On the gentle slopes of the Dalj Mountains, along the right bank of the Danube, which floods the Erdut and makes it a peninsula under ideal conditions for growing vines - at an altitude of between 130 and 190 meters, slightly sloping south, on woodland, there are Erdut Vineyards on 490 hectares. The Erdut Vineyards Winery houses the largest wine barrel in use in the world. The barrel is made of Slavonian oak, the traditional method of splitting oak rainbows from a total of 109 oak trunks; 75,000 litres. It is always full and there is always Graševina because Graševina is a trademark of vineyards, and thus the wineries of Erdut Vineyards.
Erdut Vineyards Winery presented itself at wine talks with journalist Tomislav Stiplošek, a fun-educational interactive workshop that is tailored to wine connoisseurs and wine lovers alike, held twice a month at the Procaffe Cafe in Tkalčićeva Street in central Zagreb. Featured wines: Pea premium (2019), Chardonnay premium (2019), Pinot Grigio quality (2019), Pinot Noir and white quality (2019), Rose quality (2019), Cabernet Franc quality (2018) , Merlot top (2018) and Traminac fragrant ice vintage (2012). Wines were presented by the chief oenologist, Melita Rumbak, who "inherited" this position in Erdut Vineyards from her mother, so this winery is "in her blood."
The wines are expressed in varieties and minerality, and throughout the line you can see the continuous work of the same oenologist. The basic line of young white wines is already very good. The Big Barrel line is their line of premium wines whose name is the association with the largest barrel in the world in use. That line will be great; at the moment, these are the wines to wait, and on tasting they give great potential for development. The wine that made the best impression on the audience (of course, except for the ice harvest that is a world in itself) is white wine of the Pinot Noir variety. It's a very good, refreshing wine, nice green notes in the aroma, quite aromatic, ideal for sipping on the summer terrace. Of course, the question is marketing, how to bring this wine to the audience.
The history of the Erdut vineyards goes back to the beginning of the 18th century, and the year 1730 is considered the beginning of the vineyard tradition of the company and the entire vineyard. Throughout the long and interesting history of vineyards and wineries, historian Hrvoje Pavić has been in charge of marketing and tourism in the winery. Josip Pavić, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Erdut Vineyards, who occasionally got involved in the conversation, commented on the fact that few wineries in Croatia have such low prices with this quality, but this is their inevitability at the moment because they have to fulfil many obligations. Pavić is also the president of the Croatian Wine Association, so he also commented on the work and goals of the Association. "Throughout my life, I have learned to function by first looking at the needs and then adjusting your work to the needs, which specifically means that both the Association and the state of Croatia must encourage young people to develop winemaking and viticulture. We visited some foreign wine regions, such as Villány. The goal of the Erdut vineyard should be to be at the level of Villány. Other vineyards should be pursued in this direction, except for Istria, which has already made great progress there, said Josip Pavić.
It is on this topic that the debate has arisen - is it possible to make anything in Erdut at Villány level? Perhaps the best answer to that question was given by a well-known wine journalist, Ivo Kozarčanin: "Villány is a world-renowned region and comparing yourself to such a region is courageous in itself. Can we be in that rank? Yes, we can, but with a lot of work, a lot of time, mind you, and we'll need some luck ... And one day, maybe we could be in that rank. " In addition to the wines from the Croatian Danube region, Baranjac cheese and kulen, sausages and bacon made of black Slavonian pig from Belje d.d., which is grown outdoors. The finest red ground peppers are used for kulen and sausage and are smoked in traditional smoke on beech wood.
At these Wine Conversations, Tomislav Stiplošek, in addition to the winemakers, hosted and introduced other guests. Ivana Berišić, Editor-in-Chief of Poduzetna.com, has launched her own brand that deals with the production of inedible decorative sweets. She displayed dessert-shaped decorative magnets and a "cake," the perfect decoration for a sweet corner of a private or commercial space. Writer Lea Brezar (known for her hit "Superheroes" and the poetry project at the tram stop "Ode to Poetry") presented her new novel "Mirrors", which, like her earlier novels, is aimed at fostering empathy and emotional intelligence. She also announced the opening of the first private language gymnasium in Waldorf methodology. "I'm very happy that this is the 21st Wine Talks, and again there was a search for a place more, which is an indication that we are doing well and that people have embraced the concept. they are not so well known to the general public, "said organizer and moderator of Wine Talks, Tomislav Stiplošek.
This time he introduced a young confectioner who paired the icy vintage of Traminac fragrant Erdut vineyards with a cheesecake variant according to his author's recipe. "Božidar Akrap is a pastry chef who, at the age of 18, has been running an a la carte restaurant at the hotel on his own during the season. Why does it matter? When you see him, but also young Hrvoje Pavić, you see that there are phenomenal young people in this country who know they want to work at a very high level of quality, they want to work and, of course, they need the support of the environment for that, "Stiplošek said. Božidar Akrap was fond of confectionery in elementary school, mostly because of the opportunities and creativity that this profession provides. He graduated from the Catering and Tourism College in Zagreb, majoring in pastry; He first practiced at Emma's pastry shop at Malešnica and later at Dubravka's path, where he learned from Robert Bašić, and was further educated in France and Poland as part of the Erasmus + project. He became a Bluesun Fellowship and, after graduating from three years of school, got a job at their a la carte restaurant De Lucau, in Brela, under the mentorship of Ružica Jukičić. He is currently working with Robert Hromalić at the pastry shop Le Kolač. Already, his cakes are at a high level and what the Wine Conversation audience can be convinced of, he has a fantastic sense of sweetness, that is, essential, that the cakes are delicious, flaky and not sweet. He is currently focusing his education and work on himself, and the next step is to enroll in one of the French pastry schools.
The cake that the Wine Talk audience had a chance to taste for the backing had crumble of almonds and nutmeg; the parfait was cream cheese flavoured with rosemary and the final layer of the cake was a cherry gel that gave the cake the necessary acid. The cake was decorated with almonds and mint leaves.