While aspiring to become internationally valued producers of high-quality wines, certain Romanian wineries recently turned towards wine tourism. Given the increasing role of smart devices and online-based information in holiday selection and planning, the main objective of the paper is to evaluate the online presence, informational content and effectiveness of Romanian wineries’ websites for the promotion of wine tourism. This evaluation comprised 53 features tested in previous research and organized into four categories: main website characteristics, wine tourism, marketing, and education. Based on content analysis conducted on 154 websites of wineries identified in all Romanian regions, scores were computed and, subsequently, wineries were classified, mapped, and evaluated. The findings show that certain basic features are overall available, while exclusive features that could positively influence tourist preferences and experiences are insufficient in terms of design, education, and marketing characteristics. Less than 50% of the analysed websites inform about wine tasting activities, less than 35% specify visiting hours, and less than 20% mention tourist amenities. The websites that indicate other local wineries, allied industries or tourist attractions represent exceptions. This study underlines the importance of leveraging digital tools within the marketing strategy of wineries and the need to enhance networking among regional stakeholders as prerequisite for sustainable development.

Viticulture represents an important agricultural sector in Oltenia, which is one of the Romanian regions most affected by temperature increases. The main purpose of the present study was to analyze the changes in climate suitability for grapevine and wine production against this climate context in the region. Two specific bioclimatic indices were applied, namely the bioclimatic index and the oenoclimate aptitude index, both reflecting the cumulated influence of temperature, actual sunshine duration, and precipitation amounts on the grapevine during the growing season (1 April–30 September). The indices were calculated as average values for the period 1961–2020. In order to emphasize potential shifts in suitability, the mean, maximum, and minimum values were calculated for two distinct periods, 1961–1990 and 1991–2020. The results of the analysis underlined three distinct suitability changes: the area suitable for quality red wines shifting northwards (on average, about 30′ of latitude or 55.5 km), including the eastern part of the Getic Subcarpathians, which is not currently part of any winegrowing region; the emerging new areas suitable for quality white wine (the western part of the Subcarpathians); and a potentially overly hot climate developing in Southern Oltenia where grapevine varieties are currently grown. Thus, the development of adequate adaptation strategies for viticulture to climate change in the region should be considered in the near future.

According to Copernicus climate change service (C3S), the summer of 2024 was the warmest on record for our continent, the average surface air temperature over the European land reaching +1.54°C above the 1991-2020 average. In Romania, extremely high temperatures were recorded in July and August, heatwaves affecting particularly the southern part of the country. However, at their peak, western and eastern extra-Carpathian regions also registered extremely high temperatures. In Oltenia, there were recorded 24 daily maximum temperatures ≥40°C (20 in July and 4 in August), the area located in the proximity of the Danube being the most exposed (15 values above 40°C). In July, in four county municipalities (Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Craiova, Târgu Jiu, and Râmnicu Vâlcea), there were recorded 13 consecutive days with maximum temperatures above 35°C, while at Slatina there were 14 days (July 7/8 - July 20). In August, the interval was shorter, between 7 days at Craiova and 10 days at Drobeta-Turnu Severin (August 10/11 - August 17/18). The persistence of high atmospheric pressure formations intensified local insolation processes, which, together with tropical air advections, contributed to the increase of heating. Even if the previous thermal records (registered on July 24, 2007) were not exceeded, in terms of average temperature, the summer of 2024 was hotter than the summers of 2007 and 2012 (values above 27°C were registered at six meterological stations in July and at five in August), which triggered numerous problems in the region – agricultural losses, wildfires, power shortages, health issues.