luxury house for sale Drauț, Romania

Ineu is no longer the desolate land of pig farmers and luckly mills that Ioan Slavici wrote about in 1881. Just as it did back then, it knows how to keep up with the times and offer what is needed. The Sava Brancovici Manor stands proud and solid in this small town, always a waypoint for travelers coming from or heading to the east or west. In Michelin Guide terms, if it’s not a destination in itself, this manor is certainly a place worth a detour. Its restoration, carried out with care and good taste, preserves the facades in pastel colors like a baroque pistachio or mint cake, skillfully drizzled with white icing in carefully chosen patterns. The interior maintains stylistic unity, offering ten welcoming rooms featuring traditional elements such as brick, charred wood, traditional washtubs and lanterns, along with painted furniture and floral fabrics. Lively flowers captured in tapestries and on cream or green cupboards bring warmth and capture the light. A spacious restaurant, a 50-seat pizzeria, and a heated terrace with 120 seats provide the necessities, while the parking area includes free charging stations for electric cars. The manor is named after Saint Sava Brancovici, canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1955 for being religiously persecuted by the Prince of Transylvania, Michael Apafi I. The Serbian-origin Orthodox priest, a resident of Ineu, opposed Calvinist proselytism and served as the Metropolitan of Transylvania from 1656 to 1680. For these reasons, he is considered a guardian of the town and the Orthodox faith. Ineu, located 57 kilometers from Arad and about 100 kilometers from Timișoara, has a population of 8,000. It is situated on the national road leading to the border and is a point of interest for tourists attracted by the generous offerings of Zarand Country – the Ineu Castle, the Narcissus Meadow, and the wineries in the Miniș vineyard.

Seen from above, the landscape looks like a lot of green dotted with only three parallel roads intersected by two others, all at a great distance from each other. Between them there is only vegetation, and on closer inspection, one area catches the eye with the symmetry of rows of vines neatly aligned in parallel rows. A small orchard separates the vineyard from the winery. On the ground, access to the property is through the red brick pillars of the gate; looking to the right - a house with the personality of the old and undefeated ones; looking ahead there’s the vineyard in all its splendor - there are 3.13 hectares in the heart of the D.O.C. wine area Miniș/ Crișana. Cabernet Sauvignon is grown here in a sustainable viticulture system (the organic certification process of the plantation and the wine started in 2022). The grapes are vinified as mono-cultivar and the winery owns vintages over ten years old from grapes harvested from 35-50 year old vines. Wine has been made in Birăuaș since 1801, at that time under the name Domeniile Josef Domany, official supplier of the Imperial Court in Vienna which acquired this status of K.U.K. Hoflieferant in 1899 in Vienna. Active since 2002, the property owns the most valuable part of these former estates, three cellars and part of the former wine estate. The vine takes over the domain not only in the places assigned to it, but also around the corners of the house, hugging old wooden shutters, winding up to the eaves. Along with the dwarf stone fences that separate the areas and the wooden posts that support the heavy red tile roofs, the wind blowing through the heavy bunches tells the story of a life fulfilled by passion and work in nature. The wines from Miniș were awarded in London (1862, 1876) and Budapest (1875, 1884) and have not lost their value even today, receiving awards and an average rating of 3.8/5 on Vivino. They have aging potential as they are aged in French oak barrels; the sales package includes approximately 40,000 bottles of stock premium bottled wine. In addition to the winery and the necessary wine equipment on the property there is also a mini-distillery (column distillation boiler with Christian Carl plates) making high-quality distilled products from wine and pomace (Grappa) and a special fortified wine (vin de walnuts). The property is being sold as a business together with machinery/equipment for wine production/ distillation and processing (full list available on request) and a new branding and ecommerce package (new website, integrated online shop, rebranding logo, labels, business cards, wine list etc.), internal retail contracts (resellers/distributors + specialized premises) and external (China). Next to the vineyard there are two mid-19th century of 380 sqm in total, set up as a tasting and relaxation space, a 210 sqm production building, 200 sqm of vaulted cellars plus covered terraces and a mansard roof of approx. 200 sqm. Vineyard certified D.O.C. Minis - Cabernet Sauvignon - year 12, approx. 4800 plants/ha on 3.13 ha - Fruit trees orchard - approx. 80 apple, pear, apricot, plum and fig trees photo Florin Pepene