Just as the name Vinarte conjures up beautiful, romantic images of wine in my mind, so do their wines. Romania's Vinarte perhaps had that goal in mind when they chose the name. Their wine estates are located in three of Romania's most important wine regions: Samburesti –
Olt County, Zoresti, Dealu Mare – Buzau County, and Terase Danubiene –
Mehedinti County. During Spaswinefood’s August travels we visited Vinarte
Bolovanu, their
Samburesti estate in Olt County, an estate of 60 hectares.
Vinarte Bolovanu
Returning from the Dragasani to Bucharest we stopped at Vinarte Bolovanu, Samburesti in Olt County. The vine-growing region where Vinarte's Castel Bolovanu vineyard is located, is one of the oldest and most beautiful in Romania.
Their Castel Bolovanu Vineyard specializes in growing Cabernet Sauvignon.
Upon meeting our host, Ion Treanță we toured the vineyard.
He explained the process that is used at Vinarte to produce high quality Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
I soon discovered that at Vinarte Bolovanu the grapes are not only carefully grown, but also the wines
are aged to perfection.
It was during the cellar tour that we were explained how the wines are carefully aged.
Of course we made a stop in the barrel room.
Here we tasted barrel samples from two different Cabernet Sauvignon vintages.
Often when we taste barrel samples during a winery tour the wines are quite young. However, I especially enjoyed tasting these Cabernet Sauvignon wines because there was some aging.
Yes, before leaving the cellar, I just had to take another look out the cellar door onto the vineyard. The light that day created shadows, just like in a painting. It was indeed a Vinarte moment.
Next, it was onto the tasting room, where I discovered more about Vinarte wines.
The two wines (Soare and Castel Bolovanu) we tasted are part of Vinarte's Collection series.
1. Vinarte, Soare Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
2. Vinarte, Castel Bolovanu Sambusesti Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
These are very good Cabernet Sauvignon wines. I particularly liked the Soare.
While in the tasting room I noticed textiles and other artifacts from this region of Romania.
Yes, Vinarte wines inspire beautiful, romantic images in my mind. A poster in their tasting room suggested an artistic connection between winemaking and painting. For me it goes beyond that. Vinarte Bolovanu is where Cabernet Sauvignon hits high notes.
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| Castel Bolovanu Vineyard, Vinarte Bolovanu © Spaswinefood |
Returning from the Dragasani to Bucharest we stopped at Vinarte Bolovanu, Samburesti in Olt County. The vine-growing region where Vinarte's Castel Bolovanu vineyard is located, is one of the oldest and most beautiful in Romania.
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| Castel Bolovanu Vineyard, Samburesti, Olt County © Spaswinefood |
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| Castel Bolovanu Vineyard, Samburesti © Spaswinefood |
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| #Winelovers, Castel Bolovanu Vineyard © Spaswinefood |
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| Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes, Castel Bolovanu Vineyard © Spaswinefood |
It was during the cellar tour that we were explained how the wines are carefully aged.
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| Through the Cellar Door, Vinarte Bolovanu © Spaswinefood |
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| Barrel Room, Vinarte Bolovanu © Spaswinefood |
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| Ion Treanță, Vinarte Bolovanu © Spaswinefood |
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| Thanks Ion Treanță, Vinarte Bolovanu © Spaswinefood |
Often when we taste barrel samples during a winery tour the wines are quite young. However, I especially enjoyed tasting these Cabernet Sauvignon wines because there was some aging.
Yes, before leaving the cellar, I just had to take another look out the cellar door onto the vineyard. The light that day created shadows, just like in a painting. It was indeed a Vinarte moment.
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| Castel Bolovanu's Cellar Door © Spaswinefood |
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| #Winelovers, Vinarte Bolovanu © Spaswinefood |
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| Wine Tasting with Ion Treanță © Spaswinefood |
The two wines (Soare and Castel Bolovanu) we tasted are part of Vinarte's Collection series.
1. Vinarte, Soare Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
2. Vinarte, Castel Bolovanu Sambusesti Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
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| Vinarte, Soare Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Castel Bolovanu Sambusesti 2010 © Spaswinefood |
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| Vinarte, Soare Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 © Spaswinefood |
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| Vinarte Soare Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (back label) © Spaswinefood |
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| Textile Display, Vinarte © Spaswinefood |
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| Vinarte's World © Spaswinefood |
Vinarte Wines
Before our visit to the Vinarte Bolovanu winery I had already been introduced to Vinarte
wines. An earlier dinner at Epoch included a Vinarte, Nedeea 2011. This is an excellent red wine made with Fetească Neagra, Negru de Drăgăşani, and Novac grapes. Try this wine and you will understand why it gets top reviews.
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| Vinarte, Nedeea 2011 © Spaswinefood |
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| Vinarte, Nedeea 2011 (back label) © Spaswinefood |
It is important to note that all the wines we tasted during dinner were produced by Vinarte. Fortunately, we would get to visit one of Vinarte's wineries during our Southern Romania wine travels. Our Vinarte Bolovanu visit was a first hand experience of tasting
Romanian wines in context. Seeing how the vines are grown and the wines are
aged in this particular case speaks volumes. This was one of the best examples
of what it takes to produce premium wines. That is what made visiting Romanian wineries, like Vinarte Bolovanu, so very special for me.
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| Castel Bolovanu Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon Forever © Spaswinefood |
Grape and Sunflower Fields Forever
Shortly after leaving Vinarte I caught myself looking out the car window onto a sea of yellow. Fields of sunflowers were common sights along the Southern Romania highways that we traveled. That day after leaving the winery, before reaching the main highway back to Bucharest, we passed by fields of sunflowers. Just as sunflowers might inspire artists to paint, I can also see why grapes inspire winemakers.
I
invite you to join me in my travels in Romania and elsewhere at Spaswinefood. I would like to give special
thanks to Ion Treanță at Vinarte, and Razvan Stoenescu and George Wine, for being such wonderful hosts during our Spaswinefood’s
vine-filled explorations in Romania.
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| Sunflower Field © Spaswinefood |
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| Sunflower Fields Forever © Spaswinefood |
Sharon
August
2016
Samburesti, Romania
©
Spaswinefood
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| Dog with the Golden Eyes © Spaswinefood |
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