Romanian sparkling wines gain ground in foreign markets

The Romanian Sparkling Wine Competition, now in its 5th edition, will hold its first finals in two European capitals simultaneously: in Bucharest and Amsterdam, on December 4, hosted by Aria TNB and Amsterdam Wine Academy respectively. The Romanian Sparkling Wine Competition is the only competition of its kind in Romania and a benchmark for the Romanian sparkling wine industry, with 117 local sparkling wine brands.

The absolute novelty of this year’s edition is the judging of sparkling wines in magnum bottles (1.5 l as opposed to the classic 0.75 l).

Each judging team from the two countries is made up of 10 Romanian and foreign specialists, including internationally recognized sommeliers, holders of DipWSET/Wein Akademiker, ASI Gold, students of “The Institute of Master of Wine”, educators, bloggers and members of “The Circle of Wine Writers” brought together by the organizers Iulia Țigău in Amsterdam and Tiberiu Onuțu in Bucharest.

Most of the 29 Romanian producers competing in the 2023 edition will have 117 sparkling wine brands on the market. A novelty compared to previous editions is the inclusion in the competition of a new producer, Tenuta Mosconi, a recent entrant to the market.

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“Co-opting international judges into the competition team has two distinct purposes. Firstly, to reconfirm our firm commitment to professionalism and high standards in the judging process. And secondly, through international exposure, we want to contribute to strengthening the reputation of Romanian sparkling wine in foreign markets,” said Tiberiu Onuțu, the initiator of the competition.

The judging will be organized in sections according to the method of production, with a focus on the traditional method (second fermentation in glass) and the Charmat method (second fermentation in stainless steel tanks).

The competition was born in 2018 with the aim of highlighting the best producers and the best Romanian sparkling wines in each category. At each edition, the emphasis has been placed on judging by people with high professional standards in the field, so that this contest is consolidated as a benchmark for the Romanian sparkling wine industry.

Among the top jurors participating in the Amsterdam Wine Academy judging are Anja VONDENHOFF DipWSET, Wein Akademiker and President of the Weinakademiker Club, Certified Sommelier/The Court of Master Sommeliers, Europees Meilleur Formateur en vin de Champagne 2011, Kristel BALCAEN DipWSET, MW student, Roos Stevens DipWSET, ASI Gold, Maître-Sommelier Restaurant Bridges, Amsterdam and Sue EAMES DipWSET, Committee Member, Circle of Wine Writers.

In Bucharest, the committee includes Horia Hasnaș, one of the members of the champion blind tasting team, Ladislau Kristoff, a sommelier, gourmet specialist and luxury industry consultant.

More details about last year’s event can be found here and here.

Tiberiu Onuțu is an amateur historian of Romanian vine varieties, promoter of Romanian sparkling wines, and contributor to www.vivc.de and www.wein.plus. He also carries on, in Dealu Mare, the tradition of 4 generations of winegrowers.

Iulia Țigău holds the DipWSET title of excellence, lives in Düsseldorf, Germany, and started her wine journey in 2018.