RO-Wine Festival set to make Bucharest emerging Europe’s home of fine wine

Over the past few years a number of Central and Eastern European wines – from Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia or Bulgaria – have been making their mark on the international stage, be it by taking up more physical space on the shelves of retailers or winning awards and medals at wine competitions.

Is it now time to take a closer look at those impossible to pronounce wine grape varieties? Do these countries have something more to offer than what we already find on the bottom shelves of supermarkets?

Some of the answers to these questions many be found in Bucharest later this month, when the Romanian capital once again becomes emerging Europe’s home of fine wine as it plays host to RO-Wine, the first international wine festival to be held in Romania exclusively oriented towards premium and luxury wine markets.

Following the successful model of previous editions, the festival will place emphasis on direct interaction between guests and exhibitors – winemakers, cellar owners and gourmet producers.

For the first time this year, the organisers of RO-Wine are also offering full experience packages to visitors, including accommodation, a festival visit and trips to wineries close to Bucharest, under the guidance of specialists in the field.

“In 2015, less than a year after launching my first book, 50 de vinuri româneşti întâlnesc 50 de preparate culinare italiene (50 Romanian Wines Meet 50 Italian Dishes), I started to work on Cartea vinurilor româneşti (The Wine Book of Romania), the first guide that brings together the best Romanian and Moldovan wines,” says Marinela V. Ardelean, a wine expert and organiser of the RO-Wine festival. “I have visited almost all of he wine cellars and vineyards in both countries, and I have tasted almost 3,000 wines. I am convinced that in 20 years time, when people will talk about excellence of Europe’s wines, Romania will be among the first three countries, alongside France and Italy!”

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RO-Wine takes place from May 25-26 at Fratelli Studios in Bucharest. Tickets can be bought online, here.