S.E.R.V.E. – Romania’s first private winey
S.E.R.V.E. was born out of a dream. A dream of its founder, count Guy Tyrel de POIX.
In 1993, less than 4 years after the Romanian revolution, against all odds, count Guy de Poix intuited the potential of Romanian wine regions. And so, in 1994, Guy, already the owner of over 50 ha of vineyards in Corsica-Domaine Peraldi- founded the first independent wine making company in post-communist Romania: Societatea Euro - Romana de Vinuri de Exceptie (S.E.R.V.E.). The same year saw the launch of the first bottles of Vinul Cavalerului, followed by Terra Romana and the renowned Cuvee Charlotte.
20 years later, they are still supporting the prestige of Romanian wines, guiding their endeavors by the same values that count Guy de POIX has based the company on: courage, innovation, respect and solidarity.
The Dealul Mare vineyard boasts an old wine-growing tradition, with documents attesting its existence as early as 1700. It stretches from the Teleajen river to the Buzau river on 70 km, over the sub-Carpathian hills, on a surface of some 20,000 ha. The mild slopes cultivated with vine are exposed to the south and are surrounded by valleys which shelter the vine from the low winter temperatures. The altitude varies between 60 m to 500 m, being protected by the southern Carpathians to the north, and to the east by the bent of the Carpathians. The temperate-continental climate is a bit milder here and the convection currents which form during cold winters allow for the culture of vine without being protected (buried).
The yields obtained are of 7-14 tonnes per hectare. The types cultivated at present are for white wines: white Feteasca, Romanian Tamaioasa and Royal Feteasca, as domestic types, but also international types like Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Grey Pinot, Muscat Ottonel. And for reds: Black Feteasca, as well as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah.
In a normal year, blooming happens in early June, and harvesting depending on the type starts at the end of August and ends in November. A concentration of sugars of over 200 gr/liter can be easily obtained, while keeping a good acidity, which gives the balanced character to the wines obtained here.
Courage, Innovation, Respect, Solidarity: Courage, because without the courage of Guy de POIX to confront post-communist Romania in March 1993, SERVE would not have existed; and because our team has the courage to go on; Innovation and Pioneering because:
- They are the first private wine company in 1994 and the first private wine cell in Ceptura, in 1995 and in post-revolutionary Romania;
- They created the first distribution network of an exclusive HoReCa wine producer in 1994;
- They produced the first dry rose wine, in 1995;
- They launched the first blend between international and Romanian grapes and the first “cuvee” wine in 1999;
- They planted the first Dealu Mare Chardonnay in 2006;
- They created the first exclusive company dedicated to the “Wine Club” wines in 2005 and the first private wine club “Clubul Cavalerilor” (The Knights’ Club) in 2009;
- They are the first to use wind energy to cool the wines (2012).