Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon: Prokupac

Showing posts with label Prokupac. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Cellared memories of those earlier wine travels in Serbia

Just as some cellar wines others cellar memories of wine country travels. October 2017, when the Prokupac vines were in full autumn colors, this Spaswinefood enthusiast toured Serbian wine country. My #winelover vine-filled adventure included 1-2) touring eastern and central Serbian wine country, 3) celebrating International #ProkupacDay, and 4) attending a gala banquet with northern Serbia wines.

Serbian Wine Country, October 2017 © Spaswinefood

Prokupac Vine in October © Spaswinefood

What follows are memories of those #winelover explorations in Serbia.

1. Eastern Serbia
It was with great excitement and anticipation that our we set out for the Danube. After leaving Belgrade we traveled for about three hours before boarding the Aquastar Maxim for a Danube cruise. While we cruised we ate lunch, and sampled a few wines. Later, we would meet some of the local Serbian wine producers, and taste their wines. Our day ended with a visit to the historic wine cellars at Rajacke.

The Danube

Danube River © Spaswinefood

It was a pleasant day for a Danube cruise.

Cruising the Danube © Spaswinefood

We sampled a few white wines on deck while taking in the sights along the river bank. Later, we enjoyed lunch below deck.

Danube Moments © Spaswinefood

Tasting Eastern and Southern Serbian Wines
After disembarking we traveled onto Matalj Winery in the Negotinska Krajina Wine Region. Here we did a walk around tasting of wines from eastern and southern Serbia.

Wine Tasting, Matalj Winery © Spaswinefood

During the tasting I was delighted to meet the wine producers, such as Andrianna Andrijeska, owner and winemaker at Vinarija Izba Jovanovic, a boutique wine producer. She shared her first vintage of Merlot.

Andrianna Andrijeska © Spaswinefood

It was exciting for me to taste this Merlot wine made with minimum intervention.

Vinarija Lastar's lineup of wines included a Lastar Tamjanika. I went to Serbia with the idea of focusing primarily on wines made from local, or Balkan grape varieties. One of grapes on my list was Tamjanka.

Vinarija Lastar © Spaswinefood

From their wine lineup naturally I selected a Lastar Tamjanika.

Vinarija Lastar Wines © Spaswinefood

It was a pleasure to meet some of the faces behind today's Serbian wines.

Faces of Serbian Wines, Vinarija Vimid © Spaswinefood

Rajacke Pivnice Wine Cellars
Perhaps being in Serbian wine country on Friday 13^th added to our late evening visit to Rajacke Pivnice, a site of some very unique wine cellars. Rajacke Pivnice Wine Cellars consists of 270 stone houses, with some dating back over 200 years ago. The construction of these unique wine cellars/drinking houses started in the latter half of the 18th century and continued until 1930's. The cellars sit on a hill 2 km from the village of Rajac. Rajac is located in east Serbia, 20 kms south of Negotin, near the border of Bulgaria and Serbia.

My introduction to Rajacke Pivnice Cellars was in the dark. Our hosts questioned us at least twice if we should visit the nearby cellars in the dark. Each time the group responded, “YES”. The end result was we walked 3 km each way in the dark, mostly uphill to this historical site. After walking in the dark for about 2 km uphill from Rajac we arrived at the entrance to the cellar area. The good news is that we were able to visit a Rajacke Pivnice wine cellar. After a brief walk through the cellar area there was one cellar door opened.

Rajacke Pivnice Cellar Door © Spaswinefood

Rajacke Pivnice cellars were established as a secondary settlement, or compound close to the residents permanent homes in Rajac. The houses at Rajacke Pivnice are unique in that they were built without chimneys. Historical records suggest that during the Serbian migration from Kosovo and Metohija newcomers established villages, like Rajac. The Rajac area is known for its vineyards that date back to Roman times. White wines produced from this area include semijon, smederevka, and bagrina. Whereas the red wines include prokupac, crni burgundac, and gama.

Pimni Caprvul Vulovic © Spaswinefood

Here we had the opportunity to meet the winemaker, and to sample some of his wines.

A Rajacke Pivnice Cellar © Spaswinefood

Besides taking a closer look at the cellar I also sampled a few wines. Somehow in my mind I knew there would be a glass of Prokupac waiting for me.

Prokupac, Rajacke Pivnice © Spaswinefood

Yes, we did visit a cemetery next to the cellars. It was after all Friday 13^th.

2. Central Serbia

Our adventure in Central Serbian wine country began at Vinarija Aleksandrović in Vinča, a family winery, followed by a tour of the Church of St. George and the Oplenac Hill Vineyard. After tasting some awesome Aleksandrović wines we were introduced to the rich history of winemaking along the Oplenac Wine Route. Later we traveled onto Vinarija Despotika where we met with a group Central Serbia wine producers.

#Winelovers, Vinarija Aleksandrović © Spaswinefood

The Oplenac Vineyards in Vinča have a long history of winemaking, dating back to ancient times. When the Romans cultivated vines here the area was known as Vincea; in the Middle Ages it was called Vinica. The area thrived during the reign of King Peter 1 and King Alexander 1 who both promoted Oplenac wines throughout Europe. The Aleksandrović family has been involved in wine making here for over a century. They collaborated with royal viticulturists and cellar masters. Their great grandfather helped establish the Vinča Winemaking Cooperative in 1903. Later wine production in this area met many challenges and went into decline. However, when the royal cellar master, who migrated to Canada after WWII, discovered that the Aleksandrović family was establishing a winery he sent the recipe for the Trijumf blend. Today the winery utilizes the latest advances in wine making technology while still highly valuing the winemaking traditions of this region.

Aleksandrović Vineyards, October 2017 © Spaswinefood

Vinarija Aleksandrović, established in 2000 plays a leading role in promoting Serbian wines, both at home and abroad. Next, it was onto the Vinarija Despotika in Vlaski Do village, near Smederevska Palanka. Here we met with a group Central Serbia wine producers.

Vinarija Despotika Estate Vineyard, Central Serbia © Spaswinefood

The host winery, Despotika has 12 hectares of vineyards, in three locations. Their estate vineyard has stunning views of surrounding the area. Besides growing international grape varieties, like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon the winery also grows indigenous grape varieties, such as Morava and Prokupac. It was such a delight to meet some of Central Serbia's wine producers that afternoon at Despotika.

3. International Prokupac Day 2017
Most would not travel halfway around the world to taste a wine. Perhaps that is because you have yet to taste Prokupac wines. Prokupac (Prokoopaz), a red grape that is taking central stage in the Serbian wine world, is indigenous grape, which has been known since the middle ages in this area. International Prokupac Day 2017 celebrations in Belgrade was a perfect day to discover some of the best Prokupac wines.

International Prokupac Day © Spaswinefood

The day that began with master classes. Tomislav Ivanovic, Igor Lukovic and Caroline Gilby MW lead these sessions.

Prokupac Producers

While the morning was filled with rich information about Prokupac, the afternoon was a time to meet the local producers at the Gastrobar in Belgrade. This was an opportunity to taste Prokupac wines beyond what I had been introduced to in the morning sessions.

Meeting Prokupac Producers © Spaswinefood

4. Gala Banquet with Northern Serbian Wines

Our last evening in Serbia over 40 #winelovers from around the world gathered for a gala banquet. Discovering wines from Serbia's Vojvodina wine region over dinner at The Square Restaurant, Square Nine Hotel, Belgrade was indeed a gala affair. Our Serbian hosts had chosen an excellent location,The Square, one of the top restaurants in Belgrade for this event.

The Square, Nine Square Hotel, Belgrade © Spaswinefood

Of course the setting was just perfect for such a gala affair with #winelover friends.
When #winelovers arrived, the wines were beautifully displayed on a table at the center of the restaurant. Special thanks to the restaurant's sommelier for a stunning presentation of the wines.

Vojvodina Wines Waiting, The Square © Spaswinefood

The northern Serbian province of Vojvodina is know for its rich agricultural lands, which makes up 84% of the province. Wine-searcher lists 29 wine producers in Vojvodina province. We were most fortunate that our #winelover gala banquet included an excellent representation of these producers.

Clearly my #winelover adventures in Serbia were completely filled with such rich experiences. It was because of those rich experiences that I have better insights into today's Serbian wine making. I invite you to join me in my travels in Serbia and elsewhere at Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon, and at Spaswinefood on Twitter and Facebook. I am so looking forward to more vine-filled explorations in Serbia.

CHEERS!

Sharon

Remembering

October 2017

Belgrade, Serbia

The Face and Hands of Prokupac © Spaswinefood

Follow me on Twitter and Facebook

Sunday, October 13, 2024

One Prokupac Story: The winemaker's hands

It is time to celebrate one of the gems of Serbia’s winemaking heritage, the beloved indigenous red variety, #Prokupac! October 14th is a day to raise our glasses high and celebrate this beloved indigenous red variety. I will do this by sharing one of my posts, about an earlier visit to Serbia to celebrate International Prokupac Day.

If you look closely at a Serbian winemaker’s hands it just might tell you a story about the Prokupac grape. Prokupac (Prokoopaz) is a red grape that is taking central stage in the Serbian wine world these days. While this indigenous grape has been known since the middle ages it is only now that Prokupac is receiving the attention, which it so well deserves. October 2017 when I joined a group of #winelovers in Serbia one Prokupac Story became real for me.

The Hands of Prokupac © Spaswinefood

After a busy morning filled with rich information about Prokupac's characteristics the afternoon was a time to meet the producers. Prokupac Day 2017 gathering at the Gastrobar, Belgrade was an opportunity to taste more Prokupac wines than I had been introduced to in the morning master sessions for International Prokupac Day.

Even though the Gastrobar is a small space for the producers to share their wines with guests it some how worked. This Spaswinefood enthusiast arrived early. Despite the congestion my plan was to sample the wines from as many producers as possible.

With determined patience I slowly worked my way around the room sampling wines from each producer. I used my iPhone to take photos and notes, a skill I rely upon at such events. After covering about 80% of the producers I needed to, at least take a break. I found my way to an outside patio where I joined fellow #winelovers to discuss the wines, and/or just chat. Before I did I bought myself a #ProkupacDay 2017 t-shirt. The t-shirt has a stunning design of a winemaker's hands.

Prokupac Wine Conversations
I often find that wine discussions lead to better understand, or alternative interpretations. A Romanian friend happened to ask “Did you taste Vinogradi Botunjac wines”. My response was “yes”, and then showed him the pictures of the winemaker and the wines.

These are Sveti Gral Prokupac wines I commented.

I happened to note that he was next to another winemaker. I commented on how helpful they were to each other in sharing their wines, and making sure that I got to sample them. It was then I discovered the winemaker’s hands belong to one of the gentlemen who took the time to share his wines with me.

Yes, those hands that communicate so well to the speaker of another language also tell a wine making story. That special story is of Vinarija Milosavljević's Vila Vina's Prokupac. For me it became a very special story of the hands behind the wine.

My introduction to Prokupac wines that afternoon was so much richer because of my experience of meeting these two winemakers. It is because of the faces behind the wine that Prokupac has transformed itself from an ugly duckling of the wine world into a beautiful swan. It is because of the evolution of wine making that Serbia is now undergoing a rebirth in wine making. Serbia located in Southeastern Europe is the largest of the former Yugoslavia states, and the most productive wine-producing region. Located between the northern latitudes of 41-47, the geographical latitude of major wine making regions in France, this places Serbia in the wine belt. It is however, the special skills of its winemakers that will ensure success.

Serbian winemaking dates back to prehistory. During the Roman period viticulture was quite rich in this area. Throughout history Serbian vineyards have experienced many major challenges. These challenges include philoxera, world wars, and years under Communist occupation. Despite the earlier challenges the former Yugoslavia was amongst the top ten wine producing countries in the 1970’s. The most recent setback was when Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990’s, followed by an economic decline in Serbia. Since 2000’s winemaking started to recover. In recent years the wine industry has undergone a rebirth, with small and medium size, privately owned wineries entering the market.

My #winelover adventures in Serbia were completely filled with such rich experiences. It was because of those rich experiences that I have better insights into today's Serbian wine making. I invite you to join me in my travels in Serbia and elsewhere at Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon, and at Spaswinefood on Twitter and Facebook. I am so looking forward to more on vine-filled explorations in Serbia.