The age old tradition of wine growing in Serbia has created several “wine routes” in the country, the ones you should definitely take if you like good wine.
The geographical location and weather conditions of Serbia allow the people that live in almost all parts of the country to grow grapevine. In Serbia there are around 700 different kinds of wine. From Palić lake in the North to Metohija in the south there are nine marked wine routes which “hide” the wine cellars with the best wines.
The first of the marked wine routes is located on the fertile slopes of mt. Fruška Gora where there are large vineyards with the sweetest grapes which the old Serbian poets sang about. In centuries, the Fruška Gora wine route was formed around them.
The most sought for Fruška Gora wines are: plemenka, Fruška Gora riesling, Italian Riesling bouvier, and bermet, an authentic wine from this region. It can be tasted in the town of Sremski Karlovci and places around it, in around 60 wine cellars and wineries, most famous of them being Kiš, Živanović, Dulkin, Merc, Došen, Aleks, Kosović…
The dissappeared Pannonian sea left the Subotica region with sandy fertile soil, great for growing grapevine from which the best “sand wines” are made on the second of the marked wine routes in Serbia. Italian Riesling, Cabernet and Sauvignon can be tasted in the region of the Palić wine route in the wineries: Zvonko Bogdan, DiBonis, Kosa and others.
The region in which the Vršac mountains and the Banat plains meet, there are vineyards between which the Vršac wine route passes. The grapes from the Banat vineyards on the third marked wine route in Serbia are the predecessors of the best wines in this part of the country: Muscat otonel, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Rhine and Italian Riesling, Banat Riesling, Smederevka, Župljanak and kreaca.
Besides the Vršac vinyards the best wines of this area can be found in the wine cellars and wineries: Kostov, Vinik, Nedin, Stojšić, Rab, Gudurička priča, As.
Where else could the vineyards of the Karadjordjević royal family be if not on the Oplenac hill, on the Šumadija wine route?
On the hills bellow the Kosmaj, Rudnik and Venačac mountains, with Prokop and Oplenac, people have been growing indigenous varieties like Prokupac, Vranac and Smederevka since the old days. Today we can try them in many wineries on the fourth of the marked wine routes in Serbia, from which Jelić, Aleksandrović and Radovanović stand out.
The fifth of the marked wine routes in the country and the most famous in central Serbia is the Župa wine route, located in the basin of the West Morava river and its affluents, in the pit between Kopaonik, Željina, Jastrebac and Goč mountains.
The tradition of making the best Župa wines: Tamjanka, Chardonnay, the Rhein Riesling Italian Riesling Rose is held by the Ivanović , Vinska kuća Minića, Podrumi Radenković, Braća Rajković, Kosta Botunjac and other wineries.
The Smederevo wine route, borderlined by the Danube on one side and the Great Morava river on the other, is the sixth of the marked wine routes in the country. The soil of the region is perfect for growing the Smederevka grapes, which is why the wine named Smederevka is the most produced here. They also make Italian Riesling, Sauvignon, Sémillon and Tramin. They can all be tasted in the cellars like Radovanović, Živković and Janko.
The Negotin wine route, the seventh of the marked wine routes in Serbia, is the center of wine tourism in the eastern part of the country, famous for the “Rajačke pimnice” (old wine cellars in Rajac) – a complex of 270 wine cellars from the 18th century. These “pimnice” are no longer built, but some of the wineries have remodeled them so inside you can still taste the Negotin wines like prokupac, Bagrina, Začinak, Vranac, Smederevka, Italian Riesling, Sauvignon and Sémillon.
Cold winters and warm summers with many sunny days is the climate that suits the grapevine. Exactly that is what the weather is like on the eighth of Serbia’s marked wine routes and in the town of Knjaževac, around which grapes were grown since Roman times. This is why today we have the Knjaževac wine route.
In this region red wine is the most common: Red Burgundy, Prokupac, Plovdina, Italian Riesling and white Smederevka. The most famous cellars and wineries that keep these wines are Jović and Isakov.
The ancient wine growing of Southern Serbia started mapping the Kosovo and Metohija wine route in the time of the Nemanjić royal family. Today the most famous wineries on the ninth of the marked wine routes in Serbia are Vinica Petrović from Velika Hoča, as well as Antić winery from Orahovac. They make wine using Italian Riesling, the Rhein Riesling, Red Burgundy, Vranac, Sauvignon and Cabernet sorts.
