#winelover hangout. Bucharest, again!

—–Poate ca pentru lumea vinului din Romania, Luiz Alberto nu este foarte cunoscut. Insa, daca vorbim de cei aproape 20.000 de oameni ai gruparii #winelover, desigur ei stiu ca el este fondatorul acestei frumoase comunitati pe internet, iar din septembrie Luiz are mari sanse de a deveni Master of Wine.
—-Am profitat de scurta sa vizita in Romania pentru a-i face cunostinta cu cateva din vinurile noastre si am organizat Bucharest #winelover hangout pe 24 august, cu un BYOB (bring your own bottle) de vinuri romanesti, dar mai ales cu entuziastii vinului de la noi. Am avut placerea sa o avem alaturi de noi si pe Sue Tolson venita sa afle mai multe despre vinurile noastre si winebarurile din Bucuresti.  Genul asta de intalniri (despre care am mai scris) e foarte popular nu numai in Europa si de fiecare data strange iubitori de vin din lumea mare.
—-Si pentru ca Luiz venea prima data in Romania, i-am pregatit o primire extrem de calda. La propriu si la figurat. Dupa aterizarea la Otopeni, l-am instalat langa Sue intr-un Bucharest City bus alaturi de o frapiera si un spumant Clarus, lasandu-i sa admire frumoasa intrare in Bucuresti, Calea Victoriei,  pana la Piata Unirii, unde se golisem si sticla si, oricum, trebuia sa coboram.
—-Tema anuntata a intalnirii bucurestene de la Cafepedia fiind Wines of Romania – A Well Keept Secret – concept al Revino.ro, participantii (in marea majoritate purtatori de tricouri specifice), cu care Luiz era nerabdator sa se cunoasca, au avut de adus vinuri din soiurile noastre, astfel incat si el sa aiba o idee despre ce bem noi cu nesaț pe-aici, parada #wineloverilor nostri fiind de exceptie. Au defilat feteștile in toata splendoarea lor, plavaia, grasa de Cotnari, șarba, mustoasa, novacul, cramposia, babeasca, francușa, tămâioasa, negru de Dragașani, zghihara  si busuioaca de Bohotin.
—-Dupa speech-urile de bunvenit si reversul acestora, au inceput sa soseasca bucatele romanesti, in incercarea de a le asocia cu vinurile de mai sus. Fiecare participant a prezentat micilor grupuri formate vinul romanesc adus, zona, soiul, bietul Luiz, facand greu fata volumului imens de informatii venit. Ganditi-va ca numai pronunțarea soiurilor romanesti reprezenta o mare dificultate, acesta cunoscand mai bine doar Busuioaca de Bohotin vinficata in sec, de la alte intalniri de #winelover unde ne-am intalnit.
—-Pe monitoarele din local s-au prezentat hartile cramelor din Romania de catre Alexandra si Alina de la Revino.ro , practic o lansare oficiala proiectului, lucru care ne-a fost de mare ajutor in a explica invitatilor straini de unde provine fiecare vin prezentat si degustat.
—-Iar pentru ca de curand comunitatea #winelover a adaugat site-ului sau un magazin de unde poti cumpara diverse carti si tricouri, astfel incercand sa sprijine lupta impotriva cancerului – concept la care comunitatea #winelover a aderat, seara tarziu, in mijlocul pietii Alba Iulia ne-am adunat toti pentru lansarea de lampioane roz cu logoul #WLBCAF (WineLovers against Breast Cancer). Desigur, un gest simbolic, dar care in sufletul fiecaruia dintre noi a reprezentat foarte mult. Vinul face bine nu e o vorba aruncata aiurea pentru ca in jurul conceptelor sanatoase, generoase si care fac sens, adesea gasesti printre iubitorii de vin amatori de fapte care conteaza. Chiar daca a fost o zi de luni si chiar daca eram in luna concediilor, am fost destui care ne-am bucurat de o seara frumoasa cu vinuri romanesti, iar eu le sunt recunoscator pentru ca au putut veni la intalnire si le multumesc celor implicati in organizare.
—-Acestia sunt membri #winelover, iar pentru Luiz a fost o seara pe care foarte greu ar putea sa o uite. Ar fi si greu, pentru ca voi avea grija ca pe 13 Octombrie, cand ne vom intalni langa Catania, la muntele Etna, cu siguranta ii voi reaminti, ducand in valiza si lampioane.
—-Be a  #winelover, be generous! Because wine sharing is caring!
—-RaSto

English version ———————————————————————————-
—-Luiz Alberto may be not so well-known to Romania’s wine world. Still, if we take into consideration the almost 20,000 members of the #winelover group, of course they know him as the founder of this wonderful online community.
—-I took advantage of his short visit to Romania to present him some of our wines and organized a Bucharest #winelover hangout on 24 August, with a BYOB (bring your own bottle) Romanian wine, especially with the enthusiastic ones. We had the great pleasure of Sue Tolson being with us, who came to find out moreabout the wines and the wine bars of Bucharest. These types of meetings (of which I had written about) are very famous in Europe and gather winelovers from around the world all the time.
—-As Luiz was in Romania for the first time, I welcomed him very warm… properly, literally speaking. After he landed at Otopeni airport. I seated him next to Sue on the Bucharest City Bus next to a bucket and the sparkling Clarus, letting them admire the beautiful view of our capital, from Victoria Square to Unirea Square – where the bottle was been empty. After all, we had to get off the bus.
—-The announced theme of the Bucharest Meeting of Cafepedia was ‘The wines of Romania – A Well Kept Secret’ – the Revino.ro concept. Luiz Alberto was anxious to meet participants (most of them wearing specific T-shirts) who had to bring some wines – Romanian varieties – so that he could get an idea of what we drink. Thus, the #winelover parade was one of a kind. There was: plavaia,grasa de Cotnari, sarba, mustoasa, novac, cramposie, babeasca, francusa, tamaioasa, negru de Dragasani, zghihara and busuioaca de Bohotin.
—-After the welcome speech and the comments, Romanian dishes arrived in our effort to pair them with the abovementioned wines. Each participant presented the wine he or she had brought, its area and variety to small groups. It was difficult for Luiz to deal with so much new information. Just think only about spelling the Romanian varieties – a great difficulty as the wine he best he knew about was busuioaca de Bohotin, the dry wine from the other #winelover meetings when we had met.
—-The maps of Romanian wines were presented on the restaurant’s monitors by Alexandra and Alina from Revino.ro. More precisely, the official opening of the project was of great help in explaining to our foreign guests where each wine tasted and presented comes from. The #winelover community has added a shop to its site where you can buy various books and T-shirts, trying to support the fight against cancer – a concept that the #winelover community embraced late at night in the middle of Alba Iulia Square – where we all gathered to launch pink lanterns with the logo #WLBCAF (WineLovers against Breast Cancer). This was a symbolic gesture, but it still meant a lot to all of us.
—-Wine is good – not a silly saying at all – because around all the healthy, generous and meaningful concepts, you can often find among amateur wine lovers that deeds that do count. Even if it was Monday and the month of vacations, there were many of us who enjoyed a wonderful evening with Romanian wines and I am really grateful for their presence at this event and thank you all to all those involved in its organisation.
These are the #winelover members. This was a night that Luiz could forget with difficulty. It would be very difficult, especially since on 13 October, I will meet him near Catania, on Mount Etna and remind him of it, with some of the lanterns in my suitcase.
Be a #winelover, be generous! Because wine sharing is caring!
RaSto