It is hard to say something entirely new or brief enough and able to capture the full contribution that SERVE Winery has made to the Romanian wine industry. What seemed to be a romantic adventure has turned into a turning point for Ceptura, Dealu Mare, and Romania in general – SERVE was the first private company, founded with private funds by a foreign investor who recognized the enormous potential for quality wines at a time when the entire industry was still tributary to the old school, which prioritized quantity over quality.
For 30 years, SERVE has innovated, reinvented, surprised, transformed, and profoundly changed the world of Romanian wine. In this anniversary year, the top management was officially passed to a new generation, and all that remains for us is to share the story as it was shared with us in the company’s official statement.
Since the beginning of the Wines of Romania project, SERVE has been and continues to be a precious partner, to whom we thank for their support and trust. Here’s to many more years, with wines at least as good!
SERVE Winery: 30 Years of Excellence in the Production and Promotion of Romanian Wine
Thirty years ago, in 1994, Corsican Count Guy Tyrel de Poix founded SERVE – Societatea Euro Romana de Vinuri de Exceptie – the first private winemaking company in Romania. Passionate about Romanian wines, Guy embarked on a great adventure with Mihaela Tyrel de Poix, reclaiming the dignity of Romania’s flagship wine, Feteasca Neagra, after decades of overproduction and depletion of the variety in the name of "record-breaking production per hectare."
Today, SERVE Winery is one of the best-known wine producers in Dealu Mare, a region renowned for its ideal climate for growing red grapes. SERVE Winery owns and cultivates 65 hectares of vineyards in the Ceptura area, with an annual production of around 500,000 bottles of wine and a turnover of approximately 2 million euros.
The SERVE portfolio includes brands such as Vinul Cavalerului, Terra Romana, and Cuvée. The winery is particularly known for its premium wines: Cuvée Charlotte, Cuvée Guy de Poix, Cuvée Alexandru, Cuvée Clemence, Cuvée Amaury, Cuvée Guillaume, Cuvée Sissi, and Cuvée Pacs. These wines are renowned for combining native varieties like Feteasca Neagra or Feteasca Alba with international varieties in exceptional blends.
In addition to producing wine, SERVE Winery offers consumers various experiences to discover and better understand the world of wine, such as varietal recognition tastings, vertical tastings (the same wine from different harvest years), blending experiences, and vineyard-related activities.
30 years of innovation and firsts
SERVE is a family winery born from the ambition and adventurous spirit of a man who had the courage to bring innovation, elegance, and ethics to Romanian wine in post-communist Romania. Over the past 30 years, SERVE Winery has opened many paths:
- The first private winery in Romania
- The first exclusively dry wine range, in the 1990s
- The first dry rosé in Romania
- The first lifeline for a Romanian variety – Feteasca Neagra
- The first wine from a pure Romanian variety to score over 90 Parker points
The SERVE winery and business have grown vigorously, with respect for the consumer, the land, and the new generations, in a market that in the 1990s had a few dozen producers, and today over 400. Consistency in the quality of wines, regardless of price category, has ensured the continuity of this business in an industry where innovation is measured in many trials, the struggle with the whims of the weather and times, and business decisions whose consequences are seen only after years.
2024 – The Year of Leadership and Winemaking Transition
Like the vineyard, renewed every 15 years, the business needs new forces to open wider perspectives in an increasingly competitive market. After 30 years of work driven by a passion for wines, Mihaela Tyrel de Poix made the strategic decision to transfer the role of General Manager of the SERVE company to her daughter, Silviana Petre Badea, and to stay by her side as the main consultant.
Silviana took over the winery’s leadership after a long successful career in real estate, and her business experience and new perspective are a highly valuable addition to a company with solid roots.
"My 20 years in consulting have prepared me for many things, and I also know that, regardless of the field or product, the ingredients are the same: care for people and their place in the ecosystem they operate in, focus on results, innovation and excellence in every detail, and as much joy as possible in every day and every project," says Silviana Petre Badea.
"I am confident that Silviana will successfully ensure the continuity of this traditional family business and bring additional perspective, skill, and energy to it. Following this generational change, SERVE Winery has all the attributes to position itself in the coming years as a pivot of stability, innovation, and cohesion in winemaking. We will work together to contribute not only to the expansion of the business but also to the creation of a force in the wine industry that will put Romania on the map of the world’s important producers," says Mihaela Tyrel de Poix.
The generational change will also occur in production over the next three years. Aurel Rotarescu is the oenologist to whom Guy Tyrel de Poix gave full trust and freedom to test the most adapted winemaking methods for the Dealu Mare, Ceptura area. After 30 years of exceptional harvests and wines, Aurel Rotarescu is transferring his passion and knowledge to a talented young oenologist, Sabin Banita, who has been working with SERVE for over five years. Both have treated and continue to treat with great respect the land in which they plant and which produces excellent wines: avoiding overproduction in favor of quality, treating the soil only with manure, intervening minimally on the land and later on the wine, which is considered at SERVE to be "the most natural of beverages."
Continuity and Future Plans
The new General Manager has set the goal for SERVE to become the most admired wine business in Romania within five years among partners and consumers, and to significantly contribute to positioning wine as a country brand.
SERVE will be involved in organizing and cohesion efforts to promote the area alongside other producers and create a consumption habit in wine tourism, so that Dealu Mare becomes an alternative to Prahova Valley for Bucharesters. As a novelty, taking advantage of the vast and inviting space, the winery has opened its doors to visitors on a daily schedule. They can enter the winery directly for tasting experiences without a prior appointment.
The company is currently exploring opportunities in both production and marketing and sales, specifically BIO wine and culture, sustainability and ESG in viticulture, packaging innovation to reduce the carbon footprint, demystifying wine for consumers, and wine tourism. For the next five years, SERVE aims for a 30% increase in high-end on-trade product listings, a tenfold increase in B2C turnover, and significant diversification in export markets. These goals will be achieved through investments in sales and marketing, strengthening relationships with distributors and consumers, innovation in sustainable production, and increasing presence in the business community.
SERVE Winery in Numbers:
BUSINESS:
- 30 years since its founding
- 500,000 bottles of wine produced in 2023, all sold
- 2 million euros in turnover in 2023
- 1 million bottles of wine – total production capacity
- 40% of domestic sales are made through major retail chains (Kaufland, Carrefour, Metro, Selgros, Auchan, Lidl)
- 30% of production sold for export (Belgium, France, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Canada, and the USA)
- 842 restaurants in Romania include SERVE wines on their menus
- 60 employees
- 20 years is the average employee retention rate
DISTINCTIONS:
- 87 awards won in specialized competitions in Austria, Germany, and the USA over the past five years
- 90 Parker points awarded to Cuvée Guy de Poix (2016), the only wine from an authentic Romanian variety, Feteasca Neagra, to receive this score to date
LAND:
- 65 hectares of land cultivated with vines
- 450 m – altitude of the cultivated lands
- 15 years – the average age of the plantations
- 3 Romanian grape varieties: Feteasca Neagra, Feteasca Alba, and Tamaioasa Romaneasc
- 6 international grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Chardonnay
EXPANSION PLAN FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS:
- 30% growth – in high-end on-trade product listings
- 200% growth – in mid-end on-trade product listings
- Tenfold turnover (TO) in B2C, thereby increasing margin
- 2030 – the reference year for the strategic objective of export market diversification
📷 Photo Source: Serve Winery
