Get quality reporting directly into your inbox Tax agency anti-fraud chief Daniel Diaconescu and Mariana Vizoli, a state secretary within the Ministry of Finance, were among five high-ranking officials placed under judicial supervision by anti-corruption prosecutors on Thursday traveling overseas or contacting other persons of interest in the case The officials are suspected of helping two of four alcohol companies accused of evading taxes worth about 600 million lei (US$ 144.96 million) between 2010 and 2014. At least 10 people have so far been detained in the case a shareholder in the most well-known of the four companies Also detained were three former officials of the Finance Ministry Support from readers like you helps OCCRP expose organized crime and corruption around the world you’ll be directly supporting investigative journalism as a public good You’ll also gain access to exclusive insights and benefits Romanian anti-corruption officials handed out 50 indictments on Friday in an alcohol industry tax evasion case that.. Dodgy money from around the world has poured into secretive shell companies based in Luxembourg The FinCEN Files show public money pouring from the collapsing country a renowned name in the country’s wine industry has gained international recognition by winning several prestigious medals at the “Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2024” for its newly launched Aerosoli and Statornic ranges This competition is one of the most important and respected in the world, bringing together wine experts and elite tasters to evaluate the best wines from various global wine regions. Murfatlar Vinul won two gold medals for the 3 Hectare Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2023 and the 3 Hectare Chardonnay 2022 The former is a light wine with fresh berry aromas and medium acidity while the latter impresses with its complexity featuring notes of tropical fruits and a slight touch of vanilla due to aging in oak barrels The 3 Hectare range also saw the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc awarded a silver medal a wine with medium acidity and fresh aromas of wildflowers and tropical fruits “We are extremely honored and proud of this achievement which brings Romanian wines to the forefront of the international oenological excellence scene The medals we have won are a confirmation of the passion and hard work of our team to create exceptional wines Concours Mondial de Bruxelles is a benchmark in the industry and the fact that our wines were appreciated at this level motivates us to continue on the path of excellence,” said Cosmin Popescu Managing Partner of Murfatlar Vinul Romania SA This year’s competition took place from June 7-9 in Guanajuato, Mexico, where no fewer than 7,500 white and red wines from 42 countries around the world were presented. For 2025, the organizers have chosen Romania as the next destination for the rosé competition. This will take place from March 28-30, 2025, in Constanța. The medals won at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles place Murfatlar Vinul on the global viticulture map demonstrating that Romanian wines can successfully compete alongside the most renowned international labels We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used King Carol II fell in love with the Murfatlar wines and he ordered in 1939 the transition of the nursery from state property of the royal domanin lying between the Black Sea and the Danube has a wine history that dates back from the days of the Dacians urged his people to abstinence because he did not tolerate abusive wine consumption Let’s not forget that the poet exiled at the Pontus Euxin more than 2000 years ago Ovidius Publius Naso drowned his sadness in a jug of wine it is said that in the past it was believed that the god of wine the majority population was composed of Muslims in northern Dobrudja there were 71,000 Tatars and 49,000 Turks It is not difficult to infer that many Muslims lived in Murfatlar It was only after Dobrudja was annexed and after the Ottoman rule was overrun that the vineyards were created in Murfatlar Many say Muslims have not been interested in vineyards by then since they do not drink alcohol the plantation being attacked by the phylloxera insect which reached the Dobrudja area all the way from America King Carol II fell in love with the Murfatlar Research Resort’s wines after attending a wine tasting in Constanta on Navy Day King Carol II loved Bacchus’s drink created in Murfatlar so much that he asked “Why do you bring me vinegar-like sour Austrian wines if you have such good wines here?” At that time he was brought wines from Germany and Austria but later Murfatlar Winery became the official supplier of the Royal House The Romanian state set up Murfatlar Nursery in 1907 those were the names of the first experimental plantations of vines back then They were set up after the invasion of the 1886 phylloxera insect the vineyards were re-established by grafting the varieties on a rootstock to be more resistant King Carol II ordered the transition of the nursery from state property to that of the royal domain Murfatlar locals have since begun to call it a “royal vineyard” and it was an honour for them to work there Since 1942 the domain has gone back to the state as an experimental resort Murfatlar is no longer the official wine supplier of the Royal House The oldest wines we now find in Murfatlar Winery were produced in 1950 Those who want to enjoy a drink from the time when the Romanian People’s Republic was led by Communist dignitary Constantin Parhon will pay 600 lei for a bottle of Chardonnay or Pinot Gris We are talking about old wines over 60 years old the collection is very varied and includes wines from 1950 to 2000 The cheapest wine in the collection is a Merlot since 2000 The Murfatlar Research Resort had 7 hectares of vineyards and nurseries when it was set up 111 years ago She also mentioned that the resort has 160 hectares now it has lately faced financial difficulties which it has overcome for more than a year Two of the creations that Murfatlar Winery prides itself on are Columna and Mamaia wines Columna is an organic white wine made from hand-picked grapes from a parcel of land that does not use pesticides or herbicides The birth certificate of Mamaia Wine was signed in 1993 Băbească Neagră and Muscat Ottonel varieties I have also learned from Aurora Ranca that the French varieties suited very well at Murfatlar due to the climate which is why production has been switched on semi-sweet and sweet wines and if you are curious about the type of wine from the Murfatlar Winery King Carol II first drank at that tasting in Constanta Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" When we were preparing to say that for Dobrogea the end of the year brought us another big surprise an extinct species in Romania for more than half a century which you watch for minutes and cannot take your eyes off it in different combinations of colours and cutouts all Mesta creations bring to mind the tales from "The.. I can say that there is no extraseason in this picturesque region but it is a real pleasure to spend your vacation or minivacation in Dobrogea in autumn or winter as well the royal residences in Constanta have been a topic of interest for those passionate about famous architectures I really admire those who have built something in their lives and have left behind important achievements We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences Murfatlar Romania has opened a new wine production unit dedicated to premium varieties located inside the company’s existing production facility near Constanta As part of its strategy to grow its premium segment wines Murfatlar has hired Razvan Macici (pictured) as consulting enologist Macici is famous for being the cellar master of the Nederburg winery in South Africa Over the years he has won a large number of industry awards for wines across the range In 2010 Macici was behind the official wine of the FIFA World Cup, developing a special edition collector’s trio of South African wines. Macici comes from a family with a tradition in winemaking He was born in Romania and grew up in the vineyards of Dealu Mare where his father He graduated from the Horticulture Faculty in Iasi The opening of the new winery comes approximately a year after the company set up a division dedicated to premium varieties It will produce between 150,000 and 180,000 bottles of high quality wine per year with prices varying from EUR 10-25 Murfatlar estimates a production of 18,000 tons of grapes The company owns approximately 3,000 ha of vineyard – the largest surface owned by a single winemaker in Romania – 30 of which will be exclusively used for premium wines Murfatlar has a 25 percent market share for 750ml bottled wine. Last year the company reported a RON 140 million turnover (approximately EUR 33 million) and hopes to post RON 185 million (about EUR 43 million) this year with RON 45 million being generated by the company’s own network of wine shops. Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii advised MOL Romania on all legal matters regarding the design authorisation and execution phase of the service stations located on the A2 Motorway The MOL Murfatlar stations are part of the service concession contract concluded with the National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (CNAIR) at the beginning of 2021 MOL Romania opened its first two service stations located on “Autostrada Soarelui”/A2 Motorway at km 186+090 (A2 Constanta-Medgidia) respectively km 186+580 (A2 Medgidia-Constanta) in the presence of Camelia Ene (CEO MOL Romania) representatives of CNAIR and of the local authorities Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii advised MOL Romania on all stages of the project starting with the preparation of the tender and the preliminary market consultation the conclusion of the service concession contract with CNAIR authorisation and execution phase of the services spaces taken under concession and will further assist the company in relation to the operation phase of said services spaces The legal team consists of Serban Paslaru (Partner) lawyers with extensive expertise in PPP/PFI projects The services spaces located on the A2 Motorway (km 196+940 Murfatlar town Constanta County) are the first two from a series of services spaces granted under concession by CNAIR located on Nadlac – Sibiu and Pitesti – Bucuresti (A1 Motorway) and Cernavoda – Constanta (A2 Motorway) which will be open to the public in the following period Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații advised MOL Romania Petroleum Products S.R.L authorization and execution phase of the service stations located on the A2 Motorway On 26 July, MOL Romania Petroleum Products S.R.L. opened its first two service stations located on “Autostrada Soarelui”/A2 Motorway at km 186+090 (A2 Constanța-Medgidia), respectively km 186+580 (A2 Medgidia-Constanța) in the presence of Camelia Ene (CEO MOL Romania), Robert Pitt (MOL Group Retail SVP), representatives of CNAIR and of the local authorities. Constanța County) are the first two from a series of services spaces granted under concession by CNAIR located on Nădlac – Sibiu and Pitești – București (A1 Motorway) and Cernavodă – Constanța (A2 Motorway) This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.