What do you think of Romanian wine? Have you tried Romanian wine? I haven’t, and admittedly I didn’t really know much about it. However, it is situated at 45 degrees latitude with hot summers and cold winters, beautiful natural landscapes consisting of mountains and vast valleys, lakes that are glacial river valleys, volcanoes made of mud salt mines, and beaches of the Black Sea, it is an ideal place to plant grapevines. In reality, Romania is one of the largest producers of wine, and it is the fifth largest producer in Europe after Italy, France, Spain and Germany. Did you know?
Philip Cox, founder and commercial director of Cramele Recas, began his British-Romanian venture in an old, unfinished winery in the year. Following an £50 million capital investment Cramele Recas is now the biggest premium producer in Romania and has 50% of the wines distributed within Romania and the rest exported to all over the globe. International and national grapes are grown in Romania Perhaps you’ve seen Riesling, Aligote, Sauvignon, Muscat, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir? All of them are cultivated in Romania and also local varieties of grapes, including Feteasca Alba, Feteasca Regala, Tamaioasa Romaneasca, Grasa de Cotnari, and Galbena de Odobesti.
Different varieties are appealing to different countries. Pinot Noir is very popular in the UK but they cannot move bottle of it wine in Romania. Romania prefers the grapes they grow themselves, and the current trend tends to be light and delicate wines like the ones made of Feteasca Regala. People in Japan love the wine with orange since it blends perfectly with their food, Germany likes the Cabernet and Chardonnay is very popular across the USA.
Land isn’t expensive and land is cheap in Romania and the vineyards do well, which is why Cramele Recas can create wines to suit the market. It’s not to say that the wines are expensive and mass-produced. Winemaking in Romania in general improves and gets better, particularly as the vineyards age. Single vineyard wine is available within Cramele Recas. Cramele Recas range as well as high-end blends in which the grapes are picked by hand from the top parcels. They are proud of the low-intervention approach to winemaking. They made natural wines for the past four years (and are contemplating the possibility of certifying them as the same). Romania is a new frontier in the wine industry It isn’t bound by traditions and the possibilities are endless.
Romanian wine is greeted with varying reactions across the globe. Despite the fact that it enjoys a prestigious reputation in Hungary as an example but it can be an uphill task to make it appear on shelves of the supermarkets across the UK. The more experienced wine consumers are more open to Romanian wine as it is an excellent value and is of high quality however, junior wine buyers who have KPIs to meet may not be convinced to place the wine on the shelves of consumers. But, with recent global events, like the pandemic and its effects on prices for wine after Brexit maybe a more value wines will be higher on the list of wine lovers.
So, having tasted a variety of Cramele Recas wine, what are my thoughts about Romanian wine today? First , the bottles look fantastic. The labels are stylish and will appeal to the audience they’re targeting. The first wine I tried was the orange one, Solara Orange, I loved the floral, herbal aromas that greeted me from the very first swirl. 42 percent from the wine is aromatic Romanian varieties Feteasca Alba, and the rest are made up consisting of Chardonnay, Tamaioasa Romaneasca and Sauvignon all grown organically throughout the Panciu region and hand-picked and then vinified without any intervention. It’s a deliciously robust winethat for me, smells of bread, peaches and tangy bitter marmalade with an extended, persistent final.
A little lighter on the palate are the two following: Sorcova Pinot Grigio and Wine Atlas Feteasca Regala. This Feteasca Regala is dry and easy to drink. It is a beautiful and summery wine that has ripe exotic fruit flavors – however, it’s the Sorcova Pinot Grigio is the true delight. More aromatic than most Pinot Grigio out there, it has a distinct fruity flavor (lime and yellow apples, as well as honeydew Melon) and a lively acidity. The wine will be released in Waitrose on the 22nd of June. It will be with a price of PS7.79. It’s a bargain.
The next step up is this Wildflower Cuvee Blanc is impressive as well as delicious. It’s 65 percent Chardonnay 20 percent Feteasca Regala and 10 10% Blanc, 10% Blanc and 5 percent Muscat It’s fragrant smooth, sweet and juicy. It’s also very textural. it’s truly stunning. Peaches, cream , and vanilla pod.
I start a two-bottle tour of reds, beginning at the beginning with Incanta Pinot Noir. It’s a ripe Pinot Noir that has aromas of black cherry with a hint of spice and cranberry being influenced by French oak. It’s a refreshing, drinkable wine with a pleasing, yet not overly long, finish. the end. Contrastingly, the Selene is a powerful wine. Showing off the best that Romania produces from its own grapes this powerful deep red is made using 100 percent Feteasca Neagra grapes that are hand picked from the 20-year old vines with carefully chosen micro parcels. It has been filtered through natural malolactic fermentation, which is and then stored in French oak barrels and released unfiltered. If you are a fan of large rich, spicy Cabernet Sauvignons or Malbecs try this wine a shot. It’s a dark, rich, and smoky wine with black pepper, and the hint of leather in the final. It’s truly, seriously excellent.
If you’ve not had the pleasure of tasting Cramele Recas wines it’s well worth having a try. They offer a level of quality and elegance that is in truth, a wonderful reward and value that’s hard to beat There’s absolutely nothing at stake and nothing you can lose.