Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/882780
{ SOMMjournal.com } 115 HISTORY AND A BLENDING OF TRADITIONS Jidvei 2014 Owner's Choice Maria Pinot Gris, Târnave, Romania "So, is it the fruit or the terroir?" asked our next panelist Ioana Benga, Export Manager for Jidvei in Târnave, Romania. "I think it is a factor of many different considerations. When you choose to plant a variety that is suited to a region, you are working with the dynamic of fruit and terroir, but once you bring that same variety into the winery, it is a semi- blank canvas that you can play with." To highlight this point, Benga poured one of Jidvei's top bottlings of Pinot Gris. "I chose Pinot Gris for today's tasting because it isn't a very big variety for us," Benga continued. "We only have about 70 hectares (173 acres), but what we can do with this variety are three different wines that are done in three very different ways. This Pinot Gris is fermented and aged in 100-percent stainless steel, and we perform hyperoxida - tion on the must, which reduces the level of SO2 [sulfur dioxide] intake of the wine and helps us stabilize the color and reduce the pinkish hue that can occur when making Pinot Gris." In addition to the technical factors that make these wines so special, Benga also reminded us that the very history of Romania's wine region is a shaping factor in the wines it produces. "Romania is an old winegrowing region that has experienced a constant mixing of cultures and winemaking traditions—Hungarian, German and Saxon, to name a few—and I think this mixture has left its mark on the way we make wines in this region," noted Benga. "We have Riesling, Traminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris," all varieties that came from other regions throughout history, but continue to thrive and produce high-quality wines in Romania. Additionally, Jidvei employs a team of winemak - ers to look for different ways to increase quality of the wines produced in this region, and its members have pedigrees and countries of origin as diverse as the country's wine history itself. SOMM SUMMIT CROWD INVESTIGATES WHY IT'S NOT ABOUT THE FRUIT by Karen Moneymaker photos by Joann Arruda Jidvei 2014 Owner's Choice Maria Pinot Gris, Târnave, Romania. Ioana Benga, Export Manager for Jidvei in Târnave, Romania.