Coner - Wines from Bilogora

Bilogora was not known for viticulture and winemaking 20 years ago. That is changing because economist Marijan Coner, who bought land in Jabučeta near Bjelovar in 2008 to try his hand at wine production, started a whole wine revolution. A year later, they began planting white and red varieties: chardonnay, manzoni, sauvignon, graševina, traminac, muscat ottonel, pinot noir, lovrijenac, and Zweigelt on 5.5 hectares. Sixteen years later, the winery has nine hectares of vineyards in locations in Jabučeta, Višnjevac a few kilometers away and a smaller vineyard purchased from winemaker Ćaćija in Sv. Trojstvo. Since the beginning of production, Coner has sold wine in his own facilities, the Franz restaurant, and the Piaf cafe in Bjelovar and in Vidalići on Pag, where the Barbati restaurant and apartments are located. New plantations have been planted in Višnjevac (1,500 Chardonnay vines and 1/2 hectare of Scheurebe (a cross between Silvanera and Graševina). In the vineyard in Sv. Trojstvo, they also have a small amount of Portugizac.

The restaurant and winery, mostly underground, has 100 seats, and another 200 are located in the large glass part of the closed terrace. The Coner restaurant in Jabučeta is a favourite picnic spot for the people of Bjelovar, whose city is about fifteen kilometers away. Above the winery, next to the vineyards, they have built three apartments and five rooms of the highest category. There is a large playground for children, a ZIP line, and a part of the equestrian trail that passes through Bilogora, and this sport is very developed in this area. The winery has won gold several times at regional exhibitions Vinodar for Graševina 2022, in Zelina at the Northwest Croatian wine exhibition gold for Graševina from 2024, and at the local level in Budrovec 2024 they were champions with Graševina.

In Zagreb, on April 14, 2025, in the Czech House, seven wines were tasted: Graševina 2023, Chardonnay 2023, Sauvignon 2023, Traminac 2023, Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 and Klara Cabernet Sauvignon 2022. At the presentation led by journalist Vjekoslav Madunić, the wines were spoken about, in addition to the owner Marijan Coner and Ante Galić, the head of production in the vineyards and cellar, by sommelier Darko Lugalić and enologist Franjo Francem. Graševina 2023 with 12.1% alcohol and 5.8 g/L of acid is an elegant wine with low alcohol and good acidity. The wine is yellowish-greenish in color, with an authentic apple flavour. The aroma is reminiscent of yellow flowers and a little grass. This wine would go well with white sea fish, hake, trout, young cheese and cream, and vegetable dishes.

The second wine was Sauvignon 2023 with 12.1 alcohol and 5.5 g/L of acid, yellow in color and more pronounced greenish hues. The wine has the varietal purity of recognizable herbal notes/mown grass and elderberry. In the mouth, there is a lovely freshness, the wine is refreshing. For the gastronomic part, Lugarić suggests asparagus with pasta, vegetable risotto, white fish, and sea and river fish. This wine, like all the others at the promotion, was found to be made in a school manner, without any complaints. Enologist Franjo Francem said that he would have blindly concluded that it was from the prestigious Ilok. There is no greater compliment to the winemaker and his enologist, Saša Lukić.

Traminac also from 2023 has 14% alcohol and 5.1 g/L of acidity. The wine is golden yellow in color with a greenish tint. The aroma is of roses and honey. The slight bitterness at the end in the taste is welcome. This wine goes well with aromatic food: mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, a wok with sweet and spicy shrimp, Pag cheese risotto and pear tart and of course apple strudel. Traminac is a variety that has great market potential but is unfortunately very little used in Croatia.

The wine cuvee Iskra (named after the winemaker's granddaughter) 2023. with 12.1% alcohol and 5.2 g/L of acidity, is made from Graševina, Traminer and Muscat Yellow with a touch of Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Manzoni! The intention was to produce a wine that would be drinkable and semi-sweet. The wine has a yellowish-greenish color, an intense aroma, a fine fruity character of apricot, peach, quince and melon. With this wine, the sommelier recommends chicken pate, fig jam, panatone, pear tart, apple strudel. This type of wine can be drunk from appetizers to main courses and desserts! Klara Cabernet Sauvignon 2022. 13.5 alcohol and 6.5 g/L of acidity is a wine of beautiful red color with purple reflections, pronounced aromas of wild blackberry and blueberry with a touch of dark chocolate and coffee. The wine is full of flavor and appropriate acidity, and you can still feel the tannins that do not bother you. Gastronomically, it is recommended to eat dark meat dishes from the grill: steak, rump steak, lamb.

Photos: Marko Čolić