(All photos ©2012 Cliff Rames)
Last month, two editors from Wine Enthusiast magazine, Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen (aka the World Wine Guys), visited Croatia to receive the Golden Pen Award from the Croatian National Tourism Board for their article called “Croatia – In Living Color”, which was published in the September 2011 issue of Wine Enthusiast.
After receiving the Golden Pen Award (“Zlatna Penkala”), the Wine Guys toured a selection of wineries, vineyards, hotels, restaurants and other sites in the continental region of Croatia.
The Wine Guys were escorted by Cliff Rames, sommelier and founder of Wines of Croatia, who along the way captured a few snapshots of their journey. We will be sharing an assortment of Cliff’s photos with you over the next few weeks, including this collection of shots from Zdjelarević winery in the Slavonski Brod wine-growing hills of the Slavonia region of northeastern Croatia.
Zdjelarević Hotel & Winery – directed by winemaker Davor Zdjelarević – cultivates 10 hectares of its own vines as well as another 20 hectares of vines under lease, which allows the winery to produce up to 150,000 bottles of wine per year. Among its best loved wines are the Nagual Grand Cuve Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot and Nagual Grand Cuve Chardonnay/Sauvignon labels, as well as the Klink@ line of early drinking wines designed to appeal to Generation X consumers.
According to the winery, Queen Elizabeth II is said to have enjoyed Zdjelarević’s 2009 Chardonnay – a wine produced from vines that overlook the long sloping hills that meander southeastward toward the town of Slavonski Brod and the Sava river – an area not generally recognized for its world class wines. It looks like Davor Zdjelarević is trying to change that.
The property also includes a hotel with 12 rooms and three apartments and a gourmet restaurant where guests can dine like a king – and drink like a queen! 🙂
Uncorking Croatia 