"Serbian Tuscany" has best domestic wines: Karadjordjevics left their "stamp" on 13 hectares of land

Photo: Rina.rs

Tourists can feel all the beauties of a country through its food and wine. Serbia definitely has trump cards when it comes to wine tourism, and Topola is the main leader in this area, which can offer a lot to foreign oenophiles.

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This "Serbian Tuscany" boasts a centuries-old wine culture, because even during the time of Karadjordje (the founder of the Karadjordjevic dynasty), grapes were grown on nearby hills, while the first King's Winery (Kraljeva Vinarija) was built in 1931, where wine made from the highest quality varieties were kept.

Precisely this winery is now one of the oldest in Serbia, having survived despite difficult years. Although Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic was the one who dedicated himself to planting grapes in Topola, the Oplenac vineyards flourished under King Petar I.

"The complex of royal vineyards used to cover 40 hectares, after the Second World War the land was confiscated, but in early 2000s a part was returned and reconstruction began. Today, the King's Vineyard stretches over 13 hectares, five varieties of wine are produced according to old recipes with the help of modern equipment, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Black Muscat," says the manager of the King Petar I Endowment, Dragan Reljic, and adds that the plan is to "bring back to life" the variety Prokupac.

"It will be used to make rose, which can become a kind of Serbian brand, like champagne is for France."

Dragan Reljic / Photo: Rina.rs

The first commercial harvest was in 2007, and now the King's Winery annually produces about 20,000 liters of finest white and red wines, which oenologists around the world rate with the highest marks.

Wines from the King's Winery have been all over the world, the most frequent buyers are tourists who visit the King Petar I Endowment, so this wine reaches the most distant countries. Three years ago, at the International Fair in Belgrade, in a competition with over a hundred wines, an international expert jury declared Chardonnay a champion in the whites category - a wine made in Topola from the Karadjordjevic vineyards' grapes.

Photo: Rina.rs

"Other wineries produce much more, but quality is more important to us than quantity. Our goal is to preserve what makes the King's Winery recognizable, and those are wines of exceptional taste and aroma that are made from the highest quality varieties of grape. Our wine is sold right here in the winery, a small quantity is set aside for export and we hope that will go to China," says Reljic.

The recipe for these finest wines, according to the manager, is respect for tradition and experience of ancestors, with the knowledge of experts, love and care of workers, but above all - a wine gets a special stamp with the assortment of grapes, vineyard location, climate and land.

(Telegraf Biznis/Rina)