Wine & Dine – LACERTA Winery – Hotel Orizont Predeal

Browsing - as is my habit - the Events for wine lovers section of the Winesday website (which deserves congratulations for what it does), my wife and I decided to attend a wine tasting at Predeal-hotel Orizont presented by the Lacerta winery. The event was very inspiringly called "Wine & Dine".

And so it was!. Happy that some time had passed since we had not been to the mountains, we boarded the 1623 CFR Călători train in the morning and after a comfortable journey, we descended around noon to the place of the event - Hotel Orizont, Predeal. Large, imposing hotel, a respectable name in Romanian tourism before 1989.

At the hotel reception, we received all the information regarding the event that was to start at 7 pm from Ms. Diana Pavelescu, the host who made this wine tasting possible.

Currently, Secretary General of the Association of Authorized Wine Tasters, Ms. Diana Pavelescu has been involved in the wine world in the country and abroad over time, judging in many international wine competitions. With over 20 years of experience in the wine industry in Romania, she is the founder of the Romanian Wine Academy, one of the 3 Romanian schools accredited by WSET – The Wine & Spirit Education Trust – the largest global organization that offers certifications in the knowledge of the world of wine for both professionals and amateurs.

All the details of the dinner that was to begin were presented by Ms. Diana, and we eagerly awaited the start of the wine tasting.

But there were still 4 hours until the bottles of the fermented liquor at the Lacerta Winery would be opened. Until then, relax...The generous indoor pool of the Orizont hotel would pamper our bodies and make us feel like we were on a mini vacation.

The gong also rang at 7 p.m. and the hotel's welcoming restaurant was bustling with life. The tables, inspiredly arranged, with everything needed for an exceptional tasting, were occupied by approximately 30 lovers of stories from the world of wine.

I want to tell you that this wine tasting, called by the hosts "Wine & Dine" is the first of its kind that I have participated in. The association of Lacerta wines with the culinary dishes, extraordinarily prepared, gave an aristocratic touch to the entire evening. In fact, it was a memorable dinner, narrated and accompanied by inspiredly chosen wines from the premium category.

Stelian Ștefan, Lacerta Winery sales director and sommelier at the same time, was the one who accompanied the story with the necessary details…and I tell you that he did it in an extremely professional way with a lot of passion and dedication. The long experience he has accumulated makes him feel at ease in the midst of wine. Pedant, charismatic, learned, he is attentive to everything that happens around him. It was his evening, he was that bond between us tasters and Lacerta wines.

Congratulations to him, as well as a special mention for Ciprian Dragomir, the restaurant's Head Chef. His dishes delighted our taste buds.

The wine tasting featured four Lacerta wines: Organic Fetească Albă, Blanc de Noir, Merlot, and Shiraz. All were exceptional, but my personal favorite was the Blanc de Noir; paired with the sea bream fillet, tropical salsa, and parsnip purée, it was a perfect match. I was also impressed by the Shiraz, which went wonderfully with the mixed-berry and sweet chili cheesecake.

The combination of Organic Fetească Albă and baked goat cheese with caramelized carrots and onion jam proved to be a surprising choice among the ladies attending.

The wine tasting and dinner had a special guest: Professor Constantin Croitoru.

He accepted Ms. Diana's invitation, and the fact that we were seated across from each other at the table was a choice of providence. The discussions I had with him, as well as the advice he was kind enough to give to a beginner in wine knowledge, remain a memorable experience for me.

One of the most respected specialists in the world in the field of enology, Professor Constantin Croitoru, an international expert taster, is the only Romanian researcher in oenology who is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Society of Oenology and Viticulture.

Returning to our "Wine & Dine" tasting, as Professor Croitoru appreciated in his interventions, the culinary preparations excelled in terms of nutritional value, chromaticity, smell and especially taste.

That's all. I need to find a fitting ending to my editorial...I think the most fitting would be the words of the Uruguayan journalist and writer Eduardo Galeano who said: "We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine."