Andrea SeifertJarbola - Wine Pride of Zvoneća
The WineRi festival also included the association Jarbola, named after an autochthonous grape sort from Zvoneća, a mountainous area in the Rijeka’s hinterland. For centuries people cultivated this sort in “Zvonejske njivi”, a splendid example of rural architecture of stone dry walls, akin to the Bakar Prezidi.
Zvonejske njivi date somewhere between 15th and 17th centuries, and cover an area of 60 ha, on rather high 300 up to 450 metres above sea level. This height determines a distinctive acidity of local wine. Today only some 30 per cent of dry walls are cultivated, but nevertheless the locals are happy they are preserved as monument of culture since 1994.
Source: KanalRi
Wine maker Franko Ružić and other Zvoneća enthusiasts (Alen Kinkela, Marin Ružić, Alen Ružić, Gordan Kinkela, Đani Sušanj, and Ervin Stanić) gathered together in 2003 and with help of Institute for agriculture and tourism in Poreč realised a project of protecting the autochthonic sort Jarbola. This authenticity was proved by chemical analysis.
Unprecedented love for culture and heritage drives this association to work hard and accomplish remarkable renewal of the Jarbola. In 2005 they harvested first vine in old dry walls and cared for it full five years to deliver first drops of real wine. Jarbola is not an easy sort. The grape skin is thin, the bunch thick, and this makes it vulnerable to sickness.
Once accomplished, Jarbola gives full quality and freshness, with aromatic potentials, and various possibilities to explore blending it with local food. It has light yellow colour with green nuances, fruity bouquet with some blossoms and very strong aroma of green apple. Today only family homestead Ružić bottles this wine in a unique Kvarner product – Jarbola Ružić.
Franko Ružić Zvoneća 17, Jurdani, 51211 Matulji +385 91 509 7932 opgruzic@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/Jarbola-OPG-Ružić-1619272395032448
Photos by: OPG Ružić