Should I? What do I have to do with wines? It turns out… everything!
EU funds and solidarity are supporting Romania’s growing wine industry and country brand at an impressive scale, with 99% absorption capacity rate of EU funding available for the country in this field.
Thank you, Marinela Ardelean and Wines of Romania team, for your interest and professionalism and the opportunity to engage with your community!
Find HERE the podcast in Romanian, with English subtitles. And find here a legal register of the names of agricultural products and foodstuffs, wine, and spirit drinks that are registered and protected across the EU.
An below the full English transcript, for easier access.
My dears, welcome to a new episode of the Wines of Romania podcast. This podcast is inspired by the Deschidem Vinul Romanesc / We Open the Romanian Wine national program, developed by Carrefour Romania. I have a truly special guest today. I have with me Iulia Ramona Chiriac, head of the European Commission Representation in Romania. Before we begin, I want to read you some information about Ramona, because many know her just as Head of the EC Representation, but I think a few more words are worth reading. She has been in this office since July 1st, 2021, she is the official representative of the European Commission in Romania, under the political authority of president Ursula von der Leyen. Mrs. Chiriac has almost 20 years of experience in European Affairs, was Romania’s consul general in Bavaria between 2016 and 2021 and has been part of the Romanian Diplomatic Service since 2008. Before this, she worked in the Romanian local and central public administration, with attributions in preparing local administration for the EU accession. Mrs. Chiriac graduated from the European Studies faculty of the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj Napoca and has two master degrees, one in European Studies and one in gender studies. Ramona, welcome to the Wines of Romania podcast!
Thank you with all my heart for inviting me. I waited for a long time for us to meet and tell stories. Thank you.
Ramona, you graduated in Cluj, but where are you from?
From Bacău. So 12 hours by train to get from Bacău to Cluj. An epic journey, from all points of view, one that I enjoyed very much because it gave me the opportunity to see my country.
Before you started travelling, before you started to spend a lot of time, you spent a lot of time in Germany, before that, what do you remember the Romanian wine being like? Not now, now they are all fine, producers are better one than the next… What do you remember about wine from your teenage years?
I’ll tell you how the wine was before, but I don’t know if you’ll like it. My memories… I think that what I remember is what a lot of Romanians my age remember, those who go visit their relatives or spend their holidays in the countryside, with their grandparents, uncles, cousins, and one of them goes to the cellar and proudly returns with a bottle of wine of their own production, they pour it in glasses and then come those seconds when the producer waits for you to say if you like this year’s production. Be them grandfathers, cousins, whatever, those are the seconds I still cherish. This is the memory that had an impact, also the fact that as a child it seemed to me everyone is a sort of an alchemist when it comes to wine. Each one had their own production. And another, warmer memory, is the mulled wine, which brings people together to tell stories, it’s about family, tradition. These are my memories about wine, from long ago.
Who picks the wine in your family?
I think both of us. In fact, it is a great joy, when we visit places, to bring back home a bottle of wine, one that we haven’t heard of from a more exotic country. Let us try and see how this wine tastes…
White or red?
Red. For me it’s red, my husband I think would say white. Hence all the problems with the family wine vault. For me it’s red because there is also the aesthetic impact that the red wine has on me. All that universe of colours that later becomes a flavour and taste universe. So, red.
If you were to take a Romanian wine to one of the meetings you have in Brussels or when you have a professional meeting, what Romanian wine would you choose?
I do this quite often. Every time I go to Brussels, despite fearing that the bottle may break in the luggage, I take a Romanian wine with me, not the same one every time, but I want to show people what Romania produces, here is what we have in Romania. Because we both know, you are also an ambassador for good news regarding Romania, for the country brand… I know we still have to work on this so I constantly take with me, as a present, a fine Romanian wine, for my colleagues in Brussels.
I am looking towards the centre camera: If you ever get the chance to do the same, like Ramona and myself are doing, make Ramona’s message your inspiration. Bravo. You didn’t nominate a wine, but it does not matter…
And I wouldn’t dare to name a wine, with the official status I have when we talk. But this is also a good thing, because the impact of the European funds, which we will maybe discuss later, is extensive, and from this European support, there is a huge number of winemaking businesses that arose in Romania.
Since you mentioned it, let’s not wait until later. How did the European funds influence the Romanian wines’ quality and how do they still continue to influence it, since they are not completely exhausted?
A piece of news that I know you repeat, but I don’t know if people are familiar with it, is that Romania is the largest wine producer in Central and Eastern Europe. It is something we should repeat and be proud of here, in Romania. And if we look at Romania’s competitors, Italy, France, and Spain, who produce 80% of all the wine in the European Union, being in the 7th place in the EU and the main wine producer in Central and Eastern Europe is an exceptional thing. And this I can say with all my courage, I assume it, that this would not have happened without the support of the European funds, the European financing. Taking a step back, I am glad to say that Romania is a net beneficiary of European funds, meaning that Romania receives from the common budget twice the amount it contributes. There are 83 billion euros that Romania received since becoming a member of the European Union. Money that has been used wherever you look around in Romania for this country’s growth and development. The wine industry receives 46 million euros annually, and the absorption rate among those who want such businesses is 99%. Which is an impressive percentage, it is good practice in Romania, where we still discuss the funds’ absorption capacity, about knowing how to apply for financing… In the wine field, these things are known very well, 99% of the available European money is consumed, attracted and used for this area’s growth.
As far as you know, is there any other country on the same level of European funds absorption?
I think the countries that have a wine culture and are older members of the European Union know how to do this and have known it for a longer time. And this gives even more credit to Romania, because in such a short time it learned to develop this. We talk about a field with an accelerated growth. In 2020-2021, it grew 20%, compared to previous years, so it is growing with big steps. And there is a lot of room for growth, Romania currently produces 3% of the European wine, placing seventh largest.
Why should consumers trust in the Romanian wine’s quality?
I believe there are people more qualified to answer.
It’s a challenge, Ramona.
You know I first answered your invitation saying what am I supposed to do in a podcast about wine? There are specialists, there are investors, there are people who are involved in this, then this lens, of European funds, became essential and I realised that if there were one place where you can talk about what it means for Romania, how it benefits from being a member of the European Union, the wine production would be one of them. What the European Union does, from the point of view of certified wine quality, as you well know, are these quality labels, DOP (PDO), easy to remember in Romanian (dop = cork), since is related to the field, the Protected Designation of Origin, and the IGP (PGI), the Protected Geographical Indication. And there are already 53 Romanian wines that received these quality labels. My colleagues were careful with this information, they asked me to explain. The Protected Designation Origin means that all the grapes used in the production of wine come from that geographical area, while for PGI, the requirement is 85%, and this is also applicable for many food products, great names that we have known for a while, I will not name them, to be on the safe side. But in the food industry as well, we are slowly gaining Romanian quality labels. So this is what the European Union does to certify a wine’s quality. And the simple fact that there are so many millions of euros invested in development, in innovation, in research, I think all this can only lead to quality. It is a rule that any business you would take on, you do it hoping it would lead to a quality result.
I have a curiosity, Ramona, the country brand, the Romanian wine as a country brand, this is one of the subjects I’d like to approach with you, but also – it just came to my mind now, wine made in Europe. If it could, in the long run, gain more weight, also because of the involvement of the European Commission, the European Union, as they gain more authority and recognition, the consumer may gain more trust when it comes to European certifications. It may come to our advantage when it comes to exporting to the USA or Asia, to bear the Made in Europe mention.
As a representative of the European Executive, I can only be glad, enjoy what you say. Our motto is still Unity in Diversity, of course, but an European unity, so any unifying initiative, still respecting this very wide, multicultural and diverse space, is very welcomed. We are, practically, in a Made in Europe situation, Made in the EU, many times, it is what is written on various products, and European policies, like the cohesion policy, the umbrella that covers all the financing for wine, this is what the wish for, a common, European vision, support for all member states and, in the end, the supreme quality label that you say we can aim for, Made in Europe. Because Europe is a force, an economic force, we have the force of the single market, a 450 million people market, a place for businesses, for ideas, for innovation. We are spearheading a lot of fields, it is not just a goal, it is a thing we actively work for on a daily basis and which is happening. And Romania is part of this European success.
Do you know why I’m smiling? Because if we fail making the Romanian wine a country brand, at least we can succeed with a Made in Europe wine, to gain recognition.
You should know that, from the outside, Romanian wine IS a country brand.
Thank you, Ramona.
Myself, being so involved in my field, I only see the anti-European messages, you know, you tend to only see the side of criticism. I believe in the Romanian wine, and it can’t be any other way, with such an impressive growth rate, any bottle you look at, it is covered in the medals it won, you know very well, you accompany these wines in European and international institutions, Romanian wines win a lot of awards. I think we are already there, no doubt about it.
Let me rephrase. Is Romanian wine a country brand?
The short answer is yes.
Bravo.
No doubt. Because, and this is what is great about this European project, the respect for national identity, respect for regional identity. And those quality labels, I was saying that it is about grapes coming from that specific geographical area. If you connect this to the idea of regional identity, right?, and I was there, at the RO-Wine festival that you organise, and there were producers there presenting their own wine, from the 100 hectares in their region, call it X, not to name one. So there is a brand force there, a regional brand, because the brand is like a business card, a way to introduce yourself. I like the way everything that the European Union means is inflected into this pride you see expressed by various producers who mention one region or another. And going further, this one is served with this other product, also from our region. It is a wonderful universe and it is very important for us to support all this effort, through our agriculture policy, the cohesion policy, the rural development policy.
Do we have any, or could you share with our viewers and listeners, any success stories, when it comes to wineries using European funds?
Without nominating anyone, again, I must impose this on myself…
Even though we are not on TV, you know, but I understand your position…
The online medium is even more powerful than the traditional television. But I can say one thing. This summer, I discovered, step by step, the Dealu Mare region. It is full of wineries, of businesses, and full of the pride of producing high quality wine. And everywhere I went, much to my friends’ annoyance, the question came each time: are there European funds involved? And the answer was yes. And we’re not talking about some hundreds of euros. There are wineries that attracted 5 million euros, as successful stories. And it is not the financing for wineries, I need this thing to be understood, the European Union offers a multi-dimensional support, from replanting the vines, creating testing laboratories, tasting rooms, everything in the vineyard ecosystem can be financed. So, one hour away from Bucharest, it is full of good practice examples. I’d like… You know, when we were kids, we had to connect the dots and in the end, surprisingly, something was coming out of it, an animal, whatever the artist prepared. But I’d like us to better connect these dots. One thing the producers from the Dealu Mare region I visited told me was they didn’t have accommodation facilities. So, how do you connect the fact that this winery, this business exists, you can taste wines, spend some time, with the fact that you can also taste some food products, with having a place where to spend the night, with connecting maybe to a festival that might take place there. So how do we take one step after the other to develop an ecosystem. This is, I believe, the vision that would bring… You don’t want to just grow an exceptional business in a region and that’s all. The entire region must grow together with you. From workplaces, from local pride, everything must come together. So this is the point to address next and I saw they were really preoccupied about how to access European funds for guesthouses and such. There are very many success stories. I always encourage the viewers or the people I talk to take a look at those billboards in the street, the white and blue ones, that are everywhere in Romania lately. They are mentioning “European Financing, Project X”, the amount, the destination. Romania is full of such projects. And what I want to be well understood, when it comes to European money, because that’s what we call it, European money, I wish we always connected the idea of European money to the idea of European solidarity. Because that’s why Romania can grow with European funds, because it is a member of the European Union.
Beautifully said.
Out of this solidarity, we all grow. This solidarity should also be brought outside the economic field, when it comes to unity, when it comes to the neighbouring producer’s recommendation, when you are visiting a winemaking region, be it Dealu Mare or other areas. I believe solidarity is an attribute we could be better at assuming, not just in the wine world, we’re just speaking about wine as an example.
Absolutely. And I know it might be a lighter podcast, but if you allow me,
Please.
Given the recent geopolitical context, the last few years, with pandemics, with the war at the European Union’s borders, with the energy crisis and so on, if there is an action, a word that saved us, that is solidarity, the common action. Even this PNRR (NRRP) that we hear about every day, this hope-giving message that Romania will look different, and it will look different through this financing, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. This is also the result of a very brave act of all member states, to go together on the markets, for the first time in the EU history. Together meaning my duty is also yours, my economic development perspective is also yours. And they mandated the Commission to obtain this major financing of 800 billion euros, for which each country has their national plan. Our common action, with the force of the single market, with the force of our unity, this is the solution for the future, no doubt about it. Not fragmentation, not exiting this project.
So it doesn’t just support, it also educates.
Always.
Three words to describe Romanian wine.
Oh, my, I don’t know if I have the knowledge.
It doesn’t have to be about flavours and such, whatever comes to you.
It is very voluptuous, full bodied, velvety, at least the wine I consume, so to say.
Warm and, undoubtedly, there is a lot of poetry in the Romanian wine, as I see it. I was telling you about this trip around Dealu Mare. The producers, the sommeliers, all those involved in wine tell their stories with such enthusiasm, how they listen to the wine, what the wine from a certain barrel tells them. It can’t be all just science, there is some poetry there, a relationship, if you will, between man and nature. We grew up with Eminescu, with rivers, the branch, remember?, “they’re a friend solely to us”. This is what I felt, a very strong connection that we, Romanians, still have, those in the rural areas or those choosing to work there still have it. And this thing must be cherished.
Do you understand now why I invited Ramona to the Wines of Romania podcast? And what is Romanian wine missing? So we’d also mention something less positive.
What it doesn’t miss for sure is the European support. This unity, as you said, the fact that producer X can recommend the next, the success doesn’t end at your door, when the entire region grows, the entire country grows, then we can speak about true growth. More support, more solidarity, in any field, can only help.
I thank you very much, Ramona, for what we are when we go abroad, when we cross the borders. Because, in the end, you are an ambassador, from all points of view, when it comes to Romania.
Of the European Romania, of Europe in Romania…
And you do it well, Ramona.
With great joy. And I thank you for giving me the chance to speak, giving us a chance to speak, because I am here representing a team and an institution, to speak with a different audience, not preaching to the choir, not just us among ourselves, those preoccupied with European affairs. The fact that I was able to get out of my box is important for me and I thank you because, through you, I have the chance to discuss with people who love wine, who love Romania and the good life, in the end.
I realise we don’t have the usual glass of wine, as it is usually featured in the Wines of Romania podcast episodes. But consider that I raise a virtual wine glass, that we raise a virtual glass of wine to honour those watching us and, why not, let us keep going, when it comes to our presence in the European Union, and to as many good results as possible, be it in the wine industry or on a general level.
