The controversial participation of Romania at Prowein.

I believe that no participation of Romania at Prowein has gone unnoticed. Even though we desire to make an impact, to be seen and appreciated by the international market, all the buzz accompanying our participation in international fairs has always been internal, as the international market is already oversaturated with wines and facing numerous changes.

If I were to provide a brief retrospective of the fairs we participated in, some as representatives of a winery, others as wine enthusiasts, I cannot recall Romania's presence without encountering thousands of issues. I won't list all the problematic participations now, but there were certainly a few that will remain etched in my memory forever. The most memorable experience was in 2013 when Romania's stand at Prowein was situated upstairs, a sort of passageway between two sections of the Prowein fair. Every year, the stand was booked at the last minute, and those who made the reservation didn't bother to check its location. Consequently, we found ourselves upstairs, and to make things even more interesting, the company that won the bid to build the stands didn't consider the area dedicated to the fire extinguisher, which practically limited the space, and two stands couldn't fit within the reserved area.

In another amusing turn of events, the company that won the bid to build the stands, obviously clueless about wine fairs, didn't see fit to include or pay for glass rental and washing services. We tried to cut costs, managing with glasses bought from IKEA and hastily washed them. Each stand had 12 glasses of dubious quality for wine tastings.

It was a year filled with hope for all producers. We proposed to hold a brainstorming contest to obtain both a logo for the country's wine brand and a stand design that would allow us to participate in fairs without feeling like we belonged to the third world. Said and done, the producers pooled their money to cover the cost of the winning design solutions, and somehow everything went well. We reached a consensus regarding the common identity under which APEV would participate. However, from concept to execution, there was a long way to go. From a modern design with LED lights and modern acrylic and plexiglass materials, we ended up with the classic plywood, and worse, on the evening before Prowein began, we were ironing the edges of the tired-looking furniture that still managed to reproduce the country's colors.

But all of this pales in comparison to our participation at VINEXPO Bordeaux. It was a participation where our presence was felt through a monumental absence. The fair's catalog announced Romania's participation, with the exact location of the hall and stand number. However, upon arriving at the designated hall, all we found was a carpet provided by the organizers, and on the floor, leaning against the wall, was a printed sign that read "Romania".

This year at Prowein, 22 wineries participated, united under the APEV association.

Here is the translation of the story of APEV Romania's participation at Prowein Dusseldorf 2024, as told by Dumi Ghiuri, the son of the owners of Crama Rasova:

"The story of the rebirth of APEV Romania and Prowein Dusseldorf 2024. (told by a young man, as it happened)

Until September 2023, I believed it was impossible to unite Romanian wineries under a single country brand to promote ourselves for export.

And I say September because that's when Mihnea Olariu managed to gather 30-40 wineries around the table, a moment when I met many cool people and began to believe that yes, it could be done.

At the end of the meeting, together with Daniel Negrescu, we "stood up" and took on the mission of delivering a concept and implementing it. To do it as well as we could. We had the support of the wineries, and the financial backing of ARICE (the state agency that previously supported such international trips financially), and everything seemed perfect.

All was well until January 10-15, when all our dreams seemed to be just dreams. ARICE reneged on its promise to fund the initiative. Yes, we were left high and dry by our own country, just when we needed it the most.

There were only 60 days left until the fair began. We had no money, and the situation at Prowein was becoming critical. To say that we wouldn't come when we promised we would meant making fools of ourselves in the worst possible way.

What followed was an incredible scramble over the next 2 weeks. The wineries decided it was time to dig into their pockets to miraculously save the situation. The concept seemed plausible again, but the problem worsened with each passing day. From an initial budget, we had to cut 30% and do it in one month instead of three. If we subtract the time for packing, loading, delivering, and setting up the stand, the calculation was that we had 4 weeks to take the stand from an embryonic concept to being ready to be loaded onto a truck bound for Dusseldorf. Anyone who knows production can imagine why I found my first gray hair during this process.

The only 2 people I knew for sure would help me produce this stand were Cristi Bodiu and Daniel Cismaru. They stopped any other ongoing projects and helped us get the job done.

After the last day of Prowein, I drew the following conclusions:

1. I can't wait to tell my grandchildren what I achieved at the age of 24.
2. I have some extraordinarily valuable people by my side (and I thank them for that) with whom I believe we can do anything.
3. I've been told that the Romanian wine industry is full of old people who can't adapt to the current situation. Completely wrong. I love working with people who have more experience than my years, to whom I can give back my enthusiasm and stubbornness (and I realize that the feeling is mutual).
People are right, it could have been much better. I read everything that was written on Facebook and took the feedback on board for the future. However, it should be noted that the period in which we had to implement everything made us neglect the fact that we needed to communicate the strategy transparently with everyone, not just with the participating wineries. The idea we started with was a very simple one, seeking a major, immediate impact. Therefore, we looked for a disruptive solution, both in terms of marketing and stand design. We started from the feedback from the previous fairs, which, in a few words, was summarized in the sentence "We didn't know Romania made wine." We decided that the best strategy was to go for a kind of "reverse psychology," where, if all the stands at the fair were open, the "Romanian wine world" would be encapsulated in a box, in a "black box" if you will, and this box would be a mega-object at the Prowein fair, an object that couldn't go unnoticed. An object that would provoke debate, curiosity, and premiumization, that would invite people inside to discover Romanian wine. The initial concept and marketing strategy included much more complex branding and immersive activations so that the impact of the Romanian wine world would be maximized. Unfortunately, time and budget only allowed us to do what we did. Fail fast, feedback, learn, and build more! I can't wait for the first APEV meeting, where we will find solutions together.
4. Considering the reach that the APEV Romania topic and participation at Prowein achieved, the traffic we had at the stand, the atmosphere inside, the number of leads, and their high degree of qualification, we believe that the main objectives we set out to achieve were met. It's a starting point, and our medium and long-term strategy will include the evolution of this concept, both in terms of design and branding, from one event to another. Romanian wine has now assumed its position, even if it's perhaps an inglorious one for some, and aims to evolve and open up nicely to the international market.
5. Our biggest achievement, APEV, is that we are more united than ever. We formed a fabulous group, which presented its wines to each other, which cleaned up the stand together, and which drank together after every evening of the fair, and much more.
6. We aim to build on the feedback from the 21 to consolidate the foundation we've created and to attract as many valuable wineries and people as possible to the project.
7. It may seem like a lot, it may seem like little, but there were only 4 people who made the project happen: me, Daniel Negrescu, Carmen Văsioiu, Mihnea Olariu.
I feel more excited than ever. The future sounds good!" Dumi Ghiuri, Crama Rasova."

APEV has revived several times over the years, and let's hope that with this new breath, the enthusiasm of young people, and the experience of those who have been in this industry for years, they will grow and reach a maturity that will no longer put them in critical situations and even develop a long-term strategy. But for this to happen, it is more than necessary for the state to support the producers, to modify the cumbersome procedures for allocating funds, to allow producers to confirm their participation in time, and moreover, for the tenders for the construction of stands to respect the specific characteristics of this industry.

Congratulations to the team that staged this entire participation, I am glad they had the necessary energy and managed to empower themselves at the last minute to participate. Surely the costs were not small, so I wish to see them reflected in numbers and contracts that cover this investment.

I would have wished for everything to have been calculated and not forced, and I hope that the enthusiasm of the young people in this industry, like Dumi's, does not diminish over time.