Cramele Recas on target to hit 23m litres for 2019 vintage

By Lisa Riley

Published: 09 October, 2019

Cramele Recas has confirmed it is poised to hit 23m litres for this year’s vintage with only 10,000 tons of grapes to go for the harvest to reach the target.

In addition Romania’s largest winery, which produced 19m litres last year, predicted that 2019 would be a “special year for its wines”.

It said that while the growing season had begun with challenging conditions, the following warm weather throughout June, July, August and the first half of September had resulted in all grape varietals having enjoyed “perfect ripening conditions”.

The dry weather during the harvest also allowed for picking at optimum ripeness levels – especially in the South-East of Romania, where grapes attained unusually high, record ripeness level resulting in “excellent quality”, especially on Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Merlot, the winery added.

Other factors that determined 2019 as a special year for Cramele Recas were the “positive effects” of its work over the last year to further improve the quality of its wines, including a €4m investment in two new crush wineries as well as a further 3.5m investments in Recas winery, said commercial director Philip Cox.

“Cramele Recas is very excited by the quality of the grapes this year from all over the country. The planting boom that happened in 2007-2011, after Romania joined the EU, is now beginning to show in great grapes from vineyards, which are now entering their optimum maturity.”

In the third week of September, the harvesting team finished nearly all of the white grapes and most of the Merlot and Pinot Noir at Recas, starting the Feteasca Neagra harvest, the deep red-coloured indigenous grape that has become the defining variety for Romanian wines, in the next couple of days.

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