Young wines in Međimurje wine cellars are a step before bottling. It will be presented to the wine audience for the first time at the 3rd BregFest, the wine festival of Bregovita Croatia.
The Mlado Međimurje project was designed by Međimurje winemakers, inspired by young wines produced in Slovenia and Austria, and aware of the growing popularity of wines that are bottled already two or three months after harvest and are toasted on Martinja.
The idea is confirmed Međimurci, proved good. With their production, they follow the growth of customer demand for wine, which in just two months transforms from cloudy must into drinkable pleasure.
- Looking at our Slovenian and Austrian neighbors, we decided to bottle our Rizvanac, Silvanac green, white and pinot gris, and even Graševina under the name Mlado Međimurje. Our young wines are light, fresh and fluffy. We are happy that the public's prejudices against young wine are being broken. For its production, we use strictly selected grapes so that the wines can be ready for the market already in Octoberhe said Robert Horvath, president of the association of winegrowers and winemakers of Međimurje Hortus Croatiae and winemaker of Vina Horvat winery.
The seventh generation of Mladi Međimurje wine will soon be on the market, and the Cmrečnjak winery has the longest tradition of producing young wines in Međimurje. That winery declared its first young wine under the label 'Mlado' back in 2006.
- Young Međimurje wines are more and more in demand every year, and this growth in demand is accompanied by growth in production. And here we want to emulate the Austrians. Some wineries from Southern Styria, which have been producing young wine for decades, sell as much as 40 percent of their wine as young, he explained Marko Cmrečnjak from Cmrečnjak winery.
Međimurje's young wines follow the global trends of drinking drinkable wines with a low percentage of alcohol. Everyone likes young wine - both young and old, and what winemakers notice is that older people are used to mature wines, while young people like to try something new and different and are more open to new tastes.
- What makes young wines special is that they are the first to reveal what the harvest was like. At the same time, they hint at what we can expect from the wine that will mature for months to come, He said David Stampar from Štampar winery.
The majority of Međimurje winemakers sell their new wine by the New Year, and those who produce larger quantities by February. Young wine has also found its place in gastronomy, but it is also ideal for casual gatherings with small snacks. According to the words Filip Jakopić from the Jakopić winery and the Terbotz restaurant, the young wine goes perfectly with light cheeses, white meat and pasta, and gourmets also love its combination with cracklings and other delicatessen products from this part of the country.
Ten wineries will present young wines produced as part of the Mlado Međimurje project at the upcoming BregFest. These are Cmrečnjak, Jakopić, Horvat, Knehtl-Medenjak, Kocijan, Kovač, Kunčić, Novak, Preiner and Štampar wineries.
///Mlado Međimurje – an excellent story of young winemakers
The third BregFest will be held in Zagreb's Lauba on Friday, October 25, 2024, from 14 p.m. to 21 p.m.
