Problem
Romania is the fifth largest producer of wine in Europe and has eight wine regions. Where do you go to learn about Romanian wines and vineyards? Whilst I would have loved to visit Moldova, in the far north East, the region of sweet wine made from botrytised grapes, I was happy to take the easy way out and drive two hours from Romania's capital, Bucharest, to Dealu Mare on the south-facing slopes of the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. (I was on my way to spend a week's holiday hiking with Java Lava In Exile, ex-pats, based in beautiful historic part of the city of Brasov.)
Answer
Dealu is Romanian for hill. Mare means great.
We had previously written from England to three vineyards, stating our credential and interests. We were invited to one, by Aurelia Vivinescu's winemaker at D o m e n i i l e Sahateni. ( I inserted spaces because spell checker inserts domicile.) D o m e n i i l e means the domains. Sahateni is the name of the village.
Aurelia Visinescu is the name of the female Romanian owner. We were told that when we met the oenologist, Serban Gheorghiu. He was standing at the end of the drive as we drove up, with a big smile. (I mean
he was smiling, but so were we, seeing him standing there ready to greet us.)
Serbian showed us the vines. We discussed the picking. The number of harvests in different parts of the world. The grape varieties.
The red flowers are decorative.
Your tour and tasting can be adapted to your budget and interests. What is there to see? Outside, you drive in through the vineyard. He will walk you around and talk about it. He will point out what you can later read in the brochure, that the vines at ground level near the winery are whites and Pinot Noir, growing up the slopes. The late ripening reds are at the top of the slope.
You probably know the international grape varieties they grow: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah. In the Communist era wine production was run down. Afterwards, rejuvenating the wine growing area, the decision is whether to go for the popular international varieties of grape, and compete with the rest of the world, or whether to focus on the unique local grapes. It seems they are doing both.
Currently most sales are still local. But the producers and sellers have a growing market in the UK. So British visitors are warmly welcomed. They want you to try and buy and spread the word that Romanian wines are wonderful.
Native grape varieties are Feteasca Alba, Feteasca Neagra, Romaneasca, Tamaiosa. Feteasca means little girl. Alba means white. Neagra means black. (White and black grapes.)
Voila - the grapes.
Inside, the usual series of locked doors unlocked leads you to the huge metal containers and smaller wooden barrels. You can look at the labelling.
Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Downstairs are the cool cellars for maturation.
The barrel room. Photo courtesy of Aurelia Visinescu Winery.
On the ground floor is the shop and tasting room for small groups of members of the public where you can buy a bottle or two.
You can see the name Aurelia Visinescu on the barrel in the shop. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Photo by Angela Lansbury.
There's her name again, Aurelia Visinescu on the label on the front of the bottle and the attached tag.
Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Upstairs is a large room for large or small groups to sit down and try a series of wines. The fee depends on the numbers of wines you want to taste. If you are buying or promoting wines, or a large group paying for a visit, you will probably get crisp or bread and cheese or salami.
Photos by Angela Lansbury.
Now you must try our red wine. (Everything is red.)
A large red folder, the colour you will recognize on labels, tells you about the different wines. Most people run through the gamut of red wines.
The names are:
Nomad (Merlot)
Artisan
Karakter
Anima
However, I asked to try a rose wine, a sparkling wine and a sweet white wine. Jolly good too, aromas and flavours of melon.
Finally, for overseas visitors who are here on business, the winery has built a few very nice motel style rooms which are saved for people such as big buyers.
Photos by Angela Lansbury.
The whole place is an oasis of calm and cleanliness, as well as warm friendliness, honesty and open-ness.
I loved it. I am sure you will, too.
We saw the vineyard, the winery, had a tasting, and left in time for a late lunch nearby. What else is in the area? Follow the wine trail signposts. S.E.R.V.E. is a wine co-operative.
The room was so pretty and clean I was sorry I was not a VIP international buyer and did not qualify for a room. Eventually they may expand into a hotel. Meanwhile, there's something equally interesting around the corner.
We asked for a recommendation for lunch. On the oenologist's recommendation we drove to a medieval style farm and restaurant (serving some of the wines we had just seen) with motel rooms - and treehouse rooms! More about that in the next post.
Winery
127535 Sahateni - Buzau,
Romania
Tel: +40 21 211 09 77
Email: export@domeniilesahateni.com
The winery is in Sahateni village, 7 km North East from Mizil on National Road B1, Ploiesti-Buzau.
(Ploiesti is the town next to the airport at the capital city, Bucharest.)
www.aureliavisinescu.com
You can buy wines from this winery and read blog posts about the winery from
vincarta.com
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to my posts.
