In the world of great wines and it has nothing to do with France

Great wines interest a lot of people. Beside pristine nature, a thousand islands, Croatia hides the 3rd best location for grape growing. Did you know that?

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Contrary to the currently accessible online media and their arbitrary amateurish lists, there’s Burgundy in France as #1. Then, there’s Californian Napa at the second place. And finally, a little town of Kutjevo with surrounding area situated right under the intersection of Papuk and Krndija mountains at the north-northeast of the Golden Valley in Požega county, Slavonia, Croatia.

Here, the indisputable queen of wines is produced. It’s the most planted type of grape in Croatia and Slavonia is a kind of a synonym for it. We are, of course, talking about Graševina in all of its glory and varieties.

Great wines: Graševina Kutjevo, the single most awarded wine in Europe for decades

1312. That’s the year when monks built the cellar. And if you take a tour today, you’ll see the original barrels from those times.

Quality Grapes
Quality Grapes

While you are listening to the nice lady explaining the history, your palates will taste four different kinds of wines. The last will most likely be the winter harvest of Kutjevo’s famous Graševina (if your agency set the tour right). The liquid is so dense due to the sugar content that it pours more like honey than a wine. And when the first drop lands on your tongue, you’ll experience a standing orgasm.

Graševina Belje, the #2 on my personal taste list, bred in the cellar just north from Osijek

Vineyards in Croatia
Vineyards in Croatia
Personally, I like to buy the 3-liter canister with faucet because it fits in the fridge just perfectly and doesn’t take a fortune out of my pocket while still providing with exceptional taste. However, the more expensive variety you can find in 0.75 lit bottles, will definitely pump dopamine in your brain when that first sip finds the way to your tongue and palates.

Great wines: To the east from the Golden Valley and we are at the doorstep of yet another well-known awarded wine, Graševina Ilok.

Along the west bank of Danube, for centuries, winemakers are producing an exceptional breed of Graševina that is somewhat “softer” and “easier” than the one produced in Kutjevo. Still, it is, at least in my opinion, the second best Graševina in Croatia.

Cheers
Cheers

Now, I’m not a “professional” wine expert or some sommelier. But I do know good wine when I taste one because wines are all I drink, to be honest. Ever since I was a little boy, I was enjoying the taste of this Devine beverage. My family used to grow grape and make wine so it was kinda unavoidable to develop a taste for wines.

In my “expert” opinion, Graševina Belje cooled to the lowest temperature possible, is the wine that can definitely refresh and revive a thirsty and troubled soul. Drink it neat, without mineral water so you’d taste the different aromas. That’s my recommendation.

There’s a real debate about which one is better: Graševina Belje or Graševina Ilok?

To be honest, the only reason why I put one before the other is the habit. From my earliest age, if I couldn’t find Graševina Kutjevo for some odd reason, my pick would be Belje rather than Ilok.

Don’t ask me why because wines taste literally the same to me and both are equally exceptional.

Ebjoy some Wine with Friends

OK, perhaps Graševina Belje pours down the throat more easily but what I’m ultimately trying to say is that you can’t miss with either.

But just to be sure, go for Graševina Kutjevo, a synonym for top Graševina and there’s a consensus about that in Croatia. It’s simply the best Croatian wine in any variety.

Send us a message and we’ll arrange a proper tour in Kutjevo vinery. There’s this forbidden room that hides archive wines more expensive than a small country GDP. I’ll personally take you there and be your wingman through dark corridors of the ancient cellar.

Your CTC Team, I.K.

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