About Us
Suprex International, Ltd was born in 1990 with a dream by George and Viorica Cucu: that Romania would again reach the level of winemaking that it attained before World War II.
Before Communism relegated the Romanian wine industry to 40 years of stagnation with demands for mass production and low costs, Romanian wine was appreciated and valued throughout Europe. From Moscow to Paris and Berlin to Stockholm, experts spoke highly of the sweet wines from Cotnari, the great reds from Tohani and Murfatlar and the supple whites from Transylvania’s Jidvei Vineyards.
Romania’s winemaking history stretches back over 3000 years. Even its defining historical event was shaped by wine. Rome invaded what was then Dacia, coveted for its wine and honey production, and occupied it for over 100 years. Over that period, Roman immigration changed the shape of the culture and language to this day. Romanian is the only Latin based language in Eastern Europe, similar to French and Italian.
George and Viorica therefore embarked on a monumental 10-year effort to find the best Romanian winemakers and guide them down a path of continual improvement. At first they worked though the uncooperative state-owned winery cooperative system, but recently, willing and energetic private winery owners have made their task easier. George spends 3 to 4 months a year in the vineyards, pushing for better growing, harvesting and vinification methods.
George’s efforts to show owners and winemakers international standards included even hosting many of them at his house in suburban Washington D.C. and touring American winemaking regions with them.
Because of their efforts, Suprex International has become the most respected Romanian wine importer into the US. In 2002, their son Flavius, joined the company to help provide continuity of the dream into the current century, and to pave the way George and Viorica’s eventual (but unlikely) retirement.