The history of wine making in Serbia stretches back over two millennia. The wines made by the indigenous tribes were enhanced by the better Mediterranean grape varieties brought over by the Romans at the beginning of our era. Emperor Probus (276-282 AD), born in Sirmium (today Sremska Mitrovica), abolished the monopoly of the Roman viticulturists and initiated the planting of the first vineyards with prime varieties of grape on the slopes of Mt Fruška Gora. One of the reasons why his troops rebelled and killed him was that they had been made to work hard on the clearing of land for the new vineyards.

With the arrival of the mead-drinking barbarians from the North and general insecurity in the region, the laborious task of producing wine was abandoned throughout the inner Balkan region. The Byzantines restored viticulture and wine production in the whole region but most of Serbia remained poor in vineyards until the 12th century, except along the Adriatic coastline. Better times for wine growing came with the rise of the Nemanjić dynasty. The legend says that the wise St. Sava Nemanjić, the greatest Serbian saint, actually taught the people how to make wine. Large numbers of newly built monasteries required wine for liturgical services and as a result new planting took place everywhere. Especially well known was the region of Metohija where many monasteries owned villages where wine production became the sole activity. Soon, wine was drunk by all classes of society and was made on vast royal plantations as well as in the modest wineries of ordinary peasants. Laws regulated the whole process of wine making from the planting to the sale. With the arrival of the Turks and the displacement of the center of the Serbian state northwards, new wine growing areas grew along the rivers Morava and Danube. The counties around the capital cities of Prince Lazar (Kruševac) and the despot Djuradj (Smederevo) are still famous wine growing regions. Even Bertrandon de la Broquiere, a Burgundian knight travelling to Constantinople in the 15th century, was impressed with the multitude of Serbia’s vineyards.

Since Islam prohibits wine consumption, the Turkish conquest and rule brought wine production to a standstill. However, many regions still lived from wine making, like the town of Sremski Karlovci on Fruška Gora and the neighboring monasteries that paid their rents to the Sultan in wine.

Habsburg rule revitalized the ancient craft once again. The wines of Sremski Karlovci, above all the aromatic vermouth-like bermet, were now used to secure the granting of Serbian privileges by the Viennese court. Consequently, the wines of Fruška Gora became highly regarded all over Europe and, already in the 18th century, were being exported to London and other major European cities. The knowledgeable winegrowers from the Moselle region who were colonized in Vršac became renowned in the 19th century for their production. The sandy grounds of northern Vojvodina, around Subotica and Čoka, owned by the wealthy noble families, were turned into great plantations that produced some celebrated masterpieces of wine-making.

When Serbia became independent, the re-establishment of vineyards attracted much attention from the new rulers. Particularly well known in this context was King Petar who, at the very beginning of the 20th century, planted huge vineyards at his property on Oplenac Hill that still give top quality wines.

The different regions, each with their specific climates, yield a variety of distinct wines. The main wine growing areas all lie along rivers: the Danube, all three Moravas, the Timok or the Nišava. There are several indigenous wines like the pale Smederevka or Slankamenka and ruby Prokupac and Župljanka, that each bear the names of the towns or regions where they originated.

If you’re eager to learn more about Serbian wines you can follow the suggested wine routes and visit the places where you can try them and perhaps buy some from the manufacturers themselves.

Sandy grounds, a temperate continental climate with much sun during the summers and fine grape varieties are features of the Subotica-Horgoš wine region. The main producers here are two large wineries in Čoka and in Palić. Čoka produces wines such as Merlot, Muscat Ottonel or “Ždrebčeva krv” (“Stallion’s Blood”). The winery “Sololac” from Novi Bečej makes Muscat Crocant, a very rare variety, which is produced solely on Biserno Island in Tisa River. The wine named “Francuski poljubac” (“French Kiss”) is prepared from the local grape variety – Kevedinka.

For several centuries the Srem wine region, whose focal point is the famous Sremski Karlovci, center of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was one of the leading wine producing areas in Europe. Distinctive local specialities and techniques go into specially prepared wines like Ausbruh (Samotok) and the aromatized Bermet that accord perfectly with deserts. The winery in Čerević produces a recently created but equally attractive wine, Neoplanta. Basking in the sun’s rays and their reflection in the broad waters of the Danube - varieties including Italian-, Rhein- or the local Fruškogorski Riesling, and also others such as Traminer, Bouvies, Župljanka, Portugieser or Blaufränkisch - each have their own distinctive taste and qualities.

Already famous in the days of the medieval Hungarian kings, the Banat wine region centered around the Vršac Mountains, continued wine production throughout the days of Turkish rule up until the wine growing renaissance in the 19th and 20th centuries. Small villages east of Vršac, such as Gudurica or Veliko Središte, still base their living on wine growing. In Gudurica, the wine growers come from 16 different ethnic origins, all tending their vineyards in harmony. The biggest maker here is “Vršačko vinogorje” with its 1,7 thousand acres of vineyards and equally huge cellars, most famous of which is the 1880 “Helvecija” in Vršac. The most widely produced wines are Muscat Ottonel, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Rhein and Italian Riesling, as well as the local Kreacer and the sparkling “Kabinet”.

The Šumadijsko-velikomoravski wine region borders on the rivers Danube and Great Morava, with local centers in Topola and Smederevo. The traditions of the royal vineyards of the Karadjordjević dynasty, on the hill of Oplenac above Topola, is maintained by the “Aleksandrović” winery. Their most famous wine, prepared according to the old recipe, is Trijumf (“Triumph”). The villa of the rival Obrenović dynasty, on Zlatni Breg above the Danube, is surrounded by plantations founded at the beginning of the 19th century. Apart from the local Smederevka, with a fruity, fresh taste in two varieties (dry or demi-sec), the other white wines – Chardonnay, Rhein Riesling, Cabernet - are equally worth trying here. Further up the Morava River is the village of Krnjevo and in it the “Small Cellar ‘Radovanović’” whose wines have won several awards.

With its mild climate, the valley of the Timok wine region stretches along the river of the same name from Knjaževac to Negotin, both with big wineries. At the turn of 19th and 20th centuries this region became famous as one that was not affected by Phylloxera, such that French winegrowers came to buy wine here. Austro-Hungary even maintained a consulate here with the sole purpose of importing the local wine! Nevertheless, one of the biggest attractions here is the pimnice in villages such as Rajac, Rogljevo or Smedovac. Pivnice are groups of houses separated from the villages themselves and specially designed for wine making and wine storage. The old stone houses formed streets and small squares so that a pivnice today constitutes a sort of wine hamlet. Apart from the local Bagrina, the Gamay and Semillon produced here are also exquisite.

The Zapadnomoravski wine region is famous for the producers in Kruševac (“Rubin”), Prokuplje and above all in Aleksandrovac, center of the Župa district. Župa is a term for a valley with a mild climate, and župa along the river Rasina is perfect for wine growing. All of the wealthy medieval monasteries had their vineyards here and that tradition was never abandoned in this quiet and beautiful corner of Serbia. Akin to pimnice, here we find poljane made by villagers to live in during the long periods of work in the vineyards required in springtime and summer every year. During the wine harvest season in Aleksandrovac, one of the fountains flows with wine instead of water. Most widely grown here are the indigenous Prokupac, named after the town of Prokuplje, and Tamjanika, a Muscat variety that originated in France but has been very popular in Serbia since the Middle Ages.

The Metohija wine region encompasses the south-western angle of Kosovo province, with local centers in Suva Reka, Orahovac, Velika Hoča (with its twelve medieval churches) and especially in Mala Kruša village, whose “Kosovovino” was among the largest wine producers in the country before the war. The tradition was established at the end of the 12th century by Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, who himself planted the first vineyards here.

The winegrowers of Serbia celebrate St. Tryphon as their patron saint (14th of February). In the same way as St. Tryphon remained persistent and steadfast under persecution, so they believe, their patron will grant that long months of labor will pay off with a rich grape harvest and quality vintages.

During the grape harvest all of the wine regions organise festivities to honor the event. These are wonderful occasions for savouring wine, music, singing and dancing and, most important of all, for enjoying the assorted specialties of Serbian cuisine that accord so perfectly with their local wine.