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Cramele Recaș: Top Romanian winery describes ‘bizarre’ month-early harvest

The estate has attributed this shift to climate change, noting that getting the harvest time right has become increasingly difficult due to shifts in the weather.

Speaking to Harpers the producer’s founder and co-owner, Phillip Cox, described a “bizarre” year, with an unusually cold, snowy winter (getting down to -15 or -20 degrees) followed by a “tempestuous” spring that brought with it damaging late frosts.

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Summer then brought extreme heat – including several long spells into the high 30s and low 40s in the vineyard – conditions which are unheard of in the producer’s patch in western Romania.

Rainfall in August – which usually sits around 100 millilitres per square meter – this year fell to zero, according to Cox, prompting concerns around irrigation for the producer.

He told Harpers that the quantity of grapes produced had been heavily affected by the heat, with volumes down 18% or even 20% compared with the average.

He added that “this must be the new normal”, with 2026 the fourth year out of five where Recaș has experienced drought to some degree – although this year has been the worst.

The main region where Recaș grows its grapes – near the town of Timișoara in the Banat region – is around 1,000 kilometres from the sea in any direction, creating cold winters and warm summers which Cox compared to Veneto or Piedmont in Northern Italy.

This year, he said, the summer weather was “more like Sicily”.

Interestingly, in other parts of the country – such as Moldavia in the north-east of Romania – the weather has been the complete opposite, with record-breaking rainfall and heavy storms throughout the summer.

Recaș’ vineyards in that region have seen double or even triple the normal amount of rain, according to Cox, creating problems with mildew and other fungal diseases.

The producer is also concerned for the future, noting “long-term effects on the vines” due to reduced growth from water stress – impacting next year’s growing season too, as new shoots from the vines will be weakened.

Cox added: “It's like compound interest. The more years it happens, one after another, it can affect the vines permanently. Some of them are almost dying even this year on the very steep slopes and on areas where the soil is a lot more rocky.”

Varietal variation

Despite this, the unusual weather this year has not been equally damaging across all of Recaș ’ grapes.

While key local variety Fetească Regală responded by “shutting down the ripening process”, international varieties fared better, with Pinot Noir and Merlot seeing extremely exaggerated ripening.

This made the harvest itself logistically challenging, with Recaș struggling to find the right time to begin picking.

For a producer which emphasises the consistency of its wines – something which Cox said has become more important the more “corporate” the industry has become – this volatility has been especially difficult.

To respond, Cox has invested in four more harvesting machines (bringing the total up to 10), allowing a much quicker response once the winemaker gives the go-ahead for harvesting grapes.

Sustainable investment

Recaș is responding to these effects of climate change in other ways too.

The producer has been investing in sustainability in the vineyard, with plans to begin recycling treated wastewater from the local town as a response to the lack of rainwater.

It also reuses its own wastewater, putting it back into the vineyards.

Additionally, solar energy is in use across the winery, including to power its irrigation system, while the producer has also cut its bottle weights down to 300g, with Cox describing glass as “the biggest cause of CO2 in our industry”.

Much usage of electric vehicles also help to cut down on emissions.

Cox explained: “We think that's important to try and not make things worse, to try to do what we can to avoid changing the weather”.

• summer
• harvest
• Cramele Recas
• Drought
• climate change
• Sustainability
• Romania
• Phillip Cox