On the eastern slopes of Plešivica is Lokošin Dol. The place is maybe not easy to find, but once there one cannot miss the Stjepan Sirovica's house and winery, as he drives around in his van with a huge motto: „Budi in, pij gemišt fin“ (Be in, drink a fine gemišt). So, we did. At 9 am.
Don't think we are irreparable drunks, as gemišt is a favourite drink at any time of the day in Plešivica. It comes from the German word gemischt, meaning mixed, and connotes a balance of mixed white wine and mineral water. Going philosophically, we could say it represents the simpleness of life, with small joys in the glass. Once, gemišt was (and somewhere still is) a way to make sour and poor quality wine drinkable, but the taste stayed popular. Sometimes called gembač, it depends nowadays more on the quality of the mineral water than the quality wine.
Mr Sirovica knows this well. In the past 25 years, he cares for 2,5 ha of vineyard, situated on the sunny slopes of South-Eastern Plešivica region. We enter the wine cellar where Mr and Mrs Sirovica works diligently to produce quality Rhine Riesling, Graševina, Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner, but also Portugizac, Pinot Noir and red wine blends. Out of these, Green Sylvaner is considered to be the wine of the house, quite unusual and certainly brave move for a sort that is only recently presented on Plešivica Hills.
Green Sylvaner is rather a newcomer to this area but because of the microclimate and paedolic conditions, Plešivica is a suitable place even for such demanding wine. Green Sylvaner from Plešivica has green-yellow colour, and presents a harmonic and easy wine, with lots of fruity aromas, especially green apple. Acidity is pleasant, and the wine keeps refreshing and open feeling. It will be oenologists' challenge to see in a few years how much Sylvaner succeeds in Plešivica, but the one we tried at the Sirovica's is surely a wine to enjoy.
Some twenty people can enjoy it as well in the family tasting room situated above the cellar itself. Here one can try the aforementioned wines, including the Bakus Wine, a blend of white wines which is easily the best option for gemišt.
Stjepan Sirovica Lokošin Dol 4, 10450 Jastrebarsko Telefon: 00385 1 6279 041, 00 385 91 6279 041 E-mail: stjepan.sirovica@zg.t-com.hr www.vino-sirovica@zg.t-com.hr
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