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Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Hercegovina Produkt is the rather forceful sounding name for a winery that started out as a family-run operation. In 2002 the Barbarić family took their 150 year-old tradition of making wine from being a small affair to being one of the bigger wine producers in the Herzegovina region. While it comes across as a very large company when you come up to the building from the road, there are only seven people running it. One of them is enologist Mirela Gudelj who was nice enough to take some extra time to show us around and give us a taste of their two main wines: Blatina and Žilavka.     We started with the 2006 Žilavka which was quite typical of the region. It had nice soft fruit on the nose and was very fresh. The body was similar and gave of a sense of fresh cut vegetables and fruits, pointing to it being good, paired with salads and other appetizers in a meal. There is also a touch of apricot and peach to the body, which leads in to something of a tannic finish on it.     The 2006 Blatina was a tasty bottle. There are these sweet stripes to the nose that get sandwiched between minty, dark aromas. The closest thing I could compare the nose to would be a Dingač, but obviously it is a much, much different wine. All of the sweetness to the nose drops off in the body and you get some good mineral tones to it. This then changes again in to something a bit more dry as it finished off, but then leads out in to a nice smoothness.     While these two wines are but a sample of the greater product line of Herzegovina Produkt, they stand out as good wines produced on a large scale.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Vitai is the company name for the brand of wine in Bosnia Herzegovina that most people know as Gangaš. It is a very different winery in the region for several reasons. The first being that it is run by three women: Olivera Juricić and her daughters, Sanja and Anđa. This is unheard of in this area because men are the wine makers and that is the end of the discussion. Women may be the enologists for a large company, but men make the wine.     Obviously it was not always the case that women ended up making the wine in this company, and it was the untimely passing of Sanja and Anđa's father that brought this about. But, instead of folding or selling to another winery as was often the case in the past, they took up the reigns and have become one of the biggest family-owned wineries in Herzegovina producing 75,000 liters last year and having a capacity of 150,000 liters. Not bad for a place that really started in earnest, in 1995 and was built out of a small, 150 year old cellar.     Another reason why they are unique is because in addition to the regional standards of Žilavka and Blatina, they are also trying to make a bit of rosé and champagne.     We tasted both their 2006 and 2004 Žilavka. The 2006 is still a bit young, but you can't taste it. There is some oak to it from the Slavonian barrels that they use, but overall it is very mellow. There is a strong dose of citrus to the nose as well as some green apple. The body is smooth and doesn't betray the rather high alcohol (for this area) of 13%. The 2004 is much more oaky, which is natural given the amount of time in the barrel. It is quite a bit heavier than the 2006 and has hints of the herbs that are used in travarica, a high-octane popular Croatian spirit. The very palpable meatiness to the body gives way just a little bit in to the finish. Trying to decide which of these years is better is impossible though as they are both quite good, albeit nearly completely different wines.     While we didn't get to the rosé, we did try the 2005 Blatina. It is good, but also very young. There is a good deal of tannic strength to the body, but the nose has good fruits. More air doesn't really change it all that much, but it will be interesting to see how it progresses with more time in the barrel.     It will also be interesting to see how this winery will progress. Sanja has been studying at the enology institute in Zagreb and is well versed in the craft of wine. These women are doing a great job with their wine and only time will tell how the wine will mix with local patriarchal ways. We hope it will somehow mix well and we will definitely pay them another visit in the future.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Čitluk is a smallish town in Herzegovina that has a surprising number of wineries in it. The biggest one is naturally the one that was the former collective for the area under Communism called, Vinarija Čitluk. While the name and the drab building aren't the most exciting things in the world, they do produce a good number of wines of good quality. This is no small feat considering that they buy grapes from a massive area of 400 hectares in Herzegovina. They first fired up the barrels in 1960 and currently have 85 employees and a capacity of 11 million liters, although they produced a "mere" five million in 2006.     Tihomir Prusina led us through a tasting of a few of their wines, starting with the 2005 Blatina. It had good fruit in the nose, but was rather light overall. The body was very dry and had a bit of sharpness to it. This did clear out though in the finish as well as with a bit more air in it.     We also had the 2005 Blatina Barrique, which apparently spends a minimum of a year in the bottle before they sell it. This does seem to make a difference, as it is quite a good wine. There are a lot of deep berries and sweet aromas to the nose. A hint of mint, spice, as well as the oak of the barrels comes out in the nose as well. This then transfers in to a deep, meaty body that is great on the palate. There is buttery smoothness to the finish that lets out something of a blue cheese flavor and is very, very tasty.     While Vinarija Čitluk produces a great number of other wines and spirits, we only got to taste these two. They pointed to a good level of quality in the wines, which many of these former collectives don't usually have and we appreciated that a good deal.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Our first stop along the Vinska Cesta of Herzegovina was at Podrumi Andrija. Like most wine makers in the area, the family has a tradition of wine that formed the foundation of the company. They were a bit different, though, as they actually started making wine to sell in 1971, which was not allowed under the Communist government. Apparently, family and friends worked to hide their wine making operation. Proving that they were a crafty group, they were able to continue growing during the war with their wine being routed through other countries with some fantastic scheme that we think we were better off not knowing about.     But now, in the 21st century, the winery is a full-fledged operation, producing from four hectares of their own and buying from 400 other people who grow on an additional 80 hectares. This allows them to have a well-appointed tasting room where they treated us to an extensitve tasting of their wines as well as some locally made pršut (smoked ham), which we always accept gladly.     We started with the 2004 Žilavka. It is a light white wine at 12% alcohol. There are mineral tones to the nose and body and a slight grapefruit to it as well. Citrus flavors come out in the body as it opens up and these continue in to the finish.     From there, we moved in to the 2005 Blatina. This was a very nice sample of this local varietal. There were cherries and berries in the nose and a tad bit of syrupy fruit to it. It wasn't sweet though and gave a nice, pleasing balance of aromas. The body presented much more earthy flavors that presented the wine as bold and enjoyable. The finish was clean and overall, it was a solid wine.     To close, we had the 2004 Blatina Barrique. The nose had both mineral and earthy notes to it as well as being fresh and dewy. All of this we liked a great deal. The best part was that all these aromas carried directly in to the body, which made for great drinking. There was a little spark to the finish that sticks with you and makes the wine a real winner and as it gets more air, it gets more complex, presenting some sour cherry in the finish.     Andrija was a great start to the Vinska Cesta that made us happy and very excited to move on and taste more.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Herzegovina, the Southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the land of sun and stone and because of this it is the biggest and single wine producing region in the country. The majority of the wines produced in Herzegovina are made with the autochtonous varieties of Žilavka (white) and Blatina (red).     B&H has a long tradition of wine growing and production from the Illyrian period. However, the wine growing region in B&H was historically much bigger than it is today, but with the Ottoman rule this type of production was gradually extinguished due to many successive wars, because grapevines require a high degree of maintenance and even a month away from them can be catastrophic. Currently, the production of wine is limited to the confluences of the rivers Neretva and Trebišnjica.     Because of the long wine-growing history in Herzegovina, and the quality and abundance of its wineries, last year the European Union decided to fund a project of the association of vintners of the region called Vinska Cesta (Wine Route) to promote Herzegovina wines. About four few months ago, the Tourism Association of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, used this grant to create a website of the Wine Route and published a very useful map showing the location of all the wineries in the area. They also have additional informative brochures about them (such as a catalog of wines produced by each of them and a calendar of wine-related events). Moreover, a multitude of signs were put up recently along the roads of Herzegovina to make it easy for visitors to find each single winery, even in the smallest villages. We were truly impressed. The Wine Route warrants a trip by anyone who is a true wine connoisseur because the wines ranged ranged from quite drinkable to outstandingly well-crafted.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Rubin is an interesting case of a former Communist cooperative that went private. One reason that it stuck out to us, was that it took an incredibly long time to privatize. Where most wine cooperatives were transferred to private hands during the 1990's, Rubin only went private two years ago. Secondly, it's more massive than any former cooperative we had encountered before. They produce five million bottles of liquor each year, three million of which are wine. They buy wine grapes from all over the region, including neighboring Macedonia. Lastly, they have vineyards in Kosovo of all places.     All of these points make the company sound like any large-scale producer in America and thusly, our expectations were low; very low. We found it amazing that even though Rubin produces at such a large scale, their wines, especially the Terra Lazarica line are more than just drinkable and are even quite noteworthy.     We tasted the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc that we found to have some good fruit aromas to the body and the nose. It was easy to drink and had a balanced body that led in to a smooth finish. It was quite good, but nothing to rave about. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was quite exciting though. It had a nice flowery nose that was also very clean and fresh, something akin to the nose of a good French Bordeaux. The body wasn't as deep as the nose though, but had a general sophistication that carried several textures through it, including a nice earthiness. The finish was smooth, although it brought out the dryness to the wine, which if it were the drinker's preference, would make the wine even more desirable.     The best part about all these wines is that they can be found at any supermarket in Serbia for around $7, making them a good alternative to the ever-present Jelen beer.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Another winery that we sampled at the Novi Sad Wine Fair was Aleksandrović. He is located in Vinća, Topela in Serbia and like most wine producers in the region, his family had a long tradition of wine making that stopped and didn't really start again until Communism ended and he could produce for more people than just his immediate family. Since they started up again in 1991, they have managed to build their winery up to producing 200,000 to 300,000 liters a year from the 20 hectares that they own as well as from a supply of grapes from others in the area who augment their estate grapes.     While they make a great number of wines including a Rosé and a Pinot Noir, it was only the whites that we tasted. We started a tad bit skeptical of these whites from Serbia, but were quickly impressed due to the wonderful craft that has gone in to these wines.     The 2006 Riesling weighed in at 13.2% alcohol and was a blend of Rhine and Italian varietals. It was very nice being smooth, clean, and light throughout the nose, body, and finish. Additionally, it had wonderfully balanced fruit aromas and flavors that were neither too strong nor too soft.     The 2006 Chardonnay was a nice change from the normal California Chards. It packs a bit of a punch for a white, at 14% alcohol and has an okay nose, but it is much, much lighter than a normal CA Chard. It has more fruit and evenness to it. The body is not oaky or buttery, which made it good to know that you can make a Chardonnay that isn't stuck in one of these categories. All of this was just $12 a bottle, which even made it cheaper that the vast majority of Chardonnays that we've been used to.     The triumphant and best of these whites was naturally called the Trijumf. This was the 2006 vintage that we tasted and it was just outstanding. It has a lovely floral nose that is clean and elegant. Everything about it oozes with a sparkling brightness from nose to finish. This wine is just full of classiness and at $15 a bottle; it's a classiness that most anyone can afford.     While we didn't get to try any of the reds, if they're even half as good as these whites, then Aleksandrović is a name that everyone will soon know well in wine circles.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Bermet is a sweet wine that is a specialty of northern Serbia's Fruška Gora wine region, in the Vojvodina province. It has between 16 and 18% of alcohol and it is usually served as a dessert wine, with coffee and cookies, but can also be served as an aperitif, much like Italian Vermouth. However, Bermet is produced in a different way than Vermouth, through maceration of 20 different herbs and spices. It can be made of red or white grapes, but the exact recipe is secret and held by only a handful of families in the town of Sremci Karlovci. Dulka winery, for example, told us that he makes the base of his white Bermet are župljanka grapes, a local variety, and Merlot for his red. Other vintners seem to use Portugieser, and others blend both red and white grapes.     As the story goes, Bermet was very popular among the aristocracy of the Austro-Hungarian empire and was regularly exported to the court in Vienna in large quantities. Moreover, according to some documents, a few Bermets were even included in the Titanic's wine card, and it was exported to the United States over 150 years ago.     As for Bermet's taste, it is sweet, but not overly so. It is a very thick, heavy wine that carries a lot of punch, so to compare it to Prošek, Tokaj, or Garnatxa would be a serious mistake.The body changes even more and is very nutty with chestnut tones to it. Then the finish opens up like how you would expect from a dessert wine with lovely sweetness that stays with you, yet there is a bit more complexity to it than that with some sharp sour cherry notes coming through just before it ends.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          While in Belgrade, we decided to take a little day trip to the little wine-making town of Srmeski Karlovci to discover some Serbian wines, and we discovered by chance that a wine festival was starting the follwing day in Novi Sad (from the 28th to the 30th of July), the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the Vojvodina province.     So we spent a couple of extra days in Novi Sad enjoying wines not only from Serbia, but also from the whole Southeastern European region, at this festival, which is growing in popularity every year.     Among the Serbian wines, we had the chance to taste many Bermets from different producers, all them delicious, but also some excellent regular wines. Among the reds, we were impressed by the high quality of Rubin's Terra Lazarica Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, which were a pleasant surprise from such a big winery that produces around 5 million bottles of wine a year. In the white deparment, Aleksandrovic's Sauvignon Blanc was simply outstanding.     Then we also got the chance to taste some Macedonian and Croatian wines from the Istria region, which were all quite remarkable.     On the last day of the festival, the Istrian stand, which included not only wine makers but also olive oil producers and a gastronomic association, invited us to a special 5-course lunch pairing each dish with a different olive oil and wine. We skipped from bruschetta, to fish, to a chocolate mousse that were all drizzled with olive oils that matched the food flavors wonderfully. And of course, what enhanced it even more were the wines that accompanied each course. It made for nothing short of one our most memorable dining experiences in a long time.     

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          From Croatia, we traveled south through Montenegro (which is Plantaže country) and then north up to Belgrade. Curious about the local wine scene, we head up to the beautiful town of Sremski Karlovci, in the Fruška Gora wine region, to taste what the vintners in that area were doing with the grape.     We found our way to Dulka (or Дулка in Serbian Cyrllic.) Đorđe Dragojlović (Dulka) is from a line of wine makers who started around 150 years ago in the region. Of course, the period of Communism severely impacted their production as they had to feed in to a central cooperative, just like any grape grower in the former Yugoslavia. But, with the beginning of the 1990's, they ramped up production again.     He produces from eight hectares of land and makes about 36,000 liters of wine each year including a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and next year, Sauvignon Blanc. One very unique wine that we tried was called Bermet. This is dessert wine that's rather hard to describe as it is its own creation. We're not aware of it being produced anywhere else, other then Serbia. The 2006 that we tried was definitely unique, strong, and very thick. We could easily see it as the end to a good meal of meat and cheese.     Dulka makes more than just one Bermet, and produces a Beli Bermet a Beli Bermet as well, which is a white version. While we only tried what appears to be their flagship wine, it proved to be a very interesting and inviting introduction to what seems to be the relatively unknown world of Serbian wines.

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