I love passionate people. The ones who, no matter what they do, talk about it with such enthusiasm that their eyes light up as they speak, their voice takes on a special tone, and you find yourself caught up in their story, inspired to do what they do. These people aren't found on every corner, which makes them even more special. But what truly makes them rare in my eyes is that beyond the immense passion that drives them to wake up every morning, there's an even greater thirst for life that fuels them and gives them energy. In a fairytale-like land, where legend meets history, I encountered such people. At Jidvei, in the heart of the country, at the Bethlen-Haller Castle in Cetatea de Baltă, passion is at home, and the love they have for what they do is felt in everything they create.
WHERE LEGEND MEETS HISTORY
When morning finds you at Jidvei, a deep stillness reigns over everything, broken only by the distant sound of a train passing at dawn. As you wake up, gazing toward the small white church in the valley, it feels as if you’ve been transported to another time. Whether shrouded in a mysterious mist, proudly glowing in the sunlight, or cloaked in white under the first snowfall of the year, the castle stands as a testament that valuable things endure, regardless of time’s passage. Now a treasured symbol of Jidvei, the castle dates back to the late 1500s and was extensively renovated by Count Ștefan Bethlen between 1615-1624, modeled after Château de Chambord in France.
Perhaps the resemblance wasn’t accidental. The Târnave region, where the Jidvei castle lies, is steeped in a rich winemaking tradition. It’s a special place, where nature generously blesses hills covered in vineyards year after year. The days follow one another in perfect harmony, giving birth to wines that reflect the character of the land itself.
THE SPIRIT OF THE LAND, THE CHARM OF THE WINE
With a total area of 2,500 hectares, Jidvei is Romania’s largest wine producer, owning the country’s largest vineyard and Europe’s largest single-owner vineyard. Its four wineries—Jidvei, Blaj, Bălcaciu, and the open-air gravity-driven winery at Tăuni—have an impressive production capacity, seamlessly blending the heritage of winemaking tradition with the advantages of cutting-edge technology.
Take the Fetească Regală, for instance, a variety first discovered right here in the Târnave vineyard in the 1920s. It is now grown over 500 hectares, making it a regional emblem. Fetească Albă, the most internationally widespread Romanian variety, is also present, along with others like Gewurztraminer, Italian Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Muscat Ottonel, dubbed “the king of Târnave.” New experiments and approaches to different varieties are constantly taking place, as the desire for innovation and evolution is one of the key principles at Jidvei.
This is how, year after year, Jidvei creates wines that carry a distinct charm, each with its own story. From classic ranges like the expressive Grigorescu, the jovial Nec Plus Ultra, or the refined Castel, to the premium and super-premium collections such as the enigmatic Mysterium and the sophisticated Ana and Maria, these wines have a way of capturing hearts. Complementing these wines is the sparkling wine, whose seductive effervescence has been crafted at Jidvei for 60 years using the traditional method. Every step of the production process is done by hand, with great care, attention, and dedication.
But it doesn't end there. The world of wine is a complex one, and at Jidvei, the tradition and spirit of the place play an important role beyond the wines themselves. They also produce a velvety and aromatic wine distillate that instantly wins you over with its charm. This is no coincidence: as early as the 1200s, the Târnave Valley was known as Weinland (“Wine Country”), where the Saxon settlers, skilled winemakers, were already producing a wine distillate called “weinbrand” or burnt wine. This led to the Romanian term vinars, a kind of local cognac.
Honoring the mission of preserving the traditions and heritage of the past for future generations, Jidvei continues to produce this noble wine distillate in the Târnave Valley with the same care and expertise. Time further perfects the craftsmanship, as the vinars is aged for at least five years in Transylvanian oak barrels, allowing it to mature into something truly exceptional.
BUT IT'S THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE WINE
Renowned for its wines since ancient times, the Târnave region, through Jidvei, continues to be a symbol of quality. The impressive number of international awards and medals—over 300 in recent years—further attests to this excellence. Beyond being the largest wine producer in Romania, Jidvei stands as one of the country's most respected and recognized brands. But behind every brand, it's always the people who build it, day by day. Jidvei is far from just a business; it's a whole community united by a deep respect for hard work, tradition, and the product itself.
In the end, it’s the people who make the wine, whether they are the ones who conceptualize it, produce it, or simply tell its story. I strongly believe this: people are the heart of wine, from those who tend to the vines, walking the vineyards under the summer sun to monitor the harvest’s progress, to the joyful harvesters picking grapes in the cool autumn mornings, to the workers in the cellars, the ones bottling and labeling, and those who share its secrets with the world—all of them, together, create magic. This is what Jidvei represents: people, wine, stories. I’ve visited Jidvei in three of the four seasons and have easily observed that the passion and warmth of its people remain constant, no matter the time of year.
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