The winery from Martin Jušta's family farm was presented in Zagreb. In early 2001, Jušta bought around 1,500 vines in the Budrovac-Molvica area, mostly of the Škrlet variety. Over the years, he renovated the old vineyard and, in 2017, planted new vines in Čepelovac and Belevine, among which the most important is the piwi variety Solaris, with around 1,200 vines. It is precisely for this that the winery in Čepelovac is best known today, with numerous awards in recent years.
Among the 5000 vines today are 1000 Graševina, 700 Škrlet, about 400 Cabernet Franc, 300 Gamay, and a small number of red Piwi varieties, about 150 pieces of Regent and Nero. There are also smaller quantities of Sauvignon, Manzoni, and Kerner. As a professional winemaker, he appeared on the wider market in 2009. The first seedlings of Piwi varieties came from Freiburg, and the already mentioned Solaris was obtained by multiple crossings of Pinot Gris, Rhine Riesling, and Muscat Ottonel. The winery, which also has a wine vault with numerous awards and recognitions, is part of a beautiful wooden catering facility in Čepelovac.
The capacity is about 80 visitors, and more than 15 celebrations were held during January. I also tried local cuisine, including appetizers, veal, pork, and poultry, in November and December. The family farm has been awarded several times for its excellent wines in Zelina, Ludbreg, and last year in Varaždin when Solaris received 89 points at the 4th International Wine Exhibition and became the white champion and overall winner of the competition.
The wines are created by the winemaker himself, who has attended numerous professional lectures in Đurđevac and surrounding towns over the years. Now, his son-in-law Damir is also involved in this wine story, and they will continue the work of the family farm and winery in the future. They are already planning new vine plantations for this year and next year.
We tasted seven wines in a fully-filled workshop at the Czech House led by Darko Lugarić. In order: Cuvee white 11.5% alcohol and 5.2 g/L acidity, Solaris 11.9 and 7.2, Graševina 12.0 and 5.9, Škrlet 11.6 and 6.2, Rose (cabernet franc) 11.6 and 5.0, Solaris Muscat 11.9 and 6.7, Cuvee red 11.4 alcohol and 6.2 g/L acidity.
All wines were created in 2024, and the first Cuvee white (Sauvignon, Manzoni, Pinot Blanc, Kerner and Solaris) has already caused positive reactions from those present. The wine, made from 5 varieties, with an equal share of the 4 first mentioned and a more minor part of Solaris, is of a beautiful greenish-yellow color, crystal clear, with a nice body, drinkable, light with not much alcohol, and refreshing. In it and the wines that followed, we felt the excellent characteristics of the terroir of the Đurđevac region. The sommelier recommended trout and white fish carpaccio as a light dish, and it can also be an aperitif wine.
Solaris, which followed with as much as 7.2 g/L of acidity, was picked at the beginning of August. The winemaker told us that the yield is extraordinary; it gives excellent sugars, and he had to be careful not to go above 21 into higher alcohol, but rather the aforementioned high acidity that does not bother and will decrease. Lugarić's wine is reminiscent of peach, apricot, and elderberry in its aroma and has a mild grapefruit-lemon note in its taste. Delicious in the mouth and pleasant body, it invites the next glass. These characteristics were also recognized by the commissions in Zelina and Varaždin, who awarded it gold. Gastronomic recommendations, among other dishes, are the salad, arugula, cherry tomatoes, croutons and mango with grilled shrimp.
A pleasant surprise and there was no negative one, was the indigenous Škrlet (11.6 and 6.2), which is found most in Moslavina. Here, it received the additional benefits of a terroir permeated with sand and minerality. Đurđevački Škrlet has a pronounced aromatic, beautiful freshness, and a light body. Greenish tones are emphasized in color, also crystal clear, with a fruity-floral character. It has a mild sweetness and pronounced extractions, and in the taste, we find peach and mandarin.
With this wine, as with others from Justina's cellar, it was concluded that they would be happy to taste it in a year or two, on the 26th or 27th, because it has potential for development. However, at this moment, the winemaker cannot leave even a small stock of the approximately 10,000 liters produced annually, because the next harvest will sell everything! He confirmed that in the coming years, even with the larger amount of wine he expects to receive, he will leave a smaller number of bottles for some kind of vertical presentation.
Last but not least in terms of quality, in fact, we tried the Cuvee red under the label Crno (composed of 80% Gamay and two piwi varieties, Regent and Nera). The wine delighted those present. In the mouth, fruity, nice acidity, rounded, drinkable, no tannins and a little reminiscent of frizzante. The wine is airy, once again the positive characteristics of the region in which it was created are felt. Lugarić recommends breaded picek, duck, blue and river fish (the Drava is close to Đurđevac).
Franjo Francem states: "I'm glad there are small winemakers like this who have their own vision. His attempt with beer varieties is interesting and ultimately brave. I think he should stay true to himself and make interesting wines, even if they don't last more than a year, because he sells them out!". It was established that all the wines were made correctly and without fouling. We also tried decent graševina and rosé, and Solaris muscat with plenty of sugar and nice acidity (6.7 g/L) is neither too sweet nor too alcoholic (11.9%). The rest of the sugar is between 6 and 7. The wine has aromatics, freshness, sweetness and a light body. It could be paired with cheesecake, apple pie, and apple strudel with honey, as offered in a restaurant in Čepelovac.
Finally, Martin Jušta, a smaller (in terms of quantity of wine, not quality) winemaker from the Đurđevac, Podravina region, was a pleasant surprise for a large number of those present at the workshop. We wish him new plantations, larger quantities of wine that will be of the same quality, and that he remains true to himself on the wine path he has chosen.
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