Cramele Recas

Cramele Recas is a premium wine estate located on the far western fringes of the Romanian region of Transylvania/Banat, near Romania's third largest city Timisoara.Their winemaking team is led by Hartley Smithers (Australia) and Nora Iriate (Spain) who have worked with a team of experienced Romanian viticulturists and winemakers to create a series of modern, fruit driven wines that express perfectly the traditions and terroir of the Recas vineyard - where wine has been produced continuously since the 1st century A.C.Philip Cox, originally from Bristol, founded Cramele Recas in 1998. He and his wife, Elvira, took over an established property near to Timisoara in west Romania. There’s a long history of winemaking on the site with the earliest evidence of vines being planted dates back to 1447. Philip and Elvira set out to become a boutique winery in Romania, aiming to elevate the Romanian wine market and share it with the world. Some very successful business over the years has led Cremale Recas to become the 3rd largest producer of wine in Romania and they are a leader in quality and innovation. High investments were brought in to revamp and modernise the winery in 1998, starting with the replanting of vines. It was found the international varieties such as Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio & Sauvignon Blanc flourished in the terroir of Timisoara. These were brought in to compliment the local varieties such as Feteasca Regala, Tamaioasa Romaneasca and Negru de Dragasani.The financial crash in 2008 spurred UK wine merchants to search for better value options, Cremale Recas was there to answer their call. Romania is able to offer some of the best value Pinot Noir in the world. Pinot is usually difficult and costly to grow but is well suited to the terroir and climate of Romania, this coupled with the lower cost of land/labour make for a lower cost finished product. You’re likely to see a wine from Romania on the list at most pubs, bars nowadays and almost certainly in your local wine shop. Those who are a little more adventurous are now also stocking the lesser known local varietals, often these are a little more premium.