“(…) Next year will see the first grape harvest and in two years’ time we will make the first wine,” says Timis.
His foray into the wine market is not his first attempt to diversify his business. Recently, the CrisTim owner entered the milk market after investing in the Boldesti-Scaeni plant in Prahova county.
Other entrepreneurs, bankers and lawyers, have also tapped the local wine market. Businessman Jean Valvis, with farming and mineral water businesses, owns a vineyard in Simburesti, while lawyer Valeriu Stoica and central bank governor Mugur Isarescu make wine in the Dragasani area, according to a Business Magazin analysis.
Timis took the first steps on the wine market five years ago when he bought 32 hectares of vineyard in Ceptura, Prahova county, east of Ploiesti. Ceptura is close to Dealu Mare, one of the best-known vine-growing areas in Romania. “It was a 30 year-old vineyard. We made wine one year to see what was involved in making it, it was a Cabernet.”
Shortly afterwards, Timis decided to access EUR0.5 million in EU funding to improve the grape varieties and boost yields per hectare.
Although the business is in its early days, Timis estimates that once the plant starts production, half the bottles in the Ceptura winery will be exported to countries where CrisTim already delivers cold cuts. CrisTim currently exports to 14 countries, which include Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Russia and South Korea. The rest could go to restaurant cellars and on the shelves of CrisTim’s eight supermarkets and 15 smaller stores.