“To us in the Dealu Mare area (southern Romania i.e.) this was the best year in the past decade, in terms of volume and quality, and the long warm autumn definitely helped. Production is 30% higher than in an average year,” says Virgil Mandru, owner of winemaker Tohani in Dealu Mare.
Romania’s record production comes at a time when Western European winemakers had one of their worst years due to freezing temperatures and other unfavorable climate conditions, which affected countries like France, Spain and Italy, the top three producers in Europe.
Wine production is at all-time low in Europe. Only four countries – Portugal, Romania, Hungary and Austria posted growth compared with 2016, data from Romania’s National Office off Vine And Wine Products (ONVPV) show.
Romania ranked tenth by total area under vines in vineyards in the world in 2016, according to OIV. It ranks 13th by production, with 5.3 million hectoliters in 2017. Top three producers are Italy, France and Spain.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)