Liturgical wine
at European standards
The Agricultural Cooperative Via Domnului, which belongs to the Archdiocese of Bucharest, was established in 2009 and owns the winery and the vineyards in Dealu Mare, near Urlați, at Jercălăi Monastery.
It revives today an old tradition of vine cultivation, which started in the eighteenth century, on the lands of Adormirea Maicii Domnului Hermitage, belonging to Verbila Monastery. After the secularisation of monastic estates, in 1863, during the reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the hermitage was closed. The vine growing activity started again in 1956; that exact year Sfânta Maria Hermitage – Cricov, also known as Jercălăi Monastery, received a new spiritual stimulus, along with bringing a wooden church from Luieriu village, in Mureș County, dating back to 1731, which had been given as a gift to Queen Mary in the past and moved near Bran Castle in 1932. Ever since, the liturgical wine for the churches of the Archdiocese of Bucharest is produced there.
Via Domnului has 42 hectares of vines undergoing reconditioning and a new winery built according to European standards, with European funds. The varieties cultivated there are Cabernet Sauvignon, Fetească Neagră, Merlot, Fetească Regală, Muscat Ottonel and Sauvignon Blanc. In 2016, after the previous year’s balance sheet, the Archdiocese Cooperative is listed as no. 1 in the top of vinicultural micro-enterprises of Prahova. The PDO wines of Via Domnului have already received several medals at various editions of the International Wine Contest Bucharest.
• Contact person: Florin Ungureanu
• Telephone: +40730018029
• E-mail: via.domnului@yahoo.com
• Opening hours: N/A
• Name of the company: Cooperativa Agricolă Via Domnului
• Established in: 2009
• Owner: Arhiepiscopia Bucureștilor
• Oenologist: Cristian Mirea
• Annual production: 230.000 liters
• Annual production capacity: 326.500 liters
• Surface: 42 hectares
• Direct sales: N/A
• Winery address: str. Jercălăi nr. 1A, Urlați, jud. Prahova
• Headquarters address: str. Jercălăi nr. 1A, Urlați, jud. Prahova
• Website: –
