Romania ranks fifth in Europe by vineyard area, and the field has entirely drawn the funds made available by the European Union. This has allowed for the emergence of new wines on the market, particularly on the premium segment, which has become the most dynamic in the entire field.
“EU absorption on the wine growing sector topped EUR40 million. We drew around EUR1 million for the winery and another EUR300,000-400,000 for the vineyard. European funds have been a godsend for Romania’s wine industry,” said Aurelia Visinescu.
The oenologist turned into winemaker set up Domeniile Sahateni in 2003, in Dealu Mare region, an area located between Ploiesti and Buzau.
“Our vineyard stands out by the higher concentration of wine. The lower wine quantity we get leads to higher quality”.
Today, Domeniile Sahateni represents 76 hectares of vineyard, output of 500,000 bottles of wine per year, with almost half going abroad to markets such as Japan, China, Brazil, America, but also many European countries.
“We’re in an area with extraordinary conditions for high-quality red wine, we’re just at the beginning as we come after communism. The quality of Romanian wine has increased a lot in the past five years and is acknowledged internationally”.
In 2013, Domeniile Sahateni posted revenue of around EUR1 million and net profit of EUR0.2 million. For this year, Aurelia Visinescu hopes for 30% revenue increase, a percentage she wants to keep in 2015 as well.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)