“We arrived here in 2010 accidentally. We planned to invest in forests. We came here (in Batos, Mures county (i.e.) with Mr. Beck, who became fond of these places and had this vision. There were just a shabby hut and a poorly managed vineyard here,” said Victor Ciuperca, country manager of Amb Holding, which owns Crama Liliac.
Accustomed to investments in agriculture and animal farming (Austria) and in the real estate field (Romania), he diversified away from his traditional investment area in 2011, the first production year for the winery.
The first Liliac wines were officially launched in 2012, and in 2014 the new bet has been the second brand, Crepuscul. After launching the Liliac range in HoReCa in 2012, the winery of the Austrian who owns 38 hectares of vineyard in Batos (Mures) and Lechinta (Bistrita-Nasaud) also tapped retail, with Crepuscul range. In 2016, the Austrian’s focus will fall on the segment of sparkling wines.
The launch and subsequent projects involve investments worth above EUR5.5 million.
In Romania, Alfred Beck owns Magheru One office building, another office building in Pipera area and several land plots in and outside Bucharest. He recently valued his holdings at EUR50 million. He has another 650 hectares of arable land in Olt county.
Amb Wine, the company that owns Crama Liliac, expects to generate revenue of 3.6 million lei (EUR0.8 million) this year from premium wine sales.
In 2014, vineyards across Romania have been hurt by the unfavorable weather conditions and the first estimates show wine production will be at least 10% lower this year against 2013.
Ioana Micu, executive officer of Amb Wine, says that in a year like 2014 the worst decision a winemaker could make would be to hike prices.
The winery generates 70% of sales in HoReCa, through Liliac range, and the rest from retail, through Crepuscul range. Liliac is a medium-sized winery in a EUR350 million industry.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)