Gancia probes Romania

Italian sparkling wine producer Gancia, one of the main players on the European market, is interested in buying some vineyards and maybe even an independent player from the local market. Wine industry sources say Edoardo Gancia, one of the three heirs of the founder of the Italian sparkling wine maker, will arrive in Romania next week and visit winemaking areas in Timis, Alba and Moldova. Sources say the Italians are planning to buy 500-600 hectares of vineyard and even an independent player from the Romanian market. There are several small and medium-sized investors in the Romanian wine industry, the most important of which being Fabio Albisetti, the majority shareholder in Vinarte. Until the beginning of last year, the sparkling wine market was dominated by a group of Italian investors, the then owners of Astese Production Bucharest (the maker of Angelli sparkling wine). They sold their business to Germany”s Henkell & Sohlein in an 11.2 million dollar deal. ZF