On June 13th, the tasting room of Aven Winery in Inđija became the scene of a serious battle. In silence, the jury evaluated the quality of wines submitted to the 5th edition of Fruška Gora Wine Festival. A competition that has been building its reputation for several years for its high award bar (gold medals are awarded to wines earning more than 90 points) so it differs from other local or regional wine shows where most participants receive at least some award so that no one gets angry with the result. 

This kind of competition is extremely important for the future of Fruška Gora wine scene. Considering that mostly small yet unregistered wineries or hobby winemakers who have not yet commercially expanded their business outside their region participate in the competition, this is precisely the source from which newcomers on the Serbian wine scene will be recruited. In front of us, we see winemakers whose next step will be to seriously compete in the market with already established wineries from Serbia in the years to come.

The jury is composed of experienced wine experts: sommeliers Vuk Vuletić and Predrag Gavrilović, enologists Jovica Urošević and Danijel Sokolović, wine journalists and wine judges Igor Luković and Tomislav Ivanović.

The main impression from this year's competition is that the wines did not have major problems if we talk about defects and flaws. There were not many samples for disqualification, which shows enough that our winemakers understood the importance of hygiene in the cellar and the use of modern oenological products. Judging by the samples, they still need to pay attention to choosing the right time to harvest the grapes in the vineyard because you can recognize in the wine if the grapes were picked too early or late or if some of the grapes were of poor quality. I suspect that this is a more common phenomenon among winemakers who buy grapes because they have no influence on the selection of the moment of harvest. In some samples, it was easy to detect astringency and unpleasant harshness that come from the inadequate length of maceration. A smaller number of samples showed the initial phase of oxidation or, on the other hand, excessive use of potassium metabisulphite.

Fruška gora is increasingly profiled as a region equally suitable for both white and red wines. This destroys the narrative from the time of industrial production in the time of Yugoslavia that it is exclusively a region for white wines. And this selection of wines showed that excellent examples of Cabernet Sauvignon can be found on Fruška Gora (with the suspicion that in some cases the grapes were procured from other wine regions). Young Merlots left a somewhat weaker impression, which can be attributed to a poor vintage.

Although it may sound illogical, the most room for improvement exists in rosé. The recipe for a good rosé is not to use grapes that are not good enough for red wine.

It is commendable that in general, the use of wood or alternatives in wines is reduced to a reasonable measure, and here our small winemakers have a good sense of what the modern wine audience expects in a glass.

Organizers should consistently influence winemakers to submit their wine samples in glass packaging to the competition.

In any case, the judging at the 5th Fruška Gora Wine Festival gave a good cross-section of the winemaking skills in the cellars, which in a few years will grow and reach the first ranks of the Fruška Gora wine scene.

The public will be able to taste the award-winning wines and other exhibited samples at the Fruška Gora Wine Festival, which will be held on June 25th, 2022, at the Vojnović House in Inđija, starting at 6 p.m.

GOLD MEDALS - WHITE WINE

Chardonnay 2021 - Vojnović Winery (Begeč) - (93,7/100)

Tamjanika 2021 - Apatović Winery (Sremski Karlovci ) - (93,3/100)

Chardonnay Barrique 2019 - Komazec Winery (Inđija) - (91/100)

Grašac 2021 - Tanasković Winery (Krušedolski Prnjavor) - (90,7/100)

Šmizla 2021 - Sokolov zamak (Beška) - (90,3/100)

Pinot Blanc 2021 - Kepul Winery (Iđoš) - (90,3/100)

GOLD MEDALS - RED WINE

Cuvee Ćuk 2020 - Veritas Winery (Sremski Karlovci) - (94,3/100)

Marselan 2019 - Sokolov zamak (Beška) - (92/100)

Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 - Radionica vina Ivaniš (Inđija) - (92/100)

Vranac 2021 - Odrovački Winery  (Rivica) - (91,7/100)

Puna jedra 2018 - Vojnović Winery (Begeč) - (91/100)

Balans 2018 - Aven Winery (Inđija) - (90/100)

Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc 2019 - Podrum Podunavski (Inđija) - (90/100)

Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 - Aven Winery (Inđija) (90/100)

GOLD MEDALS - ROSE WINE

Roze 2021 - Langov podrum (Inđija) - (90,3/100)

Roze Mila 2021 - Komazec Winery (Inđija) - (90/100)

GOLD MEDALS - SPECIAL WINE

Bermet 2021 - Milivojević Cellar (Inđija) - (91,3/100)

(Photo: Vina Inđije)

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