Event Description
Don't miss the opportunity to meet Baron Jakob Kripp and taste lovely wines from his Prince Stirbey estate in Romania.
This is a story of persecution, love and beautiful wine.
The Prince Stirbey vineyards were confiscated from Princess Maria Stirbey by the communist government after World War 2. They were only restored to her granddaughter, Princess Ileana Stirbey, in 2001.
For 300 years wine had been made on the Prince Stirbey estate and was even served on the Orient Express under the direction of Prince Babu Stirbey, Ileana's great-grandfather.
At the end of World War 2 the new communist government expropriated the land and property of noble families and imprisoned various members of the Stirbey resistant to the communist cause. Princess Ileana's family eventually escaped to France to start a new life there when Ileana was just a girl and she adjusted to life in France and stopped thinking of Romania.
Decades later Ileana met her husband Baron Jakob Kripp, an Austrian nobleman and lawyer, and he suggested she apply to have her family's lands restored. The couple took a trip to Dragasani for their honeymoon and Ileana met friends there she hadn't seen since she was a little girl.
A vision to restore her family heritage gradually grew and the couple started a legal application process. In 2001 they were able to reclaim 20 hectares of the family lands and began renovating the winery.
Jakob and Ileana have since gone from strength to strength making Prince Stirbey wines, particularly showcasing indigenous Romanian grapes.
Come and hear the story firsthand while sampling:
- Cramposie Brut 2013 - a beautiful traditional method sparkling wine including 4 years ageing on lees. £19
- Cramposie Selectionata 2019 - lovely refreshing still white wine from the Cramposie grape. £13
- Feteasca Regala 2018 - Romania's unique grape variety, which means 'royal maiden'. £18
- Novac 2018 - a crossing produced from the ancient Negru Vartos grape, which is no longer cultivated in Romania. £16
- Negru Dragasani Rezerva 2017 - a beautiful, dense and velvety wine from an indigenous grape. £16
- Merlot 2016 - a wine that achieves a unique expression of flavour from the Dragasani hills. £16
- Tamaioasa Dulce 2019 - beautiful dessert wine made from Tamaioasa Romanesca, the Romanian name for Muscat Blanc et Petits Grains. £15
7 wines, full tasting notes, use of professional tasting glasses and nibbles.
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