December has arrived and it is time we summarized results of this wine year. Although we all expected that we would already leave behind all protective masks, vaccines and covid epidemic and continue living with memories of this period, humanity is still struggling with a pandemic. However, the Serbian wine scene is resistant, so this year the wine has remained in focus.

Therefore, you can find below our selection of the most significant wine events in the course of 2021. The order is not determined by the importance of events because they are all equally important for the Serbian wine scene.

1. Wine culture in Serbia continues to develop. New wineries are popping up and corona couldn't hinder that trend. There are more and more wineries in all wine regions of Serbia. There is also an increase in the number of wine shops, both classic retail outlets and online wine shops. And not only in Belgrade, but also in smaller places across Serbia ... Wine culture is spreading like a wave.

2. At this year's edition of the Balkans International Wine Competition (BIWC) in Skopje, the news was released that the long-time president of the competition, Konstantinos Lazarakis, is resigning and will be replaced by Igor Luković, editor of Vino & Fino magazine and wine critic.

3. This year, the Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad for the first time publicly displayed Volný's Herbarium, the most significant example of ampelographic treasure from the 18th century, which is still waiting to be scientifically analized and classified. Thanks to it, Serbia found its place on the world ampelographic map, because the first mention of Grašac variety in written sources is recorded in Volný's herbarium.

4. Ampelographic discoveries have finally focused on the Balkans. A team of scientists led by the Italian professor Claudio D'Onofrio, as part of a large study of the genetic origin of Italian grape varieties, this year disclosed findings that are important for our varieties Grašac and Prokupac. DNA mapping showed that one of the parents of Grašac is the Italian variety Orsolina, whilst Grašac is closely related to Barbera variety. Also, one parent of our flagship autochthonous variety, Prokupac, is a variety called Modra Batovka (Batttraube).

5. Prokupac Day has been celebrated in Serbia for 6 years. This year, the event dedicated to our flagship grape variety has been held in more than 300 HoReCa outlets (restaurants, wine shops, bars and cafes) and at wine festivals in Prokuplje, Aleksandrovac, Kragujevac and Belgrade. It can be said that in the past 6 years, Prokupac has taken its deserved position on the wine scene of Serbia.

6. Gaga Prokupac 2017 from Ivanović Winery had its premiere at this year's celebration of Prokupac Day. A wine that is special for many reasons: homage to the great winemaker Gaga Ivanović, 100% wine from old vineyards from the top plot of Varina, from the exceptional vintage of 2017. Wine from Župa that will be remembered in the wine history of Serbia.

7. This year, the struggle for the preservation of Sremski Karlovci vineyards on the plots Matej, Karaš, Remetica and the nearby slopes of Fruška Gora, which descend to the Danube and at the same time represent ideal positions for growing vines and fruit, has intensified. The local brickyard operating within the Croatian Nexe Group has turned a blind eye to the best wine-growing land to expand the clay mining fields and thus destroy the strategic potential of Sremski Karlovci for winemaking, viticulture and tourism in favor of dirty industries and big capital.

8. Thanks to the TV show Secrets of the Vine shown on national television, Bagrina from Negotinska Krajina region came into spotlight. Suddenly, the autochthonous grape variety that was brought to the brink of extinction has become the most sought after wine in Serbian wine shops. However, the quantities of wine are more than limited, only a few wineries in Negotinska Krajina region produce wine from Bagrina, but we can expect that to change in the future as the vineyards under Bagrina are slowly expanding ...

9. A good example of how joint local efforts can lead to a good final result is the municipality of Inđija (Srem region). The local tourist organization has joined forces with local wineries in order to position Inđija as a wine and gastronomic destination, which gives increasing visibility to winemakers from Inđija. Quality of local wines is indisputable, now this needs to be presented to the wine audience. Inđija is well on its way to doing so.

10. Serbian winemakers are slowly turning to minimal intervention, organic, biodynamic and natural wines. It is still a small group of winemakers who share similar wine philosophies and different practices in the cellar and vineyards, but it can be expected that their numbers will grow more and more in the coming years. The fact that Serbia currently owns only 52 hectares of organic vineyards (2019 data), which is less than in countries with a shorter wine tradition such as Denmark (55 hectares), Great Britain (98 hectares) or Belgium (118 hectares), speaks volumes. But it is important that the first wine bars and shops specializing in this type of wine have appeared, as well as specialized wine events that bring together this type of audience.

 

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