The largest winery in the Virovitica-Podravina County, PP Orahovica, presented its top wines to internationally recognized wine experts and specialized journalists, led by renowned local oenologists Saša Špiranac and Mirna Filipović Grčić.
The expert guests were guided through all the stages of making quality Orahovica wines by oenologist of PP Orahovica Luka Radiček, and in addition to tasting wines that have so far won gold, six silver and four bronze medals, they also had the opportunity to taste traditional dishes made from freshwater fish. The multi-awarded Martin Albus Frankovka ’18, crowned with gold at the international Mundus Vini competition and silver at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, went well with the fish stew and the carp.
Visitors, as part of the GO GROW program of the event, also tasted the world-famous Sylvaner Zeleni Vrh. '22, awarded with bronze at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) and Decanter, Martin Albus Rose '22 with silver at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Martin Albus Sauvignon '22 with two silvers at Decanter and Mundus Vini and the late harvest of Green Sylvaner '22 which was awarded silver at this year's Decanter.
Martin Albus is a line of premium young wines made from grapes from only one location, because this is the method of grape processing that maximizes the terroir and reveals the wine with all its peculiarities. The line was launched in 2021 with the intention of making wine especially for catering, so today it is available through the HoReCa system and in some wine shops. It got its name from the combination of the names of two of the best vineyards in Orahovica - Martin is a young plantation of 20 hectares Sylvaner and Frankovka, and Albus is 5 hectares where Sauvignon, Pinot Gris and Graševina are planted.
"We proudly showed the experts the quality of wine production that we have nurtured for more than 130 years, and which today is proven by numerous awards won at prestigious world competitions. Martin Albus is the newest brand of PP Orahovica and it is a wine that is not only the fruit of the work of winemakers and winegrowers, but is made as a single vineyard wine in order to get a more pronounced character of the wine. Such an approach and insistence on top quality already in the first vintages brought a number of recognitions", they point out in PP Orahovica, which annually produces around one million liters of wine, which ranks them among the ten top winemakers in Croatia, and they are also the largest producer of hazelnuts and freshwater fish in Croatia.
Orahovica vineyards are located in the untouched nature of Slavonia, along the edges of the UNESCO Geopark Papuk at 160 to 250 meters above sea level. Exceptional natural diversity, geological complexity and specific microclimate make the Orahovica landscape ideal for growing vines and winemaking, and such unique conditions give the wine the complexity and flavor of the place where it is grown.
PP Orahovica participated for the first time at GO GROW, an event that combines the international GROW du Monde and the traditional GO conference (Graševina Osijek). This year, among the visitors to the event in Orahovica were even two holders of the Master of Wine title, Rod Smith and Ivan Barbić, who are also the only Croatians with this prestigious qualification.