Oenologist Razvan Macici Murfatlar is the number one cellar in Romania

Razvan Macici is the oenologist who brought glory to Nederburg vineyard in South Africa. One of his wines won the gold medal at the "Five Nations" competition in September 2011, meaning it was named the best wine of the southern hemisphere. Macici was born into a family of winemakers and grew up in the Dealu Mare vineyards. He had so much to learn from his father, the late Professor Michael Macici, one of the outstanding personalities of Romanian oenology.

Razvan Macici holds a masters degree in viticulture and oenology from the University of IASI-Romania. His profession and, equally, his passion, the wine, have led his steps towards the southern hemisphere, where after several years he came to occupy the position of Cellermaster at Nederburg, the leading producer of premium wines in South Africa and the most awarded winery in this country. In recognition of his contribution to the development of South African wine industry, Razvan Macici was appointed Commander of the Grand Conseil des Vins de Bordeaux, a prestigious and honorable international order.

The famous Oenologist attended Thursday, October 6^th, our newspaper's Online Interview and we exclusively present it below.

You are famous in South Africa. Why did you choose Romania? Why did you choose Murfatlar?

I chose Romania because I am Romanian and I chose Murfatlar because I was interested in working with the largest wine producer in Romania. I have worked in France and Germany, but I improved my career in South Africa.

How was this year's campaign? Make a parallel with the campaign in South Africa, similarities, differences ...

The campaign was a very good one, with a great weather, gentle sun, the grapes were very ripe. They say it's the best campaign in the last 10 years, comparable to that of 2001. In South Africa, we harvest from January to April. As similarities, I can mention the beautiful weather, the proximity to the sea ... South African vineyards are close to the ocean too and enjoy the breeze. Here, at Murfatlar, we have the Black Sea, which adds value to the crops.

You made the Football World Cup wine last year. Are you going to make the wine for the Champions League Final in 2012, too? This event is hosted in Bucharest

I'd love to. It depends whether Murfatlar is committing to this project or not. The wine for the World Cup was made in collaboration with FIFA. It was the official wine of the Football World Cup. I made ​​three wines, a whole range - a white wine, a rosé wine and a red wine, produces under the FIFA logo. The wine has been sold worldwide over our expectations. We sold it from Brazil to Japan.

You opened the small winery of the big cellar at Murfatlar. What kind of wine will you be making there?

All kinds of wine. I will involve in the full range of wine plus a few new wines that we are going to launch starting next year.

You are living in Constanta during harvest. How do you like the city?

I like Constanta very much. I remembered my youth, 20 years ago, when I used to come to the sea. I like Constanta, except for the old city, the historic area. I would like to see the Peninsula pointed out, used only by the pedestrian and having many places to attract tourists - cafes, promenade, plenty of neat gardens and most of all to be very clean.

Would you return to Romania for good?

I am not denying this possibility, but I am not alone, my wife and my three children are in South Africa and it is more complicated.

What kinds of wine drink Romanians? Where should we buy wine we can trust?

The offer of wines in Romania has diversified. Along with the well-known large cellars, small wineries have emerged. I noticed that, in general, Romanians drink Romanian wines. The wines from outside are quite a few on the Romanians tables. If you would like, there is the self-consumption, Romanians drink wine made at home from their own harvest. I recommend Romanians to buy certified wines, labeled with names of origin, from the special stores, including from Murfatlar cellar. Wines made at home can be dangerous. They have a compound called malvidina, which is considered noxious if consumed in excess.

oenologist make a noble wine of what Romanians call "zaibăr" or "1001"?

A noble wine is made ​​from a noble grape variety. So the answer is no.

How many winemakers should have a respectable vineyard?

Depends on the cellar size and on the number of wines produced. We are talking about proportion. Murfatlar has 5 oenologists, according to the scale of production. A small wine cellar has normally one oenologist. In South Africa, where the cellar is of Murfatlar size, we are five winemakers too.

What should we understand: that an oenologist is specialized in varieties of wine or he is specialized in vineyard area harvested?

An oenologist has the knowledge of wine production process regardless of variety or vineyard, but there are large cellars with winemakers specialized on white or red wine. However, the oenologist should be able to make any kind of wine.

What other world famous vineyards have similar characteristics to Murfatlar wines?

Murfatlar has unique characteristics that are representative to what this vineyard can produce: the sea, the sandy soils and limestone content existing in certain areas of the vineyard. Wines are aromatic, so there is a high quality potential. There are similarities in the vineyards of South Africa with what we have at Murfatlar. If we refer to Europe, there are also similarities with parts of central and southern Italy or France.

In an expert ranking or in a top 100, where would you place the vineyard and the wines from Murfatlar?

Murfatlar is a competitive wine cellar. I don't know if it is in the top 100 and I really don't think there is such a top. In Romania, Murfatlar is the number one wine cellar. Romania is a country with an important impact in terms of wine exports. Although Romania left some markets for objective reasons, its exports are increasing at the moment. Large investments are made, the Romanian wines are becoming better and they return to international markets. It is important that Romania has a brand that can convince the foreign consumers to drink Romanian wines too.

What should Romanian consumers know about the new wines of Murfatlar?

They should know that the wines are very accurate, well made ​​and have the typical characteristics of Murfatlar vineyard.

Are there increasing exports to foreign markets such as Britain, USA, Germany among the objectives assumed by Murfatlar? Is this a future priority for you?

Certainly. I do not think of a precise destination, we are already present in Europe, Asia, we are interested in America too ...

What is Razvan Macici's personal commitment to the Romanian consumer, considering the entire communication campaign Murfatlar is related to you personally?

First of all, I am honored by your interest in what we try to do at Murfatlar. I'll try not to disappoint the Romanian costumer and to produce what we promised: fine and quality wines.