Wine brings people together, and the right place to bear witness to this is this year's Vinosaur in Banja Luka. In the Crystal Hall of Hotel Bosna, 85 wineries gathered from 15 countries to present more than 350  wines to wine lovers and admirers. A large number of visitors and somewhat overcrowded place indicate that, after 5 years of Vinosaur's existence,  it is high time organizers found some bigger venue for exhibitors and visitors. Also, for the purpose of easier navigation, it would be useful to group wine producers per region or country of origin.

Vinosaur 2012 amply offered a selection of wines from the region of former Yugoslavia. For comparison, here is the overview of exhibitors per country of origin: 9 wineries from Bosnia & Herzegovina, 12 wineries from Serbia, 21 winery from Croatia, 11 wineries from Slovenia, 1 winery from Montenegro (guess which one....heheh) and Macedonia (3 wineries).

Concerning Serbian wineries, here is the list of exhibitors:

Aleksandrović Cellar

Janko Cellar

Živković House of Wine

Radovanović Cellar

Fruškogorski Vinogradi doo

Kiš Winery

Kovačević Winery

Zvonko Bogdan Winery

Spasić Winemakers' House

Minić Wine House

Vinum

Jagodinska Vinarija 1897

We took an opportunity to hear the first impressions about this year's Vinosaur from Dragan Vasić Janko, the owner of Janko Cellar. - " Year after year, I notice that this wine salon is making steady progress. Organizers truly invest a lot of efforts so that Vinosaur turns into a reputable exhibition of the most important wineries from the region and beyond. After several years of wine salon's existence, I can also see a different sort of visitors - now we have here conoisseurs who know exactly what they are looking for in wines, we have got visitors who are educated in wine, who recognize and seek good wine. I notice that they are fond of  indigenous varieties and they appreciate our Tamjanika. They are still unfamiliar with Smederevka, so we are trying to present through our wines what this variety can offer in a glass. I have to add that Croatian and Slovenian wineries are exhibiting here with successfully built brands and more dominant market approach, which are also accompanied with higher prices, but this difference in price cannot be recognized in the glass, because Serbian wines have a similar quality but more affordable price range."

Side events of wine salon included workshops, lectures, promotions and special tastings. Our sommelier Stevan Rajta held two workshops on the salon: Wine Serving Techniques and Difference between wine of the old and new world. Also, Banja Luka's renowned restaurant Horizont hosted a special wine night dedicated to Kovačević Winery.

Organizers announced that starting from next year, they will introduce the country - partner of the Salon, which will present its wine & gastro exhibitors, as well as cuisine, culture, music, etc.

After Salon, our stay in Banja Luka was rounded off by dinner in boat-restaurant Yachting Club on the Vrbas river. The waitor recommended to us Aurelius Kovačević wine without much thinking. This made our heart beat faster and we understood that wine events such as Vinosaur have effect because good quality wines will win their place on the market despite heavy competition from the region.

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