VinoCroatia

In order to ensure still better sales of Croatian vines through the tourist offer, in other words through restaurants, hotels, bars, wine boutiques, and also through direct sales from wine cellars along the wine roads, and to ensure their successful promotion on world markets, it is necessary to overcome several obvious structural problems that exist in the Croatian wine industry.

This relates primarily to the accessibility of certain wines. As we have already said (and as the Slovene example demonstrates), quantity is not the main precondition for good export results in the sphere of premium wines. However, notwithstanding a desirable penetration into Western markets, where wine could play a great role in promoting Croatian tourism, the Croatian wine industry does base itself on domestic consumption, which increases significantly during the tourist season. We cannot stress strongly enough that Croatian wines must be a part of Croatia’s image as an increasingly popular tourist destination, and that they must become an integral element of the Croatian tourist product. In order to achieve this, the main Croatian wine brands must be relatively widely available which, however, must not reflect negatively on already achieved standards of quality.

The leading Croatian wine makers, particularly those from distinctly tourist-oriented areas such as Istria and Dalmatia, are facing a complex task: not to give in to the challenge of hyper-production, which necessarily results in a reduction in quality, while at the same time ensuring that there is no shortage of their main wines.

This is particularly pertinent during the tourist season and which was known to happen in 2004, in even some of the most popular Istrian and Dalmatian tourist centres. Besides ensuring sufficient quantities, which in future can be ensured only through the planting of new vineyards, the second most crucial issue is the introduction of quality standards. With the exception of several Istrian Malvoisies and Plenkovic’s Zlatan plavac, Croatia does not have reliable brands in its tourist areas which, if rectified, would achieve at least a similar quality every year and which would ensure that such wines would be widely available.

Quality standardization is a precondition for recognizance and long-term market success of Croatian wines, especially those of medium level, which are mostly served in restaurants.

And thirdly, Croatian wine makers, with the exception of those from Istria, are not as yet investing enough in the promotion and marketing of their wines. So far, the Croatian wine industry cannot claim to have implemented systematic marketing methods, or to have achieved individual marketing successes which could be used as a general model of promotion. It is to be hoped that this brief wine guide will constitute a contribution towards a positive breakthrough that will serve to change the current situation.

International successes achieved by Ivan Enjingi and Andro Tomic, and the excellent reviews given to Vlado Krauthaker and Ivica Matoševic by Hugh Johnson, demonstrate quite clearly which way the Croatian wine industry should be going. We are, of course, talking of constant improvement in quality. Croatia can become an important and highly regarded wine country only if it dedicates itself to the production of wines of uncompromisingly good quality, preferably from indigenous varieties (which is why Dalmatia, with its Plavac mali and Istria with its Malvoisie, have a certain advantage over Slavonia).

For several years now, the trend on the world markets has been a growing demand for indigenous varieties, particularly with regard to the smaller wine producing countries. Responsibility for a continual rise in quality rests primarily with the producers themselves. Just as the Istrian wine makers have set certain quality standards for Malvoisie through the annual fair Vinistra, so should Dalmatian producers set up a competition for Plavac, or an association which would continuously monitor the quality of individual Plavac wines and which would categorize wines not only based on their geographic origin but also on the basis of regular annual wine tasting.

This system has been implemented in Austria over the past 15 years and in that very same period the country has experienced a veritable wine renaissance.

Furthermore, procedures for the production of individual wines should be clearly defined. Andro Tomic, author of the exquisite Hectorovich Prošek, has proposed that production methods for several types of Prošek, one of the more important Croatian wines, and the qualitative differences between them, be defined by law. In addition to constant insistence for higher criteria and continual tasting, control and assessment of wines, the second main direction of development for the Croatian wine industry must be urgent privatization of the remaining large estates owned by wine producers. There is no denying fact that the best Croatian wines are produced by private winemakers.

In 2004 Kutjevacki podrumi, a large and important company, has been privatized, but there are thousands of hectares of excellent vineyards in Slavonia which are still state-owned, and they could be providing grapes for some of the best wines in this part of Europe. Finally, one of the essential directions in which the Croatian wine industry must develop is closer cooperation with restaurateurs: gastronomy and wine production are businesses that naturally go together. Considerably more must be done to ensure that restaurant owners know which Croatian wine to offer with a particular style of cuisine, and what it is that makes those very wines specific. Restaurants and hotels should, just as they are in Champagne or Tuscany, become permanent exhibition-comeinformation points for the Croatian wine industry. Added to all this is the necessity to plant new vineyards before Croatia becomes a member of the European Union, whereupon the expansion of vineyards will be legally limited.

Davor Zdjelarevic of Brodski Sutpnik is one of the first dedicated Croatian and Slavonian private winemakers. Although just like other Slavonians he earned his first serious money from Grasevina (two stars) his most successful wines are Chardonnays, which won him two silver medals at the French competition, Chardonnay de Mond. His wines are full bodied, clean, with fine acidity and at times resembling a standard Chablis in style. In addition to Grasevina Sv. Klara and Chardonnay Reserve (which are being improved in barriques) Zdjelarevic, who obtains his grapes from over 20 hectares of his own and leased vineyards, also produces a sparkling wine that goes by the name of Grof, as well as Pinot Noir and Merlot; a wine from the Incrocio Manzoni variety, a cross almost unknown in these parts which, in Zdjelarevic’s version, attains over 14% of alcohol, as well as several blended wines. The Zdjelarevic family also owns a restaurant and a hotel in Borski Stupnik.

Željko Adžic, one-time player for the Zagreb soccer club Dinamo, is one of the citizens of Kutjevo who profited from the growing demand for Slavonian Grasevina some ten years ago. His Graševina (two stars) is a reliable, smooth, daily wine, and its quality changes from harvest to harvest. It is often found in restaurants and coffee bars. In addition to Grasevina Adžic also produces Pinot Gris, Riesling and Pinot Noir on a total of eight hectares of vineyards.

After Kutjevacki podrumi this agricultural complex is the largest Slavonian producer of wines, owning 350 hectares of vineyards which include locations on Trnava and Mandicevac, one of the more famous Slavonian vineyards. The most important wine produced by this Ðakovo-based company is Traminac from Mandicevac, with which they regularly supply the Holy Father. Some years ago the vintage Grasevina from Ðakovacka vina won the title of champion at a fair in Ljubljana. They also produce Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.

A view of the countless grape vines of the vineyards is always impressive, just as is the history of this area which tells us that here, the tradition of wine growing reaches back to the times of Antiquity. Soil in Srijem is very rich and almost ideal for some of the most important international varieties, primarily Riesling and Traminer. The company Ilocki podrumi, which - like the whole of that area - suffered massive damage in the war, today owns over 250 hectares of vineyards and their light and clean wines are, with regard to Croatian criteria, very inexpensive.

For decades Ðakovacka Bishopric has been known for its mass wine produced from grapes coming from the location of Trnava, where Ðakovacka Bishopric owns about thirty hectares of vineyards. The fragrant Traminac of Trnava, the best known product of the heir of the great Bishop Strossmayer of Ðakovo, is a distinctly aromatic, heavy, somewhat old fashioned white wine which nevertheless bears witness to the potential of Traminac in that part of Slavonia. In addition to Traminac Ðakovacka Bishopric produces and bottles Chardonnay and Grasevina.

Until some ten years ago Kutjevo Grasevina was the symbol of Slavonian white wines and the most sought after item on the wine lists of the majority of restaurants in Croatia. Kutjevački podrumi, producer of the Kutjevo Grasevina brand, have for decades functioned as a typical socialist giant in a country in which private individuals were not permitted to produce wine for the market. The company, privatized in 2004 (the owner is Enver Moralic, oil businessman and a personal friend of Croatia’s President Mesic), owns 450 hectares of vineyards, which is an incredible amount given the circumstances in Croatia, additionally procures grapes from about 700 vineyards. In their mass production Kutjevacki produmi have often neglected quality but their dessert wines rank not only among the best in Croatia but also among the better ones in the world. This is particularly applicable to their Traminac and Grasevina wines from the selection and ice-harvests (four stars), whose concentration and richness equal the premium Hungarian Tokays, while their elegance compares to that of the Sauternes and Barsac. In good years these are the best Croatian wines of all and although they may be quite expensive (50 euro for a small, 0.375 l bottle) they are worth every cent. Kutjevacki podrumi have recently promoted a line of superlative barrique-stored wines under the appellation De Gotho (Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay), while in their standard offer the ever solid Pinot Blanc (two stars) always deserves to be singled out.

Vlado Krauthaker is arguably the most important and most ambitious wine maker in present-day Croatia. Just like Ejnigi’s career, Krauthaker’s can also be divided into two distinct periods: a period of accumulation of capital, when his Grasevina became a brand so prevalent among wines in Croatia (as is Ožujsko among Croatian beers) and a period of improvement in quality, setting of new standards, experimentation and production of premium wines.

Today, Krauthaker obtains his grapes from over 50 hectares of vineyards around Kutjevo and is producing between 280,000 and 350,000 bottles per year. Some of the white wines are fermenting and aging in barriques while the reds are first fermented in large barrels built from Slavonian oak (which Krauthaker refers to as "badanj") and which, after fermentation, are stored for up to a year in small, oak kegs. Krauthaker’s best locations are Rosenborg and Mitrovac, which is where he also grows the Chardonnay variety which, a few years ago, won him a silver medal at the World Championship of Chardonnays in France and which really is one of the best Croatian white wines produced lately.

In addition to the brilliant Chardonnays bearing the names of those two vineyards (four stars) Krauthaker’s standard Chardonnay marked as unfiltered (three stars) also deserves complimenting, while his Sauvingon, also unfiltered and with a strong barrique aroma (three to four stars) requires no small amount of understanding and patience; it is an unusual, original wine produced without any compromises, which has achieved a certain degree of success on the market. Standard Grasevina continues to be a permanent fixture on the wine lists of the majority of Croatian restaurants, while the semi-dry Zelen (made from a very rare but by no means indigenous variety) is a characteristic example of Krauthaker’s innovativeness. Merlot Rosé (three stars) is probably the most reliable dry Croatian rosé, andGrasevinas from selection harvests (four stars) are at the very peak of dessert wines on offer.

Besides not filtering his best wines Vlado Krauthaker was among the first to begin picking green grapes, which should further enhance the structure, aromas and taste of Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs, and most certainly enrich the standard Grasevina. He has also planted a whole string of varieties which have so far not been commercially cultivated in Croatia, including Syrah and Viogner. It is to be hoped that Krauthaker will soon achieve at least similar success with his red wines as he managed to do with his main white wines.

KRAUTHAKER

Ivan Enjingi is a Croatian wine maker who has won the largest number of trophies and to be producing his wines exclusively in Croatia. The London-based magazine Decanter, whose title rightfully carries the words World’s best wine magazine, has declared Enjingi the overall champion in one of the categories that were being assessed during the course of a year-long wine tasting organized by the magazine, and which involved several thousand producers from wine making countries around the world.

Enjingi won the category of white blended wines (a blend of several varieties) costing less than £10 He won the championship title with his truly glorious 1998 wine Venje (four stars), of which some 20,000 bottles were produced. Venje is a blend of barrique-nurtured Riesling, Traminac, Pinot Gris, Grasevina and Sauvignon, and it fascinate with its fullness, elegance, oily structure and maturing capacity. Soon we are to see Venje 2002 (four stars) on the market, and Enjingi considers it to be even better than the champion version. Needless to say, Venje is produced only in the best years. Apart from Venje, Decanter also rewarded, although with lower category awards, two other Enjingi wines: late harvest 2002 Grasevina (three stars) and Pinot Gris (three stars).

The story of Ivan Enjingi is paradigmatic for the development of the Croatian private wine industry. When he appeared on the market towards the end of the 1980s Enjingi gave us a hint of his ability to take advantage of superb wine growing areas of Slavonia. Some of his first bottles were simply excellent, although many ended up being merely mediocre. But having established relatively large scale production Enjingi managed to accrue a certain amount of funds which he invested in improvements of both the vineyards and his wine production.

Today, Ivan Enjingi produces a relatively wide range of wines, outstanding among which is an unusual Traminac with a very high alcohol content, vinified in the Alsace style (three stars), and Zweigelt from barrique (three stars), one of the rare red continental wines of Croatia to deserve attention. Enjingi owns 47 hectares of vineyards, which is an exceptionally large area for a private producer in Croatia. His vineyards include some of the best locations in the Valis Aurea [Golden Valley] around Kutjevo, such as Hrnjevac, Mitrovac and Venje, after which Decanter’s world champion was named.