Vie Vin Segarcea - Domeniile Baniei

About the Segarcea Winery

Born and fed by the passion for winemaking and viticulture of Mr. Daniel Spiridon, the Vie Vin Segarcea business is a typical family business. This passion began with the inheritance of one hectare of vines in Segarcea in 1994.

The desire to be Oltean, woven with a passion for history, led to further acquisitions in two of the oldest wine regions of Bania, Segarcea and Crovna, reviving what was once the Bania Domains.

The concept of modern interpretation of history begins to be visible in 1999 when the restoration of a 25-year-old plantation begins at Crovna and rejuvenating prunings and gap fill-ups are perfomed at Segarcea, thus restoring the old vineyards that had reached an average age of over 50 years. The objective was to ensure the conditions required for obtaining quality grapes, knowing that the grape quality level and, by extension, the complexity of the wines obtained from them grow with the age of their vineyard.

Mr. Spiridon chose to invest from his own sources, the purchased being made annually according to the incomes obtained and after carefull analysing which lands would be joined to the Bania Domains.

Segarcea vineyard - brief history

The importance of the Segarcea estate is also shown by the fact that over time it was owned by some of the most important rulers of Wallachia, who inherited it, or bought it from their predecessors' descendants.

Thus, after 1415 when it was in the possession of close friend of the ruler Mircea the Elder, it was bought by the prince Radu Paisie, who passed it down to Voivode Patrascu the Right, who in turn passed it down to his daughter Mary.

Subsequently, the estate was also the property of Voivode Mihai the Brave, hence it was given the title of Prince's Land. From this acquisition it can be observed the Ruler's attachment to this Estate that belonged to his father (Mihai the Brave being the step-brother of Mary, and the son of Patrascu the Right) and that had been estranged by his descendants.

With the purchase of the Prince's Land, Prince Mihai the Brave fortified the Segarcea Monastery to provide a stopover for travelers on the Salt Road, as well as to shelter the population during the Ottoman invasions.

Until 1614 when the ruler Radu Mihnea gave the village Segarcea to the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Estate was also owned by the ruler Radu Serban.

In 1864, with the secularization of monasteries’ wealth, the village of Segarcea became the property of 411 families, a part of the former Estate remaining in the state’s property.

Phylloxera destroyed the entire vineyards of Segarcea in 3 years starting with 1894. In 1904 the vineyard replanting began, so that in 1914 it would reach an area of about 321 ha. In 1940, before the outbreak of the war, it had reached an area of over 500 hectares planted with vines.

For the cost-efficient improvement of the vineyard, a cooperative society is established in 1937 under the name Segarcea Vineyard, where the 29 vineyard members join forces to work the vineyard, prepare and sell the wine.

The tradition of vineyard cultivation for obtaining high quality wines on these lands, dating back to before the Ottoman invasions, is continued by our company, which owns a vineyard of 85 hectares, where we obtain grapes from varieties such as White Feteasca, Royal Feteasca, Sauvignon Blanc, Romanian Tamaioasa, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Crovna vineyard - brief history

The village of Crovna is mentioned for the first time in official documents as a reward for the bravery and dedication that Spatarul Dragul showed in the Battle of Rucar in 1522 under the command of Ruler Radu of Afumati.

Located over the years in the possession of some important names of Oltenia's history, such as the Obedeanu family, the Oteteliseanu family and the family of general Argetoianu, the village of Crovna has a long tradition of vineyards, the first notes of the vineyards dating from the early 1800s.

Immediately after the Second World War, when Constantin Argetoianu returned to the country, and until he was arrested by the Communists, the situation of the vineyard was described as catastrophic, being attacked by diseases and weeds.

Nowadays, the Crovna vineyard continues to reward with high-quality grape harvests the people who care for the 35 hectares of vineyard where we find 30-year-old vines of the White Feteasca, Royal Feteasca and Sauvignon Blanc varieties.

About the wine cellar

It is equipped with modern equipment that makes it possible to obtain high quality wines: pneumatic presses, fermentation and storage tanks with controlled temperature and protected by inert gas, tanks for descaling, decanter, and the safest filtration facilities .

Coordinated by an oenologist with more than 30 years of experience, there are obtained from the best grapes offered by the vineyard with an average age of 35 years, both light white wines with complex flavors, as well as full-bodied red wines with a high level of extraction, suitable for maturing and aging.

Sources:
http://wine-segarcea.ro/