the best known for local from Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania for Philip, together with his Romania wife grape varieties. Recas Vineyards the company. He got to know the area pretty Elvira started their business by acquiring a 70 | Wine & Drink | Romania 71 By 2014 the company had sales of 10 million bottles annually with 4.8 million of those heading for the export market. RECOMMENDED WINES Bag in Box is another huge seller for them on the Romanian market, particularly in CRAMEL RECAS AVINCIS (THEATRE OF WINE) the restaurant sector. They now bottle on a 2015 Calusari Chardonnay 2014 Crâmpoşie Selecţionată 24 hour basis and this year expect sales on (Alliance Wines) Beautifully floral and fresh, this is a thick skinned grape which can be the international market to grow by 40%. Using staves, this is a modern Chardonnay with sensitive to oxidation. Made with a light touch it was very elegant and The day of our visit Philip, who had just lovely pure fruit and some wood influence. floral with a very subtle elegant finish. Very well made, something got off a plane from China, was brimming Subtle and appealing. completely different, definitely worth trying! with energy and passion, despite jeg lag and an eight hour flight. The Chinese trip was a 2015 Chardonnay/Fetească Regală 2013 Pinot Gris & Fetească Regală successful one and he is hoping to launch This was the wine of the tasting for me, a Silver Medal winner at the 2015 (Forth Wines) his wine into a Chinese supermarket chain Concours Mondial de Bruxelles this wine was wonderfully balance. Made A 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and the native white with 35,000 outlets. In 20 years he has put from 70% Pinot Gris and 30% Fetească Regală the wine was aged Fetească Regală grape. This was a wonderfully Romanian wine firmly on the global wine for 10 months in French oak barrels. Made from old vines the aromatic floral wine with a very distinctive appeal. map. A visionary with a keen business focus, characteristic of the native white grape shone through, floral with yellow his very comprehensive range of Cramele fruit and a good fresh acidity, this was an outstanding wine. Recas wines are now widely available 2015 Paparuda Pinot Noir (Adnams) throughout the UK in Waitrose, Asda and Lovely vegetal nose, smoky with cherry fruit, soft 2011 Pinot Noir Sainsbury. An on-trade range of Cramele and very drinkable. A good value Pinot Noir with a This wine was aged in French oak barrels for 14 months. Quite smoky Recas wines are distributed in the UK by lot of class! on the nose lots of black cherry fruit, soft tannin all of which was Alliance, Adnams and Forth Wines. beautifully balanced. The vines are relatively young but the potential Our next stop was the Salonul Rovinhud for Pinot Noir from this region is very evident from this wine. at the Hotel Timișoara. With 24 exhibitors, the event was open to both trade and consumer guests with all proceeds being donated to people with disabilities. This is Cristiniana Stocia situated on the top of a hill for their working wine cellar. Situated on nearby. Ghislain’s experience of working with the second year of the Rovinhud Fair, the close to the 15th century Dobruşa Monastery. the top of the Drăgăşani Hill the walls are Burgundian producers is also in evidence – organisers were enormously proud that in Arriving late at night, the next morning I was limestone and the building is discreetly built the Avincis Pinot Noir was outstanding. As year one, Jancis Robinson MW attended and intrigued by the incredible view, the historic into the landscape of its hill surroundings. An well as the French varietals, they also have gave good reviews for many of the wines and modern architecture and their family impressive state of the art winery lies beneath a range of wines made from indigenous she tasted. This year, with over 205 wines to story which epitomises modern Romania. and the building and the original house are grapes – these include Crâmpoşie taste and 8 master classes given by 3 MW’s Valeriu Stocia, a professor of law was now surrounded by vineyards. Selecţionată, a local grape variety from including Julia Harding MW, Caroline Gilbey once head of the Romanian Liberal Party This is the future of the Romanian wine Drăgăşani; a Fetească Regală/Pinot Gris MW and Yiannis Karakasis MW the event was and was for a time Minister for Justice. industry – of course to make a small fortune blend; and a white made from the native well attended. Christiana his wife, whose family were the in the wine industry you first must start with Tămâioasă Românească and Muscat Ottonel. A quick tasting around the room original owners of the estate is also involved a large one: the Stocia’s have invested many The red grapes include Pinot Noir, Merlot showed the enormous potential of the in the legal profession and she specialises in millions of euros to create their vision. Their and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Negru emerging Romanian wine industry. Many of corporate law. Christiana’s great grandmother winery produces approximately 150,000 de Drăgăşani – a native red grape from the producers were small boutique wineries Maria Râmniceanu built up the wine estate bottles of quality wine per annum which Drăgăşani region. but the quality was very much in evidence. after the death of her husband Iancu, at a they sell under 13 different labels. They My overall impression is of an Many of the wineries are not yet available relatively young age. The original villa dates have employed a young French winemaker embryonic wine industry with enormous in the UK but look out for Prince Stirby back to 1914 and is built in neo-Romanian from Alsace, Ghislain Morit – a 26 year potential. Having emerged from the www.stirby.com Roy & Damboviceanu style. After the communist revolution the old graduate of Dijon University who has communist era, the country and the wine Cordova www.corcova.ro Lilac – the Wines of estate was confiscated and became a state worked in Burgundy and Portugal – to make industry are struggling to catch up. But catch Transylvania www.liliac.com farm. After the end of communism, Christina their wine. Ghislain and his Colombian wife up they will; with visionaries like Philip Cox SERVE www.clubulcavalerilor.ro and Stocia had quite a battle on her hands, but she work closely with the Stocia family.

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