Back in 1982, Prof. Sima Lazić noted in his book Viticulture and Enology of Fruška gora: "We find it important to know that Italian Riesling is our autochthonous grape variety and we strive to give it back its beautiful popular name Grašac or Graševina. By highlighting Riesling in the name, we are trying to steal something from the existing variety Riesling, which in our daily practice is known as Rhine Riesling. We should not adorn ourselves with borrowed plumes because ours is equally light and good ".

Unfortunately, Professor Lazić did not live long enough to see the reaffirmation of the name Grašac in Serbian wine world, but he would certainly feel proud nowadays. And he would be especially pleased with the direction in which Fruška Gora winemakers are heading with this variety. Until now, the main obstacle to raising Grašac to the place it deserves were the winemakers themselves, who were content to make light, easy-drinking wines from Grašac full of freshness that will be consumed during the summer somewhere by the river, with a hot pot boiling, surrounded by mates, without any ambition to show versatility and full potential of this grape variety. 

New winds started to blow around the belltowers of Sremski Karlovci. The young generation of winemakers and enologists from Fruška Gora has embraced Grašac and we can already see results.

The owner of Vinum winery from Sremski Karlovci was initially hesitant to change the name of the variety on his labels (a somewhat understandable fear that this important change would also affect the sale of wine). But, after a few years, we see that Grašac is becoming the flagship wine of the winery, and the young enologist Jovica Urošević decided to demonstrate all his creativity and skills... So, winelovers can rejoice.

The tasting in the winery, held on May 15th, 2021, was designed as "Vinum's Grašac Day" with an ambition to become a regular get-together of friends and wine experts in order to display all achievements of the winery when it comes to Grašac variety. And this time, in front of the wine audience, there were two premieres: the first Grašac sparkling wine and Grašac matured in oak barrels.

Vinum Winery owns 1.7 hectares of Grašac vineyards, so they use exclusively grapes from their vineyards to make wine.

Dina 2018 - Vinum - sparkling wine made by the classic method. Wine with a distinct character and freshness. Fruity and floral aromas would prevail in the description, creamy, buttery tones discreetly complement aromatic profile and add to complexity. The finish shows typicity of Grašac, whilst citrus notes clean the palate and make this wine a real gastronomic gem.

Grašac 2019 -Vinum - Wine from a warm year. Rich in alcohol, full-bodied, structured. It still looks closed, young on the nose, but impression on the palate denotes top-quality grapes and promises good evolution in the coming period. Lush structure in the mouth, full-bodied, massive, intense... Flavors of yellow stone fruit, apple, ripe peach, green pear, and the finish is complemented by hints of grapefruit, lime, citrus. An exciting wine. 89/100

Grašac 2018 - Vinum - Much more demanding year in the vineyard. This is also indicated by the alcohol level (12.5%). Developed aromatic profile, mature multi-layered impression. In addition to ripe fruit aromas, the tones of linden flowers and pollen also come to the fore. Compared to previous wine, less exciting mouthfeel. Less complexity, also shorter finish. 86/100

Grašac 2017 - Vinum - This wine has taken the best features from the previous two. On the nose, it is developed and mature like the aromatic profile from Grašac 2018, but with much more complexity, more dynamics. Full body and consistency, intensity are similar to the wine from vintage 2019, but again, everything is brought to perfection. Preserved freshness only completes the beauty of this Grašac. 91/100

Grašac 26A 2019 - Vinum - Small batch of 1000 bottles. Grašac, which spent a year in barrel, followed by 6 months in stainless steel tanks. The name of the wine 26A sends out a message that in front of us is "a wine with an address" (26A is the number of the house in Karlovačkog mira Street where the winery is located). Selection of grapes, somewhat later harvest. Special attention is paid to this wine in the cellar. It is still not available on the market (although some collectors have already procured their specimens directly from the winery). The nose is currently dominated by vanilla, warm tones, yellow fruit, sweet spices. The first encounter with wine unequivocally reveals that the wine was aged in oak barrels of the highest quality. A wine that requires more time to show all its potential and character of Grašac. 88/100

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