Graševina Night Garden in Kutjevo

Top-quality Graševina wines, prestigious awards and a rich eno-gastronomic offer marked the first edition of the Graševina Night Garden, held in the atrium of Kutjevo Castle. The new event dedicated to Graševina gathered numerous guests, winemakers and wine lovers in Kutjevo, presenting the richness and quality of the most important Croatian wine variety.

The central moment of the evening was the ceremonial announcement of the Croatian Graševina judging champions at the Kutjevo Graševina Festival. The sparkling wine champion title was won by Kutjevo d.d. for Maximo Brut 2023, while the 2025 vintage champion in the dry wine category was Graševina Bonum usu, from the Antun Horvat Secondary Vocational School. The title of the best dry Graševina of the 2024-2021 vintage was won by the Trs Agricultural Cooperative for Graševina Dekan 2024, and the best predicate wine was Graševina Ledeno vino 2018 by Kutjeva d.d. In addition to four additional large gold diplomas, a total of 39 gold diplomas were awarded to the best wines.

The attendees were addressed by Dragan Kovačević, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy; Antonija Jozić, County Prefect of Požega-Slavonia County; Josip Budimir, Mayor of Kutjevo; and Tugomir Majdak, State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. In their addresses, they highlighted the importance of Graševina for the identity and development of winemaking in Croatia and emphasized that such events further confirm Kutjevo as one of the key wine centers of Croatia and the region.

The evening was further enriched with a specially designed three-course gastronomic program, carefully matched to the categories of the rated wines, and a musical program by DJ Andy Boy, which complemented the atmosphere of a wine gathering under the stars. On the eve of the event, an expert workshop dedicated to Graševina was held at the Galić winery under the leadership of wine expert Saša Špiranc and sommelier Monika Neral. Through conversation and expertly guided tasting, a selection of Graševina styles was sampled, while questions about current market trends facing Croatian winemakers were also raised. The workshop is part of the promotional activities of Graševina Croatica carried out within the framework of the European project Rueda-Graševina. The project is jointly implemented by Graševina Croatica and D.O. Rueda, a wine region from Spain, under the theme "Quality and Food Safety" and the slogan "Products and traditions from Europe. Sharing means living." The project is being implemented in the period from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028, and is co-financed by the European Union through the EU AGRIP program - Promotion of Agricultural Products, with the aim of raising awareness of the quality, authenticity and diversity of European wines with a protected designation of origin, with a special emphasis on Graševina and Rueda wines.

Graševina Night Garden also marked the beginning of the central part of the wine events in Kutjevo, which will continue with the 19th Graševina Festival from May 30 to June 6, 2026. During the festival days, visitors can expect a rich program of wine, gastronomic and musical events in Kutjevo. For more information about the program of all events, visit the official website of the Graševina Festival: www.festival-grasevine.hr.

Photos: Udruga Kutjevački vinari / Graševina Croatica