Last year’s grape harvest and wine crop was exceptional both in quantity and quality, business daily Ziarul Financiar reports. The early part of the summer had plenty of rain – which is conducive to a larger, but inferior crop – but hot and dry weather in August and September also improved quality beyond expectations.
“I say 2018 will be a year of reference for the grape crop. In terms of character, it was certainly the best of the past 28 years. The climate was unusually favorable. Normally, with a large crop one doesn’t expect outstanding quality, but the weather in August and September saved quality without any problem”, said Nelu Mărginean, technical director of the renowned Jidvei winery.
Jidvei, the country’s largest winery sells around 25 million bottles a year, 15% of which goes abroad. It has a production area of 2,500 hectares (6,177 acres) and despite recent heavy investments in automation, it still employs up to 300-400 people during the harvest.
In related news, the Romanian table grapes crop jumped by 74% to 83,000 tonnes from 47,000 tonnes in 2017.
