{"id":1958,"date":"2026-04-06T08:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T08:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/?p=1958"},"modified":"2026-04-06T08:16:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T08:16:57","slug":"the-forgotten-wine-school-of-richis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/the-forgotten-wine-school-of-richis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Forgotten Wine School of Richi\u0219"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How Casa 123 and Simon Newman Revived a Village\u2019s Heritage**<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nestled in the rolling hills of southern Transylvania, the village of Richi\u0219 holds stories that rarely make it into history books\u2014but live on in the stones, the vineyards, and the memories of its people. One such story begins inside an unassuming Saxon house: Casa 123<\/strong>, today known as The Inn at Richi\u0219<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While guests now come for rest, romance, and the quiet magic of the countryside, few know that over a century ago, Casa 123 played a vital role in reviving an entire region\u2019s winemaking tradition. And at the heart of that revival was a determined, meticulous Saxon vintner named Simon Newman<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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A Crisis Sweeps Through Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the late 19th century, Europe\u2019s vineyards were facing a disaster unlike anything seen before. Phylloxera<\/strong>, a tiny insect introduced from North America, began attacking grapevine roots across the continent. By the 1880s<\/strong>, Romania\u2014long known for its rich, diverse wines\u2014began to feel the full force of the destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villages like Richi\u0219, with centuries-old winemaking traditions, saw their vineyards wither. Families who depended on wine production were left unsure of how to rebuild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But where many saw an ending, Simon Newman saw a beginning<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The Visionary of Casa 123<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born into a respected Saxon family, Simon Newman (Simion Neman in local records)<\/strong> was known in Richi\u0219 not only as a winemaker, but as something of a scholar. He kept notebooks filled with sketches of vine structures, grafting methods he had learned from traveling merchants, and observations from neighboring wine regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon was practical, intelligent, and\u2014above all\u2014deeply committed to preserving the land and traditions he had inherited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When phylloxera reached the villages surrounding Richi\u0219, Simon recognized the danger earlier than most. By 1887 he was already experimenting with grafting European varietals onto American rootstock<\/strong>, a technique gaining recognition in France and Austria at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he knew that one man could not save the vineyards alone. The future depended on the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, he made a decision that changed the course of Richi\u0219\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casa 123 Becomes a Wine School<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1890<\/strong>, Simon transformed the ground floor of Casa 123 into what the villagers would later call \u201c\u0219coala de vin a lui Neman\u201d\u2014Neman\u2019s Wine School<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What had been a family home became a place of learning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Long wooden tables<\/strong> where students practiced grafting techniques<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Barrels cut open<\/strong> to study root structures<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Garden plots<\/strong> behind the house filled with experimental vines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Shelves lined with tools<\/strong>\u2014knives, wax, twine, and Simon\u2019s own illustrated guides<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young men from Richi\u0219, Biertan, Mo\u0219na, and Cop\u0219a Mare traveled to Casa 123 to study under Simon. Some had lost every vine on their small plots. Others came because their families believed that reviving the vineyards was the only way to secure a future for the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon taught them three principles that would shape the rebirth of winemaking in the region:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Grafting: The Secret to Survival<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon\u2019s students learned how to pair European varietals with hardy, phylloxera-resistant American rootstock. It was delicate work\u2014precise cuts, perfect alignment, steady hands. Under Simon\u2019s guidance, Richi\u0219 became one of the first villages in the area to systematically replant grafted vines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Pruning: The Art Behind the Science<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Simon, pruning was not just a technique\u2014it was philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vine,\u201d he said, \u201cgrows wild unless you teach it discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students practiced shaping vines for strength, longevity, and flavor. This alone dramatically improved the quality and consistency of local wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Community Knowledge Over Individual Secrets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an era when craftsmen often guarded their techniques, Simon believed knowledge must be shared to be preserved. His open-teaching approach allowed entire villages\u2014not just a single family\u2014to recover after the epidemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Legacy Rooted in Resilience<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time Simon passed away in the early 1900s, Richi\u0219\u2019s vineyards had begun thriving once more. His students became the new backbone of the local wine trade\u2014farmers, cellar masters, merchants, and teachers who carried his methods forward for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Casa 123?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its walls absorbed the voices of apprentices, the smell of fresh cut vines, the hope of a community rebuilding itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, more than 130 years later, Casa 123\u2014now The Inn at Richi\u0219<\/strong>\u2014still carries that quiet legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guests enjoy wine on the terrace not knowing they stand where Simon once tested new vines. They sleep in rooms where young vintners learned to save their future. They walk through a house that helped restore a centuries-old tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is more than just an inn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the home of a rebirth\u2014one that ensured that in Transylvania, wine would continue to be a way of life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Simon wrote near the end of his life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWine is not only what we drink. It is what binds generations together. If we care for the vineyard, it will care for our children\u2019s children.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His words proved true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in Richi\u0219\u2014\u201cTransylvania is a way of life<\/strong>.\u201d\u00ae<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How Casa 123 and Simon Newman Revived a Village\u2019s Heritage** Nestled in the rolling hills of southern Transylvania, the village of Richi\u0219 holds stories that rarely make it into history books\u2014but live on in the stones, the vineyards, and the memories of its people. One such story begins inside an unassuming Saxon house: Casa 123, today […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1959,"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1958\/revisions\/1959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innatrichis.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}