There are nearly 70,000 hectares of vineyards in Serbia, producing about 425,000 tons of grapes annually. The majority of production is dedicated to local wineries.[1]
Major varieties include the Belgrade Seedless, Prokupac, Sauvignon, "Italian Riesling", Cabernet, Chardonnay, White and Red Burgundy, Hamburg, Muscat, Afus Ali, Vranac, Tamjanika, Krstač, Smederevka, and Dinka. Rare varieties such as the Muscat Crocant also survive in Serbia.
The harvest season of the grapes is in July-October.
The Serbian wine industry is showing signs of significant growth, with In Vino, an annual international wine festival, held annually in Belgrade since 2004. Since 2010, an annual international wine fair is held at the Belgrade Fair, named "Beo Wine Fair".[2]
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History of Serbian wine growing is more than 1000 years long. From the first establishment of the Serbian state in 8th and 9th century and especially during the ruling period of Nemanjić dynasty from 11th till the end of 14th century Serbian rulers specially cherished the wine growing culture.
Former Yugoslavia was among top-ten world wine producing countries: at its peak in 1970s, it produced over 6 million hectolitres annually. However, due to the country's policies and practice in the viticulture, quantity was placed above quality, so many wines were mass-produced in large agricultural combines such as Navip and Rubin, with low quality control in grape production and winemaking. 1980s saw the sharp decline of production and exports, which continued into 1990s, marked by the Breakup of Yugoslavia and subsequent Serbian economic breakdown.[3]
In 2000s, Serbian winemaking started to recover, but on entirely different basis. Numerous small and medium privately-owned wineries entered the market, often run as family businesses, and with higher regard for quality and taste. Some near-forgotten traditions, such as Bermet of Sremski Karlovci, were revived. Economic recovery of the country also contributed to increase of domestic consumption. Wine production in 2004 was 1,550,000 litres.[1] Wine consumption per capita is 16 liters (2006). Still, only 5% of domestic production is exported (2004-2007 data), most of it in neighboring countries, and chiefly in bulk. High-quality and quality wines constitute about 35% of production.[4]
The eldest authentic grape sorts are considered to be Prokupac and Tamjanika. Prokupac is the sort of red wines and was known even in early Middle Ages, while Tamjanika is a Muscat sort originated from Southern France, known in Serbia for more than 500 years.
Beside these sorts, today in Serbia are mostly raised Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Rhine or "Italian" Riesling, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
White wines constitute about 64% of production, and red about 36%.[4]
The most important Serbian vineyard areas are situated in Negotinska krajina (250 km in the east from Belgrade), in the area of Vršac (100 km on the north-east from Belgrade), on the slopes of Fruška Gora (80km on the north-west from Belgrade), in the Subotica area (200 km on the north from Belgrade), Šumadija (100 km on the south-west from Belgrade) and Župa (230 km on the south-east from Belgrade). Long lasting tradition of Serbian wine growing in the last 10 years was renewed by numerous private producers that built contemporary cellars and already became well known out of the borders of Serbia.
According to a classification from 1970s, Serbia has nine winemaking regions, each with several subregions:[5]
In light of revival of winemaking industry of Serbia, Serbian Ministry of Agriculture in 2008 launched an initiative for reform of Serbian laws on winemaking, and re-classification of wine regions.[6]
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