Jelna

We are a young entrepreneurial family from Bistrița-Năsăud county, Jelna village, fascinated by wine and wine culture. We do nothing but continue and nurture a story, an area, and a viticultural spirit that has lain dormant for several centuries here in Jelna. The hills where we planted our vineyards according to the ancient maps of this viticultural area have been cultivated with grapevines, but the grape varieties are not specified. Even on the Josephine map made by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1766, the first mapping of Transylvania, extensive vine plantations appear on the hills of Jelna.

We lovingly tend to 26 hectares of vineyards, with an average age of 5 years, and the grape varieties we have are: Sauvignon Blanc, Fetească Albă, Fetească Regală, Muscat Ottonel, Pinot Noir.

We plan to plant more Fetească Neagră, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as a bit of Novac or Negru de Drăgășani during the year 2018.

We are a small artisanal family winery, producing around 80,000 bottles annually, and we plan to increase to 100,000-120,000 bottles per year as the vineyards mature.

“One of the oldest mentions of wines from this area we found in the church records, of the church in Jelna, where it was mentioned that Petrus Murator, the painter of the church, who is supposed to have painted the Navicella fresco, was paid in barrels of wine,” explains Ovidiu Moldovan.

In conclusion, we consider it our duty as locals, born and raised here, to revive what the cruel history decided to kill in the last century, namely, the land, the grapevines, the wine, and the culture of Jelna. There is a pure, cohesive, natural, and humane spirit that unites the Romanians, Saxons, and Szeklers of Jelna. An entity, we like to believe, that was formed through meritocracy, in times when the social order of Transylvania would not have allowed this.

We could go on with our stories for 7 days and 7 nights… but all we want is to welcome you with open arms here in Jelna, and if your paths don’t bring you here, at least through the pure and sweet kiss of our wines.

Confession of the Winemaker regarding the winemaking style created at Crama Jelna:

“I always vinify, listening carefully to the voice of the terroir. If time and life have given me the chance to vinify in several areas of Romania (Dealu Mare, Oltina, Murfatlar), as well as abroad (France, New Zealand), to study in Romania, Spain, and Italy… I can tell you that all this blessed experience has only humbled me in front of the perfection of nature, the play of life in the grapevine, and the natural engineering that alchemizes the grape into wine. Thus, in our wines, you will find the clear typicity of Lechința-Jelna, fresh, acidic, powerful, refined, and aromatic, as well as many surprises coming from a proactive vinification, namely wines created with wild, indigenous yeasts, others with selected yeasts, others with sequential fermentation, some left to macerate on the skins, others in the press, others without maceration. All have been adapted, no classical recipe was followed, and we will not follow any, we will always try to capture with our human eye the perfection that nature gives us.”

Winemaker at Crama Jelna – Darius Pripon

source: jelnatransilvania.ro

Wines from Jelna

jelna romanian winery

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