Four days in Romania. Text and photo: Heidi Jaksland Kvernmo

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1 Four days in Romania Text and photo: Heidi Jaksland Kvernmo - We may not be the best, but we are different! Alexandra Hash of Premium Wines of Romania summarizes the main features of Romanian wine in the car which moves slowly through the traffic in Bucharest. Four Days in September shall change prejudices about old, dirty basements, oxidized wine infected with bacteria and other horrors and futile, boring wines with varying sugar content. But I do not know yet. This was before I realized that the red Feteasca Neagra grape nearly always tasted plum, that I preferred Feteasca Regala over Feteasca alba and saw great potential in Negru di Dragasani. Romania is one of these areas in eastern Europe with a very long wine history, one of the world's oldest. Legend has it that Romania had so many vineyards that you thought the Greek wine god Dionysus was born in Thracia, what is now Dobrogea in the southeast of the country. Cultivation of grapes probably started over 4,000 years ago, and it is believed that the ancient Greeks introduced the art of winemaking. What today's Romania was an attractive area. To curb the desire to invade the country and help themselves to its resources, King Burebista ordered that the country's

2 Romania is one of these areas in eastern Europe with a very long wine history, one of the world's oldest. vineyards should be destroyed. This however, was only partly implemented and when the Roman Empire Emperor Trojan conquered Dacia in 106 a.d., there were still vineyards. The importance of wine in this period is envisaged by a Roman coin embossed with a woman and two children where one of them holding a cluster of grapes. In the period from the 1900s till today several events have affected Romania's wine industry. In the late 1800s took phylloxera Romanian vineyards and French vine growers gave practical and theoretical assistance with afforesting. The wine yards were subsequently planted with French grape varieties like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. These international grapes thus have a long history in the country, and is not being planted just to please a fashion image. Phylloxera resistant hybrids were also common in the interwar period. During the communist period after World War II was the clear majority of wine production in state hands. The state-owned wineries and cooperatives were intended to make cheap wine. Much cheap wine. The grape varieties that gave the highest yields were most esteemed, and they were planted in the fertile soil to provide as much wine as possible. The state was not concerned with the quality of their winemaking. In the 70s Romania was in the 8th place as a wine producer. The majority were exported to the Soviet Union where semisweet and sweet white wines were preferred. After the bloody 1989 revolution that led to Ceausescu's downfall the wine industry slowly started taking their step towards quality wine. Modern wine history starts thus in the early 1990s. Wine yards belonging to cooperatives were returned to private hands, new wine yards were planted and investors from abroad supplied necessary capital. By joining the EU in 2007, Romania became even more attractive to investors for the wine industry. Updated figures from the OIV placing Romania 11th in area with 192,000 hectares of vineyards. That is more than both Australia and South Africa. The volume is the 13th with 3.5 million hectoliters in 2015 A good vintage in 2016 provides forecasts of 4.9 million hectoliters.

3 In the late 1800s took phylloxera Romanian vineyards and French vine growers gave practical and theoretical assistance with afforesting. Transylvania lies on a plateau surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains on all sides. Cool autumn months with even temperature gives slow maturation, and the wines here have great freshness, flavor and fruitiness. It takes several hours to drive from Bucharest to Transylvania and with just four days to available, a visit there was not optimum use of time for the team. The two Transylvanian manufacturers Liliac and Balla Gaza had therefore taken the trip to the capital city where we meet over lunch in the excellent wine bar, the Tasting Room. In this wine bar I was introduced to the grapes Feteasca Alba, Feteasca Regala and Feteasca Neagra for the first time. Feteasca means virgin or young girl. Feteasca alba, the white maiden, characterized by high acidity, minerality and herbs over yellow fruit., While the royal virgin Feteasca Regal has more personality. The red Feteasca Neagra, the black virgin, gives spicy, plum tasting wines with soft tannins. Liliac was established in 2010 and owner is the Austrian property investor Alfred Michael Beck. They have 52 hectares of vineyards, which is considered medium size. Liliac showcase wines with great commercial appeal, and has captured the typical in Regala grape in its Feteasca Regala 2014 with orange blossom, honeysuckle and touch of honey on scent. Fresh wine with good concentration, lemon taste and grapefruit with a little bitter touch in the final. Bella Gaza was established in 1999 by the Hungarian winemaker of the same name and advises over 70 hectares. Balla Geza had with wines in Stone Wine series which only produced a few thousand bottles of. Stone Wine comes from vineyards situated at meter altitude where the fertile top layer of soil only cm. The wine got to be home in your suitcase from Balla Gaza was the pinot-like and easy spicy Bella Geza Cadarca Stone Wine Medium bodied, delicate and juicy cherry embossed wine from 60- year-old vines with low yields. Dinner was enjoyed in an Italian restaurant where pizza baker kneaded their dough in a converted, yellow Fiat away in a corner. Crema Oprişor and Corcova had traveled the 30 twenty miles from southwest to showcase their wines. Crema Oprisor is owned by German Reh Kendermann which amongst others has Black Tower in the portfolio. Carl Reh Winery established in Romania in the late '90s to produce Romanian wines for the international market. They bought up Oprisor Wine Cellar in 2000 and filed 250 hectares of vineyards. In 2008 Crema Oprisor own trademark. This evening was the Crema Oprisor Smerenie 2013 that proved most exciting. A blend of Syrah, pinot noir, Dornfelder with floral and perfumed aroma.

4 Unlike Transylvania Dealu Mare has a warm and sunny climate that provides good maturation and grapes with high sugar content. Corcova was established in 2005 when Romanian Serban Damboviceanu and Frenchman Michel Roy could buy 50 hectares of land from the former Corcova State Agricultural Enterprise (IAS). Their Exports grapes focus most on and Bordeaux-orifice Corcova Cuvee Boheme in 2009 stands out as the evening's best wine with dark fruit, blackcurrant and English fruit cake in taste. The wine developed nicely in the glass during the evening and going to develop into a properly exciting wine over time. The next morning we left Bucharest and headed for the village Ceptura in Dealu Mare. After a few hours, we turned into the courtyard of Davino. Unlike Transylvania Dealu Mare has a warm and sunny climate that provides good maturation and grapes with high sugar content. Davino was officially founded in 1997 and is today one of the best producer in Romania and one that all the other top producers want to compare with. The early years were characterized by experimentation and it was not until 2003 the first wine was released. When they had found out what they would do and what they would be. Davino has 86 hectares of vineyards where 18 ha is leased land. The vineyards are planted on four different hills providing different exposures and soil variations. The vineyards were replanted in , and the last replanting was done in There have been few studies of the local grapes and there is no expertise outside of Romania. The wine producers must rely on their own expertise and surveys in their continuous strive to enhance the quality. To find the right wines to the right place was taken soil analyzes. 20 different clones were planted to see which provides the best results. It was selected five clones of Feteasca Alba and three of Feteasca Neagra. The goal was to reduce the factors that can change the wine. If one taste vertical from we started and till now it will show a massive quality improvement, says oenologist Bogdan Costachescu and export manager Dan Balaban. - We see that the differences are getting smaller and smaller, and now it's just fine tuning left to get to where we want. After a tour of the basement turnout ourselves around the massive table in the taste room. On one end of the table are the drawings of a new wine cellar. The current location is too small, especially for the red wines to be aged in casks. Top wines in Davino is packed with fruit, fat and alcohol. The fruit is moving toward the border to be jam-like, but remains exactly within. Davino flamboyance 2012 is a blend of cabernet, merlot and Feteasca Neagra 14.7% alcohol and ripe, sweet full fruit. A heavy fruit bomb, but a well-made wine in this style. The 2009 vintage of the same wine is better than The years have given a greater complexity and wine has a more harmonious appearance. The fresh and verdant Davino Monogram Feteasca Neagra 2009 is also worth noting.

Feteasca alba, the white maiden, characterized by high acidity, minerality and herbs over yellow fruit., while the royal virgin Feteasca Regal has more personality. elegant cherry character. S.E.R.V.

5 Feteasca alba, the white maiden, characterized by high acidity, minerality and herbs over yellow fruit., while the royal virgin Feteasca Regal has more personality. elegant cherry character. S.E.R.V.E was next on the program and we were greeted with looked-up umbrellas so we do not get wet when we go out of the bus in the pouring rain. S.E.R.V.E (Euro-Romanian Exceptional Wines Company) was founded by the French Count Guy Tyrel de Poix in 1994 and was the first privately owned winery in Romania after the communist period. Guy Tyrel de Poix was a dentist interested in wine and heir to Vineyards Domaine Comte Peraldi in Corsica. In the early 90s he read the six lines Hugh Johnson wrote about Romania in the book The World Atlas of Wine. It was enough to ignite the Count who eventually left Corsica to create a new wine adventure in Dealu Mare. Guy Tyrel de Poix died of cancer in 2011 at age 56 years, and his widow Mihaela Tyrel de Poix holds the majority today. The wines are elegant and fragrant, but the use of oak is unfortunately something hard and overpower the delicate fruit. It is working hard to nuance toasting and time in barrels. Two wines received plus the margin here. Millennium Terra Romana 2015 a luscious blend of sauvignon blanc, Riesling and Feteasca alba where sauvignon blanc dominates with herbs and gooseberries, while Feteasca alba adds peach and almond. Good freshness supports. Of the red was the reasonable Vinul Cavalerului Feteasca Neagra 2014 came the best of it with its After a sumptuous lunch with Romanian dishes it was time for a quick visit to the vineyard. The rain has stopped but the heavy camp between ranks clogging up the shoes. Gray and red plastic containers are piled up here and there, ready to be filled with grapes from the 2016 vintage. A smiling Romanian vineyard worker shows up and holds out a cluster of grapes so we could take pictures. He does not speak English, but smiles and looks a little puzzled by all the fuss.

6 The travel companion cannot quite agree on the rustic style's charm while we drink a kind of moonshine from a clay jar and eat thick, coarse sausages and grilled meats served on a wooden plank. It has become late afternoon once we arrive at Metamorfosis, a modern producer owned by the great Tuscany producer Antinori. Metamorfosis was created in 2008 and it was a stated desire to create premium wines that would be better than what was produced in Romania at that time, says president Giancorrado Ulrich. Piero Antinori found the location, climate, exposure and the quality of the soil in Dealu Mare comparable to the conditions in Tuscany and was convinced that there was ample opportunity to include a vineyard in Romania Antinori empire. 100 hectares of land was purchased where 67.5 have were vineyards from three different sub regions. Production premises are strategically located between the three vineyards and was originally an old wine cellar from Communist days. The cellar was built in the '50s when all the grapes from the region were vinified here. Italian expertise in the form of oenophiles Fiorenza Rista was brought in and the building was remodeled and modernized. Total cost of the project was 5,000,000 euros. We walk across the floor is made of oak staves from the used barrels which were left in the old Communist basement and embarking on the long list with wines that will be tasted. Top wine Cantus Primus Feteasca Neagra 2012, the grapes typical plum jam-character, vanilla and spices, but also a refreshing acidity and firm tannins that provide fine structure. The affordable Fluturi Feteasca Regala Eco 2015 is a rich and elegant, organically grown Feteasca Regala with ripe pear, blood grapefruit and dried apricot taste. Fresh and good white wine that shows that Metamorfosis not only stock top wines, but also delivers good quality in lower segments. It is evening and we are firmly in the countryside. We will stay overnight at Agroturismo Ferma Dacilor. A big white cow plastic stand in the yard and inside the wooden building made log played the filter, Romanian folk music over the speakers. The travel companion cannot quite agree on the rustic style's charm while we drink a kind of moonshine from a clay jar and eat thick, coarse sausages and grilled meats served on a wooden plank. After a long night in a bed of traditional timber and dog glam outside the window is the departure of Lacerta. Lacerta is named after a lightning-fast lizard running around in the vineyard. The farm is owned by Austrian Walter Friedl and was established in We meet winemaker Mihi Banita, a winemaker who loves to experiment. So far there have been 21 wines in the portfolio. Here is the Chardonnay with and without oak storage, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Feteasca alba, Feteasca Neagra, Burgundians mare, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz, as well as various blends. After tasting the fresh and appealing Burgundy Mare

7 Piero Antinori found the location, climate, exposure and the quality of the soil in Dealu Mare comparable to the conditions in Tuscany and was convinced that there was ample opportunity to include a vineyard in Romania Antinori empire. (Blaufraenkisch) 2011 tops my list with its juicy character, but the flagship cuvee IX 2013 is also very high quality. This is a rich blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Feteasca Neagra with elegant tannins and a long-awaited freshness that appears in all the wines of Lacerta. The white flagship cuvee X is somewhat untidier in appearance. Blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Feteasca Alba, Riesling and Chardonnay. The idea behind is to mix five grape varieties of the top five parcels. This does not necessarily a give a good harmony, and the taste diverge with everything from tropical fruit to vegetal aromas, minerals and oak. The winemaker is open and curious. He asks and dig about what we think and what could have been done differently. - We are a young winery, we have no history, says Mihai Banita. - We started from zero, so it is natural that we are growing every year. After 20 years we'll see how it's going to go. It is well worth to follow Lacerta the next twenty years I note me. Back in Bucharest's Casa de Vinuri Cotnari on the agenda. Cotnari is located in the region of Moldova in northeastern Romania. Here there is many local grape varieties. Muscat-variants Busuicha di Bohotin and Tămâioasă di Romanesco gives wines with the Muscat grapes typical aromatic profile. Grasa de Cotnari is an ancient black that has been grown for over 700 years. Under favorable conditions is the grape attacked by noblerot and tend to get over 240 grams of sugar per liter. The noble sweet wine from the Cotnari once competed with Tokaji to have the highest reputation in Europe, but is now a wine you rarely encounter. We tasted dry and halfsweet varieties of these grapes, but they went not quite home with yours truly. After a short stretch on the hotel it was time for dinner. Producer dinner after a long day is always tiring, but the energetic Ghenadie Bobeica gets us quickly in the mood. Alira is located South East of Romania and was created in 2006 by the French wine consultant Marc Dworkin and the German investor and wine enthusiast Dr. Karl-Heinz Hauptmann. Evenly over the wines of Alira showed solid quality at an affordable price. Bobeica was concerned that some of the wines might be too complex. They should rather be more fruity and easy to drink. It is a complaint I never ever heard from a wine producer in the past. It was a rosé wine that would attach themselves in memory here. Alira Rosé 2015 on Feteasca Neagra and cabernet sauvignon has comfortable 12, 5% alcohol, taste of rhubarb, redcurrant and wild strawberries with great freshness.

The history of Avincis started in 2007 when attorney pair Cristiana and Valeriu Stoica decided to redecorate the family's old, dilapidated mansion in Dragasani.

8 Last day we travel west to Dragasani. It is about four hours drive from Bucharest. The vineyard Avincis is modern and prestigious vineyard. We are met by winemaker Ghislain Moritz, a young Frenchman with education from the University of Dijon experience from Burgundy and the Douro in Portugal. The history of Avincis started in 2007 when attorney pair Cristiana and Valeriu Stoica decided to redecorate the family's old, dilapidated mansion in Dragasani. Along came the ideas of creating new life into the abandoned vineyards and build a modern winery on the property. Today it is an impressive facility. The whitewashed mansion reflected in the new swimming pool and a gravelled road leads to the viewpoint Belvedere where there are beautiful views of the vineyards. The modern winery has both production facilities, lodging and dining. Despite its size the building nicely slips into the landscape. The land is not the biggest with 40 ha of vineyards and 10 ha forest. Annual production is around 200,000 bottles, and the goal is that 30-40% of these will be on the export market. The vineyards here are still young, which gives a certain lack of concentration in the wines. This is likely to comply when vineyards have deeper roots and is in better balance. Winemaker Moritz has gotten a lot out of the material he works with and the Negru de Dragasani 2013 hijacked my interest here. Great intensity with dark berries, cloves, licorice and warm brick of scent, good concentration and taste of sweet, dark berries and a hint of balsamic to finish. We approach it endlessly long road back to Bucharest where wines from Vinarte expected. The wines were presented by renowned Romanian sommelier Sergiu Nedelea and it was Soare Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 who won the top grade with his tight, crisp structure that hold in place ripe blackcurrant, barrels and spices. Nedeea, a plum fragrant blend of Feteasca Neagra, Novac and Negru di Dragasani was a close second. After four days in Romania, it's time to recap. Romania is an interesting wine with natural conditions to produce good wine. Access to foreign capital and expertise shows that Romania is in the wind. Investors and producers from countries such as France, Italy and Austria is looking at Romanian wine as an attractive investment. The danger is that the wines can get an international style without capturing the Romanian essence. Winemakers know how to make wine with cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay available it can easily become a wine that can come from

9 anywhere-as-time. Here, the local grapes make all the difference and it is important that foreign winemakers respect these grapes. The high alcohol is a problem, especially at a time when the global trend is the opposite way. It is desirable to lower alcohol, but the challenge is to get good enough ripening of the grapes without sugar level flying sky high. Although there is modern equipment in the wine cellar and an experienced oenologist who makes impeccable wine as grape material in many cases not sufficient. Not yet. The vineyards are young and more research is needed on clones and practices in the vineyard. This work is well underway, but it requires a long time before it gives noticeable results. The main advantage Romania has is perhaps the producers' willingness to learn and experiment with different grapes and techniques. They are humble, but proud. Romanian wine is continuously increasing in quality. The only uncertainty is how long it will take before the rest of the wine world open their eyes to the wine country in the East of Europe.

Romania, the large experiment.

Romania, the large experiment. Romania exported wine to Norway a few decades ago. Some may still remember those days. The quality wine production in the country is however young. S.E.R.V.E, the country's