Romania: Wine-growing industry, 2013
Vinvest is the biggest event in Romania in the wine-growing industry. It was developed as a project aimed at meeting the needs of producers, consumers and all the other parties involved in this field. The first wine fair was held ten years ago in Timisoara. In the ten years that have passed, the project has continuously developed, and today Vinvest is an established brand in the field.
The Vinvest manager Lucia Parvu speaks the early days of the fair: I remember those first years when we organised ourselves, and back then things were easier, because the demand for wine in the western part of the country was high. So producers responded immediately to that demand, they developed their businesses there, found wine distributors, focused on that market, and that is why I can say that the beginning was easier. Then, the crisis came and it was more difficult to organise this event. Still, around 20 producers have come to Timisoara in the past years, to develop their business here based on concepts such as wine on the shelf, wine in specialised stores, wine for special consumers and wine for the larger public. It is important to mention the additional services that we have promoted. There have been some 20 such services, and starting with the EU accession we've also had wine importers.
For ten years now, on April 10th, people have gathered to attend Vinvest in Timisoara, an event that has grown more complex and more attractive by the year. At the latest edition, one of the major events was the Premium Wine Gala, a parade of Romanian and international wines that won prizes at various contests held across the world, presented by vine growers and sommeliers.
According to Lucia Parvu, what matters the most is that the quality of wine has increased by the year: We've had producers from Germany and the Republic of Moldova attending this latest edition, as well as importers from Italy, the US, the Republic of Moldova and Bulgaria, who came with nice presentations. In Timisoara, both Romanian and foreign wine-tasting sessions were held for consular offices, business people, press officers and other guests. It's been two years since we first presented our Romanian wine to all these people. The quality of Romanian wine has improved significantly also thanks to European programmes, and the mainstreaming of the entire wine growing sector.
Another event hosted by this year's edition of Vinvest was the International Wine Fair, where some 500 different wines were presented. There were 18 wine producers, distributors and companies operating in the field, and each wine maker came with their best products. The Cotnari wine producer came with two recently launched brands: Grasa de Cotnari and Busuioaca de Bohotin. Jidvei also presented new brands in the NEC Plus Ultra range:
Rose and Chardonnay; all young wines from 2012, as the company's sales manager Sorin Gheorghe told us: When the company was privatised, back in 1999, we had around 700 hectares of vine. Today we have 2,400 hectares, of which over 90% are new plantations. We now have the largest Sauvignon Blanc area in Europe, for one producer, with over 400 hectares of this variety. We have also managed to plant vine for red grapes, so we have rose wines as well, and this is a first for Jidvei, because the region is traditionally known for its white dry and demi-dry wines. A lot of money has been invested in technology, everything is controlled and this is why we can make high quality wines. The production differs from one variety to another, the average standing at some 10,000 kg per hectare for the newly seeded vine. We export wine to the US, Japan, China, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany and Great Britain. We haven't exported too much, because until recently our entire production went to the Romanian markets.
For some time now, the wine tourism has become a point of interest for Romanians. Many wine cellars have opened their doors for tourists, as it happens in other countries. Vine growers know that without proper investment in new technology and without increasing the surface of harvested land, there is no way of performing at the necessary standards. Still, Romania only exports 10% of its wine production.
Cornel Dicu, State Secretary with the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture: We are close to reaching 20,000 hectares of new plantations, obtained under the vine-growing re-conversion and restructuring programme. Over 200 million euros have been invested in the past five years under this programme. There have also been investments made under the National Rural Development Programme, worth another 200 million euros. We also have a Romanian wine promotion programme in place, which has been quite successful. We have programmes focusing on China, Russia, Japan and America, and we hope that exports will start growing when these programmes are completed.
Romania is one of the top 15 wine producers in the world and the 6th biggest wine producer in Europe, after France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal. Also, it ranks 5th among the top European vine-growing countries, with a total cultivated area of mature vine of 183,400 hectares in 2010.
RRI
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