Vojvodina Wine Show 2019
Vojvodina Wine Show was held 21st September at the beautiful Villa Stankovic on Fruska Gora. The villa, with an amazing view on the Danube River, was opened for public for the first time and it was the place where more than 40 wineries from the region gathered to showcase their wines.
A lovely display of wines from indigenous grape varieties to Serbia- from the elegant Sedusa, produced only by Sijacki Podrumi Winery and some other wines gems- Sauvignon Blanc ( the label reads Sаувињон Блејк), named after Carrington Blake from, anyone remember, Dynasty? by Chichetau Winery, a very fine crispy rose’ by Vista Hill Winery, Grafitti 2-16, e blend of Merlot & Marselan, by Bjelica winery- a frutiy wine with lots of young red-berry fruit aromas.
The day was rounded with two masterclasses on Serbian wines given by Darrel Joseph & Igor Lukovic.
Following the Vojvodina Wine Show, a press trip was organized for the wine journalists and international wine judges (including yours truly) to some of the wineries in this region. The first stop was the family owned winery called Vinum, located in Sremski Karlovci, known for their Sauvignon Blanc, Grasac and an amazing Frankovka. The intriguing thing about this winery is that they will be the first ones in Serbia to release the first sparkling wine made from Grasac variety. The second stop was Kovacevic winery, where we had a rare opportunity to taste some of their archive wines like Riesling 2009 & Merlot 2012 as well as their Morava Orange 2017, macerated for seven months in amphoras & aged for one year in barriques. As it is the trend around the world to focus on organic grape & wine production, Kovacevic has fully dedicated to producing organic wines in the future as their vineyards are under conversion.
Fruskogorski vinogradi winery welcomed us at their vineyards overlooking the Danube river where we had an epic lunch & a vertical tasting of Grasac 2017,2015 & 2012 (my favourite). One of the most interesting things about this variety is that once you taste young Grasac is that you wouldn’t expect that it’s a grape variety with an ageing potential but the 2012 showed marzipan, almonds & smokey aromas, more of that marzipan flavours on the palate and a gripping acidity that will keep it going for a long time.
The picturesque setting of Deuric winery was the last stop on the press trip. And while enjoying the endless vineyards surrounding the winery, one also enjoys the plantings of apples around the winery. Fine, elegant, clean wines were presented- the sparkling The 2015 (only 2000 bottles made) produced only in exceptional years, Morava 2017, another indigenous grape variety to Serbia- young yellow fruits & flowers, gripping acidity all in all, a lovely wine, Probus 2017 showing lots of peony flower aromas.
The evening ended with a wine tasting of wines from Fruska Gora & mingling with the winemakers from this wine region at the Sheraton Hotel in Novi Sad. All in all, I really enjoyed discovering local Serbian varieties & the location of the vineyards, most of them overlooking the Danube River, the beautiful mountains as well as the lovely wines from this region.