RASOVA Winery – On guard at the Danube bank
15 November 2022... gloomy day, clouds ready to pour, wind enough to mess up our plans. We were coming from Cernavodă where we had spent the night at the Hotel Imperio, a hotel that more than deserves the 4 stars on the frontispiece.
In front of us, the Saligny bridge – the marvel of the time of King Carol I. Built between 1890-1895, it has guarded and connected the banks of the blue Danube for more than a century.
At the end of the bridge from Cernavodă, a fascinating bronze monument representing two soldiers (dorobanti) was erected in memory of the heroes who fell in the War of Independence.
From this place to the Rasova Winery, it is a short walk to a glass of wine sipped insatiably from the power of the Dobrogea sun. Located on Vifor Hill, a place with a special exposure that bathes its crest in the sun reflected from the sea and is cooled by the Danube breeze from the west, the Rasova Winery is one of the newest and most modern wineries in Romania.
The name of the winery comes from the neighboring town of the same name - a very old town where the Roman fort SACIDAVA is also located.
The architecture and design of the Winery are not accidental. It follows the natural dynamics of the Danube cliff and the hill on which it is built.
The sun is also found in the official logo of the Rasova winery, because it is also the essential ingredient in the growth of the vineyard, along with the sandy soil and the breeze brought by the Danube, which together form a unique environment that each grape enjoys.
The sun gets along best with the sea, spending over 2100 hours annually in the Dobrudja sky, hours that are shown every day on the sundial in the courtyard, which was built precisely to celebrate it.
After parking the car in the generous parking lot provided, we were pleasantly impressed by the cottages offered for accommodation in a park with a wonderful view of the Danube. All with a modernist design, just right for living here when you are among friends and tasting the now famous NUD rosé de Rasova.
At 11 o'clock, we had a wine tasting scheduled... we were greeted by a young oenologist at the beginning of his career - the Sicilian Antonio Lafata, who was part (in the meantime he returned to Italy) of the young team of people who like wine and who decided to take it further, leaving a little of themselves in the history of wine in Dobrogea.
And if we have already mentioned the RASOVA team, then we are talking about the total involvement, dynamism and energy of Zoe, Dumi and George Ghiuri, the owners of the winery, the talent and intuition of the oenologist Răzvan Macici, the most famous Romanian winemaker internationally, the youth of Antonio Lafata, the vision and creativity of Daniel Negrescu, the creator of the Rasova brands, the experience of Valentin Ceafalău, a member of the jury of major international wine competitions, such as the Concours Mondial du Bruxelles.
Returning to the wine tasting, I must say that everything was prepared in the purest professional style: impeccably arranged tasting table, branded wine glasses (Riedel-Austria).
The wines, one and only one - 6 wines to choose from, 2 of which are barriques, from the limited edition ranges: SUR MER Pinot Noir, TORTUGA, IMPERFECT or DULCE NEBUNIE, all creating unforgettable sensory memories.
All for only 75 lei/person.
Another professional wine tasting, congratulations to Antonio Lafata, especially since the presentation of the Rasova winery portfolio was made by Antonio in Romanian language!
A few words about Cernavodă… a gray city, as if frozen in time, unable to attract the traveler with anything specific.
Only words of praise, as I told you at the beginning, about the Imperio hotel. Impeccable cleanliness, first-class staff, but prices to measure.
All rooms are spacious, with natural light and comfortable furniture, where you can rest or relax watching Netflix or connect to the Smart TV, working as if at your professional office.
The restaurant and the 10-star dinner I had with a few American or Canadian citizens proved to me that the hotel was built for a target clientele!...the foreign staff who help or take care of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant.
Rasova Winery was the first winery in the Dobrogea Hills wine region that I visited. A modern winery like we wish there were more of in Romania, with true professionals, who - as I said at the beginning - love wine and who decided to take it further, leaving a little of themselves in the history of wine in Dobrogea!