Apogeum is the only vineyard in Romania, and most likely one of the very few in the world, that deals with a single grape variety – Fetească Neagră. The story of the cellar revolves around the ambition of one man, Virgil Mândru (also the owner of Tohani Romania), and his commitment to discover and understand this grape’s true potential. Apogeum is one of the smallest vineyards in the country, with only 5 hectares, all planted with Fetească Neagră, but its name quickly became familiar to all fine wine aficionados.
Apogeum is among the smallest winemaking companies in the country, with only 5 hectares, all planted with Fetească Neagră, out of a desire to turn this local variety (praised by many as Romania’s most important wine grape) into a competent rival of the international grapes. To achieve this, Apogeum has become an independent winery, where winemaking processes take place just as they did 2,000 years ago. The vessels in which the wine ferments are made of a special type of ceramic, cocciopesto – a mixture of sand, fragments of brick and stone, structural fibres and cement. The winemaking process is gravitational, and the young wines are aged for two years in oak barrels, then left to settle for at least one more year in bottles. The whole process is designed so as to obtain the best expression of the Fetească Neagră variety, harvested at Apogeum in small quantities, of only 5-6 tons per hectare, from over 50 years old vineyards.
In 2018, Apogeum became part of the Valahorum project, alongside with other wineries that aim to produce truly representative wines, able to offer an image of Romania’s viticulture potential.
• Contact person: Văsioiu Carmen
• Telephone: +40 744 638 779
• E-mail: office@valahorum.com
• Opening hours: 08:00—16:30
• Name of the company: SC Crama Apogeum SRL
• Established in: 2018
• Owner: Virgil Mândru
• Oenologist: Virgil Mândru
• Annual production: about 10.000 liters
• Annual production capacity: limited edition-year 2016 are 9.850 bottles
• Surface: 5 hectares
• Direct sales: YES
• Winery address: sat Gura Vadului, com. Gura Vadului, jud. Prahova
• Headquarters address: sat Gura Vadului, com. Gura Vadului, jud. Prahova
• Website: www.crama-apogeum.ro
• Last update: October 2020
