We speak to Bristol-born Philip Cox, one of the founders of Cramele Recas – Romania’s prime exporter of wine – about the 2015 harvest.
How is the harvest thus far, Philip?
It’s the middle of the harvest, which is our only chance to get the grapes in. But it’s going well: the complete opposite to last year, which was cold and rainy. It’s 35 degrees C, and has been like that nearly every day for three months.
How have things changed over recent years in Romania?
Romania has seen 30,000 hectares of vineyards planted in the past five years alone. Our holdings total 935 hectares – all planted since 2000, with two thirds of that since 2007 – the boom – when Romania joined the EU, which meant a subsidy to plant vineyards was made available.
Does Recas continue to grow?
Yes, and we have just got another new winemaker, this time from Chile, bringing us up-to three. We’re planting more Merlot, Pinot Gris and local varieties such as Feteasca Neagra. In fact, we’ve got one version in ASDA. It’s part of their Wine Atlas range, featuring what they might call oddball varieties! Importantly, while other supermarkets cut down ranges, ASDA is taking a different approach.
What is your philosophy?
Although Romania sees more vineyards and wineries, not all producers are proving particularly careful – nor successful. We’ve always made it our motto to be flexible, listening to what customers and markets want. We don’t get too philosophical like the Spanish or the French, meaning if someone proves to me they can sell Sauvignon Blanc from Romania, I’ll plant it. Also, for price positioning, I’ve seen a lot of wineries around central and Eastern Europe overestimate the value of their wines and position them very expensively. But most consumers won’t buy wine that costs more than £10 a bottle.
We’ve also made sure we don’t neglect our home market. I’ve seen wineries in Spain and Italy sell their entire production to Tesco, for example; but what if something goes wrong in that chain? We’re spending a lot of money on tourism, with facilities such as new kitchens for big groups including conferences and weddings. This creates a lot of brand awareness; people are more loyal if they’ve actually been out to the winery.
What about non-bottled wine?
Our bulk wine business is still growing all over Romania – minus packaging costs it’s cheaper than bottled wine and reaches a lot of people. But we remain the only big winery here to have gone into export.
So, how many new wineries are there in Romania?
There have been 110 in the last six years. 95% of them set out to be boutique wineries, tending land between 20-100ha. That’s going to change things, although not a lot are producing yet. Even the ones that are aren’t selling much. But it is beginning to feel crowded. You can’t get EU money for building big wineries, leading a lot of people from other lines of business into making wine, small-scale. Lawyers, politicians and doctors think it’s very glamorous. Well, it’s fun, but I wouldn’t call it glamorous!
Overall, things are very exciting. There are many different ways of making wine and handling local varieties, and lots of people are busy trying things out, but I do think there will be a little… ‘consolidation’ because export markets are quite slow and hard work to build up. A lot of wineries are selling me their grapes already!
What yields are coming in at present?
This year, actual production per hectare at Recas looks to be about 20% less than last year on account of the unusually hot, dry weather. But with a lot more vineyards coming into operation, overall quantity will go up for Recas, with an anticipated 30% more than last year. Just over one week into it, handling the Pinot Noir today, I’m very happy.
