Business from scratch. I bet on Romania. The Jitariu family returned to the country after…

♦ The winery produces wines from the varieties Fetească albă, Fetească neagra, Sauvignon blanc and Pinot gris ♦ Future plans also involve opening a local gastronomic point and attracting tourists to the winery.

Sebastian and Ioana Jitariu worked for several years in Italy where they learned the secrets of viticulture, and in 2021 they put on the market the first organic wines under the Crama Jitar brand, a new name in the field of wine production and the only business of this type in Botoşani County.

“In Italy I learned how to make wine, I really liked it and I wanted to return to Romania and apply what I learned there. (…) I really liked the idea of ​​organic farming. Then, one evening, while having a glass of wine with my wife, we decided to plant a vine. I had land with my parents here, in the village of Storeşti”, said Sebastian Jitariu on the show Business from Zero.

They started working at the winery as early as 2019, and in 2021 they made the first wines from the Fetească albă and Fetească neagra varieties. Practically, at the beginning, the two entrepreneurs invested in the winery everything they earned in Italy, but they also borrowed from family and friends. “We started with an area of ​​one hectare on which we planted Fetească albă, Fetească neagra and then Sauvignon blanc, and this year we expanded the area with another two hectares leased of Fetească albă. So at the moment we have Fetească Albă, Fetească neagra as wines, but also Sauvignon blanc and Pinot gris.

We have Feteasca neagra in two versions, one is matured in oak for six months and one is unripened in a fresh state”. The wines can be found on cramajitar.ro, but also in grocers in Botoşani, Suceava, Iasi, etc. Currently, Crama Jitar produces about 4,000-5,000 bottles annually of all varieties. Future plans also involve opening a local gastronomic point and attracting tourists to the winery.

“We have started a project to develop a space where we can do tastings and even accommodation in the future, to bring customers, to offer them a pleasant, relaxing wine experience in our vineyards. For the winery, the next step is to expand into Horeca”, said Sebastian Jitariu. He adds that he does not exclude the option of exports, but for now he is focusing on the domestic market.

“In the next 3-5 years, I think we will have to be clear at three to four hectares of vines, with a tasting area, accommodation rooms, lots of people, events and good cheer. My wife cooks very well, she did this in Italy and we hope that we will be able to offer our customers a gastronomic experience associated with our wines and relaxation”.

ZF and Banca Transilvania launched the Business from scratch project, a platform dedicated to small entrepreneurs, companies that have created over 1.7 million jobs.

⇒ Every business from scratch is a story of ambition, courage and determination. The stories of small entrepreneurs will be published in ZF and on the zf.ro/afaceri-de-la-zero platform.

⇒ In Romania there are over 500,000 micro-enterprises and small companies, where 1.7 million employees work, companies with annual business of 70-80 billion euros.