Winemakers are trying to attract winelovers with attractive wine label design and messages and thus convey a story about winemaking and emotions in order to create a comprehensive wine experience. Therefore, in a series of articles, I will attempt to interpret information found on the labels of Serbian wines.Here we start with wines from Fruška Gora (Srem wine region, North Serbia). Erdevik Winery makes a wine labelled Omnibus Lector 2015.

1. - The label contains a detail from the Odescalchi coat-of-arms. If we talk about Srem/Srijem, then we inevitably touch the history of aristocratic family Odescalchi. Following the expulsion of the Turks, the Vienna Imperial Court rewarded the Odescalchi family with a property which included a large portion of Srem. Their newly acquired estate included Upper Srem area centered around the town of Ilok (present-day Croatia) and Lower Srem area centered around the town of Irig (present-day Serbia). Duke Livio Odescalchi (1652-1713) and his descendants are largely responsible for development of winemaking tradition in Srem/Srijem. In Ilok, he modernized the old cellar from the 15^th century. In the early 18^th century, the Odescalchi family expanded vineyards in Ilok and constructed a new winery next to the existing old cellar. Historic records also indicate that the Odescalchi family established in 1826 the first winery in Erdevik (Serbia). This is exactly why Erdevik Winery selected a detail from Odescalchi's coat-of-arms to be depicted on the label. And what does this detail mean? Italian aristocratic families were particularly proud of having close family members who rose to become the head of the Roman Catholic Church. It was therefore customary to embody in the coat-of-arms  motives that symbolize the papal power. The Roman Pope Innocent XI (1676-1689) came from the Odescalchi family. It is interesting that the troops of the Pope Innocent XI participated as a member of the Sacra Ligua alliance in liberation of Belgrade from the Turks in 1688, which confirms close connections of the Odescalchi family with the territory of Srem.

The detail of the coat-of-arms depicted on the wine labels of Erdevik Winery contains a papal umbrella (The Umbraculum) symbolizing the Roman Catholic Church and the power of Pope. The two crossed keys represent metaphorical keys of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus promised to St. Peter. They are a symbol of papal power.

2. - An inscription E.C.V. 1826 marks the year when the Odescalchi family founded a winery in Erdevik.

3. - OMNIBUS LECTOR - Both words come from Latin and translated freely, they mean "a teacher (lecturer) for all." It seems that winemakers from Erdevik are sending a message to consumers that this wine represents a lesson that will teach consumers by example about features of a good wine. Of course, the name of the wine itself also contains a pun that relates to the film character of Hannibal Lector, performed by Anthony Hopkins.

4. - Ad Augusta Per Angusta - Translated from Latin: Through difficulties to honors. This is in fact an alternative saying: Through difficulties to the stars (Per Aspera Ad Astra). The phrase "Ad augusta per angusta" is found in  Victor Hugo's drama "Hernani" where the conspirators use this phrase as password. Hm, imagine all the difficulties that a vinegrower and a winemaker go through in the course of a year in order to bring a bottle of wine right to your table.

5. - Chardonnay - Chardonnay is widely present in Serbian vineyards and shows good results on local soil thanks to its adaptability. The inscription Chardonnay on the bottle will not tell you which style of wine you may expect in the bottle: either a fresh wine with plentiful aromas of apple, pear, peach, tropical fruit, pineapple, mango, citrus or  a wine that fermented and matured in wood, hence showing fine aromas of oak, vanilla, coconut, butterscotch. Therefore, you'll still need to open a bottle to discover what Chardonnay style awaits you inside...

6. - 2015 - vintage

 And inside the glass...

A wine that captivates with its structure and well-integrated tones stemming from fermentation and ageing in oak (6 months in a 500-liter Slavonian oak barrel). I have had an opportunity to taste this wine on numerous occasions, but it seems to me that now the noble tones of oak have completely integrated into a lavish, powerful but still sophisticated expression of Chardonnay. Well-preserved underlying fruity flavours, primarily tropical fruit, mango, pineapple. Beautiful acidity gives this wine vitality and promises longevity. No student would refuse such a teacher (lecturer).

 

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