BUDUREASCA Winery- the joy of the first wine tasting meeting
Less than a month had passed since I graduated the Sergiu Nedelea’s WINTASTE SCOOL, when, full of enthusiasm and a thirst for knowledge, I arrived (together with my wife) at our first real wine tasting...it is true that during the sommelier courses I had tasted a real selection of wines, but now, I had to feel the wine at his home, presented by those who had made it and alongside people more or less specialists.
For this emotional event, we chose one of the representative wineries in Dealul Mare –BUDUREASCA Winery.
It was early November 2019, the warm sun was happily kissing the vines, at this time harvested, it smelled of unopened must, the buds were clean and ready to receive the young wine.
I compare the joy of my first meeting with the magic potion , with the day in my adolescence when I first sat next to a girl... my heart was beating fast, my palms were burning, I wanted to caress her, tell her how I felt, confide in her...
With these emotions in my heart, but full of the desire to learn, I entered in a winery for the first time and listened carefully to the details provided by the person who introduced us - a young sommelier at the beginning of her career (like me, by the way).
The group I was part of (approximately 12 people) was - surprisingly for me - very interested in learning details about the varieties produced here, data regarding the production of sparkling wines, their bottling, and the winery's marketing policy.
It were tasted 5 varieties of wine: 2 whites – Romanian Tămâioasă and Chardonnay, 1 Rose blend and 2 reds – Fetească Neagră and Merlot.
Feteasca Neagră and Chardonnay were from the Premium range
The wine tasting included plates with neutralizers (water, coffee, cheeses, breadsticks and others, meant to be consumed between tasting sessions).
The winery tour and wine tasting lasted approximately 1.5 hours
The wine that impressed me the most was Feteasca Neagră - a true star here in Dealul Mare...for me, the story of this variety represents the best red wine produced in Romania.
After the wine tasting, I bought my first bottles of wine from the winery's store, choosing first of all Feteasca Neagră Premium, a bottle that I still have in my collection...
Some information about Budureasca Winery:
The sunny hills of the Budureasca vineyards are an ancient place, with deep roots in the history and culture of wine.
The archaeological evidence found nearby (archaeological site opened in 1959) suggests that this place has a particularly rich tradition in winemaking, dating back to the time of the Dacians.
The Budureasca Winery has a cultivated area of 275 hectares and is located on the 45th parallel, like the famous Bordeaux Vineyards.
Winemaker: Stephen Donnelly; Administrator: Dumitru Vârgă
The Budureasca winery building, inaugurated in the spring of 2013, has a total area of 5200 sq m, being one of the newest and largest wineries in Dealu Mare. The winery is buried on 3 sides to fit perfectly into the landscape and to benefit from high thermal control, while also offering the opportunity for exceptional picturesque view.
One third of the Budureasca wine cellars (managed by the company Budureasca SRL) belonged, until 2011, to PSD deputy Sebastian Ghiță, a close friend of former Prime Minister Victor Ponta. Today, two thirds of this commercial company are owned by Domente Vasile (72 years old), a resident of Buzo, the brother of Sebastian Ghiță's mother. Currently, BUDUREASCA SRL has 7 shareholders.
A unique thing is that each shareholder has a 5,000-liter barrel of wine stored in the cellar, a barrel inscribed with the name of each grandson. He will benefit from the stored wine when he turns 18!
After visiting the winery and the successful wine tasting, at the sommelier's suggestion, we eagerly headed to Dacian Farm, a complex with a restaurant and accommodation that I highly recommend to those in the area.
Here we served very diverse traditional food of note 10. Incredible location, people the same. For those who respect themselves, it is a place to get out of everyday life, to remember the true values of life. To return again and again, I hope that as many generations as possible can enjoy this fairytale land.
In the evening we arrived at home, tired but happy that our first visit to a winery was a real success!