Historic Wine Cellars of Slavonia, Croatia

The Slavonia (including the Danube) wine region is the largest both in hectares of vines and in the quantity of wine produced. It encompasses the easternmost region of Croatia where vines have been planted since before the Romans. After the fall of Rome, Cistercian monks brought winemaking to the Slavonia region in the early 13th century and after the Ottoman occupation, settlers quickly reinstituted viticulture. This led to the restoration of existing cellars but also the creation of new cellars as the culture of wine-growing and wine production expanded. During our recent tour of the region with Croatian Premium Wine Imports and The Passionate Foodie we visited over a dozen wineries and discovered several historic wine cellars. 

Kutjevo - Winery 1232
As the name suggests, the cellar for this winery was established in 1232 when Cistercian monks founded the Vallis Honesta de Gotho abbey. The cellar is a true witness to history with the Ottoman rule from 1526 to 1691, the 1741 dalliance between Empress Maria Theresa and Baron Franjo Trenk engraved into the cellar, restoration by the Jesuits, further restoration and investment by Baron Turković from 1882 to 1945, and post Communism, the purchase by the current owners: Božjakovina, Ltd. Many of these stories are inscribed in wine barrels deep into the cellar.  During our visit, we sampled a bottle of the Kutjevo Graševina (8 Euros) - a best seller from Croatia's oldest and most prolific wineries. The wine is fresh with green apples and almonds and noticeable minerality.  

 

Enosophia (formerly Feravino)
The cellar, located in Feričanci, was built in 1804 with the founding of a winery by the Mihalovićs -- a Croatian noble family from eastern Croatia. The Fericeva region (western Osijek-Baranja County) is known for its Graševina and Frankovka (Blaufrankish) and shares a similar tradition as Villany Hungary.  The current winery was established in the 1960s, privatized as an independent company in 1996, and in 2015 merged with the current owners Osilovac d.o.o. The Old Cellar is still utilized and is used for aging red wines, like the Miraz Frankovka (70 Kuna).  This is a nice representation of Blaufrankish with fresh cherries, a slight peppery spice, and hints of vanilla and chocolate on the finish. 

Ilok Cellars
Ilok is a city and region located in the far eastern end of Croatia - adjacent to the Danube and surrounded by Serbia except for a sliver of territory to the west. Grape growing has survived since the Illyrian times -- event before the Romans.  In 1450, Nikola of Ilok (1) built a 100-meter-long wine cellar underneath his castle, which itself was built on the foundations of the former Roman fortress Cuccium.  Wine production continued under the Ottoman occupation (1526 - 1688) and in 1697, the castle and significant properties around Ilok were granted to the Italian aristocratic Odescalchi family.  They expanded the wine cellar and in 1710, the Odescalchis planted the first Gewürztraminer vines in the area on the unique single vineyard appellation – Principovac. (This is the site of the grand Odescalchi summer residence castle.)  These Traminer grapes became the foundation for the famous 1947 Traminer vintage which was served at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. During the Homeland War, the remaining bottles of this vintage, as well as the existing 8,000 library wines were saved from destruction by an innovative winery employee who build a false wall into the cellar. Wine that was not hidden was stolen and distilled into brandy by the Serbians.  During our visit, we sampled several of the Iok Cellars wines and highly recommend the current vintages of Traminer - particularly the Premium Traminac 2020 (70 Kuna). The wine is dry with the accustomed string floral aroma, and a full-bodied, citrus, and stone fruit profile

(1) Nicholas of Ilok was a Ban of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, and Macsó; Voivode of Transylvania; and titular King of Bosnia from 1471 until his death. A member of the Iločki noble family, he was one of the richest landowners in the Kingdom of Hungary and Croatia and one of its most influential magnates. He served under four kings of Hungary: Albert, Vladislaus I, Ladislaus V, and Matthias I.

Erdut Vineyards
Erdut is a small peninsula formed by the Danube River about 45 miles upstream from Ilok. This winery sets its founding in 1730 when Baron Johann Baprista Maximilian Zuany constructed the Old cellar - the oldest in the region.  In 1778 Ivan Kapistran I. Adamovich de Csepin purchased the estate and in the mid-1800s Fanny Adamovich Čepinska and her husband Ervin Cseh were the first family members to live in the manor. While touring the Old Cellar we learned an interesting story where Ervin built five large barrels, all functional except one in which he had built a card-playing parlor. He would play for days -- safely hidden from his wife Franny.  Currently, Erdutski vinogradi d.o.o is part of the Agro-Industrial Combine Osijek (IPK Osijek) and has become the largest plantation vineyard in Croatia at  490 hectares. The Old Cellar houses sparkling wine which should become available on the market sometime soon. In the meantime, Graševina is the dominant variety planted on 280 hectares, and one version is aged in the world's largest wine barrel (75,000 liters). the Graševina 2020 (25 Kuna) is fresh with a soft body and noticeable green apples and citrus.

Belje Winery
This winery is located in Baranya - a Hungarian word meaning "the mother of wine" - and operates two facilities in or near the village of Kneževi Vinogradi. Their Old Cellar is the largest old cellar in Slavonia and was dug into the hill in the center of the village.  It was first mentioned in 1526 in the descriptions of the Battle of Mohács where it was used as a stable. 170 years later Prince Eugene of Savoy was awarded an estate between the Danube and Drava rivers after his victory over the Turks at the Battle of Zenta in 1697. From that time the Old Cellar was expanded to three floors spanning 1,200 square meters. It holds wooden barrels made of Slavonian oak from the forests of Spačva and a wine archive containing 20,000 samples, with the oldest bottle, a Cabernet Franc, dating back to 1949.  The wines from Vina Belje were very impressive, particularly those from their Premium and Goldberg brands. That being said, their Premium Pinot Noir 2015 (75 Kuna) is excellent with integrated fruit (red and black fruit), a fresh mouthfeel, and structured tannins.