Twenty Years of Bolfan Vinski Vrh

Twenty years ago, Tomislav Bolfan took over the vineyards and foundations of the Preša winery in Gornjaki near Hrašćina. He built a house with a restaurant and rooms and renamed the estate Vinski vrh.

About twenty guests enjoyed a kind of unofficial celebration of the twentieth anniversary of Vinski vrh, which began with a classic sparkling wine Centurion Gold Blanc de Blancs. It was served on a terrace above the vineyard with a view of Medvednica. The beautiful day made it possible to see even Kozara, more than 130 kilometers away as the crow flies. This white sparkling wine made from white Chardonnay grapes was refreshing and cheerful, and it was a good base for it was grilled bread with crackling spread.

At the table, the story of terroir in a plate and glass began with ham, homemade Dragec cheese, and Bolfan Cuvée bijeli Zagorski bregi wine. This is a refreshing, light, one could say summer wine that, like Zagorske brege, is made by five Zagorje wineries. Each has its own label and its own blend of international, Croatian and Zagorje varieties, and it is a beautiful tribute to the wine tradition of this region. Monovarietal wines were not made in Zagorje in the past. The plantations were mixed and all the grapes were vinified together according to the Austro-Hungarian tradition.

This was followed by homemade goat cheese with arugula and basil and Bolfan Sauvignon 2025. The classic combination of cheese and wine also pointed to some biodynamic principles. For more than 40 years, the German Maria Thun (1922 – 2012) researched the influence of the Moon and stars on living things, primarily plants, and divided time into days or hours of roots, leaves, flowers and fruits. Each has a different effect on the impression that wine leaves on people. The visit was at the time of roots, when our senses are at their most restrained. If it were a day of fruit, this wine would be bursting with aromas, said Tomislav Bolfan.

Grilled pork neck with celery cream was accompanied by Bolfan's new wine: Cuvée Crveni bregi 2025. A blend of noble varieties of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon with interspecific crosses of Cabernet Cortis and Pinot Satin was the surprise of the evening. It has a light ruby ​​color, a fine, delicate aroma and a distinctly fresh taste in which raspberries, cherries, currants and apples can be recognized. It suited the neck and calmed the strong taste of celery. I have the impression that it would also be excellent with pizzas, kebabs and even stuffed peppers with more pork in the mixture.

The warm part of the dinner was rounded off by grilled turkey with buckwheat porridge and broccoli and a fine extra brut sparkling wine Saint Benedict Rosé. It was introduced last year, and named after the patron saint of Europe to whom a small church is dedicated not far from the winery. It smells quite luxuriously of red berries, and a hint of pepper gives the taste a gentle spiciness. The cheese plate continued the conversation with the ripe Bolfan Primus Sauvignon Klen 2022. Klen is the location of the vineyard, and the wine deserves a place at the end of the dinner: it has calm aromas, opens slowly, but lasts a long time.

Tomislav Bolfan showed that it is not always ready when it is ready with the ripe but lively Bolfan Primus Pinot sivi Orange 2018. After a long maceration and fermentation with natural yeasts, it was nurtured in a large wooden barrel. It smells fine of nuts and very ripe pears, it has a full and elegant taste and, if you want to serve it with food, you would not make a mistake by choosing pasta and risotto with more aromatic forest mushrooms. There isn't much of it in stock, so it would be nice to number the bottles and pour them in order so that guests can see how many are left and how exclusive the opportunity to taste it is.

Bolfan Vinski Vrh is a place where it's not just the view that's worth seeing. In addition to the five rustically decorated rooms above the restaurant and the almost invisible, semi-buried cellar next to the house, they also have another one across the road. On the upper side, there's a nice space for meetings or team building with 60 to 70 seats. Below, with an entrance from below, is a champagne cellar where sparkling wines are aged in bottles, and the other part is intended for tools and equipment for cultivating the vineyards. From that side, the view of the Zagorje mountain Ivanščica is equally beautiful as the one of Medvednica from the terrace next to the restaurant.