The viability of any guild or guild guild also depends on the way it preserves and develops its traditions, old or new. For the Wine Guild of Romania, one of these institutions that is working better and better is the Wine Knights Academy that the Consulate organizes every year, with multiple purposes, from training some executives to examining the knowledge of members who want to advance, but also from updating dignitaries on ongoing projects to setting new goals for future work.
On May 8-9, 2026, a new edition of the Academy took place in Alba Iulia, in the halls of the new and cozy Hotel Mercure. They started with a program attended by the dignitaries and marshals present (including from the Consulate of the Republic of Moldova), during which Proconsul 2 Eques Gratzian Mărgărit, the Rector of the Academy Eques Paul Stoicescu-Drăgușin and Marshal 1 Eques Dan Preda gave short but dense lectures on topics specific to their work, with particular attention being paid to the training of new marshals who will contribute to the conduct of future ceremonies. The lectures were followed by open discussions focused on practical issues.
Then, at the invitation of the County Prefecture, all participants went to the medieval fortress
Alba Carolina, where they attended the awards ceremony for the small producers entered in the competition (under
The participants not only attended the “Gala of Alba Wines”, 12th edition), but also took part in the tasting of the wines selected in the final, an opportunity for informal oenological conversations.
The most important moment of the action was, of course, the Consular Forum chaired by Vice-Consul Marius Farmazon, the leader of our organization. They reviewed current issues and discussed the organization of a new edition of the Romanian Wine Knight Festival (FCVR) in autumn, this time in Ploiești, in the wine-growing area of Dealu Mare. Also, as in 2027 the Consulate will celebrate two decades since its foundation, the project of the anniversary edition of the FCVR, which will take place in Cluj-Napoca, was started, with the Festival’s director being appointed Consiliarius Doru Suciu-Copaciu. Another project under discussion was the organization of the pilot edition of the first competition of wines made from local varieties, coordinated by the confraternity Consiliarius Ion Bălan. It is worth mentioning that the Forum was attended, as it was only natural, in addition to the members of the Consular Council, by the heads of the Legates (Pitești – Eques Dan Preda, Bucovina – Eques Dragoș Danubianu, Bacău – Eques Eugen Burcă, Bucharest – Eques Dan-Silviu Boerescu, Silvania – Eques Radu Ciordaș).
On the evening of May 9, the usual festive banquet took place, but this time it also included a “soul” component – the anniversary of Brother Radu Ciordaș, the one who (helped by
Brother Cristian Corbean) was in charge of all the logistics of the Wine Academy, which meant, that evening, not least of all, besides tastings or fine pairing, a recital of traditional music from the region of Sała, performed by the celebrated, which effectively brought the participants to their feet.
It is thus confirmed that, beyond the practical side of such an event, with its direct reflection in
future actions, any knightly gathering also remains an opportunity to reaffirm the values embedded in the motto
consult AMICITIA PER VINUM!
Image, Communication and PR Advisor,
Eques Dan-Silviu Boerescu
