One of the earliest grape harvests in the history of viticulture in Plešivica is underway. In most of the vineyards there, the harvest began in the days surrounding the feast of the Assumption. The majority of winegrowers first harvest grapes for the production of sparkling wine. The winegrowers are satisfied with the quantity and quality of grapes, so they hope that this year's wines will also be excellent.
"Our records do not record such an early harvest. Climatic changes accelerated the ripening of grapes. Thanks to this, grapes have wonderful sugars and acids. The problem is high temperatures, so heat musts arrive in the cellar. Despite this, I believe that we will be able to make excellent sparkling wines this year. First, grapes of the chardonnay and Pinot Noir varieties, which form the basis for our sparkling wine production, were harvested. We use some old varieties to keep the sparkling wine fresh," said Drago Kurtalj from the Kurtalj winery. Plešivica winemakers agree that this year went well for them. In the spring, the amount of rain suited the vines, and during the summer, sunny weather.
"Our vineyards are located at the top of Plešivica, where there is a lot of sun, so we are used to earlier harvests, especially when it comes to grape varieties for sparkling wine. We started the harvest two days before the Assumption - on the same day as in 2017. We grow international and local grape varieties. We use Portugizac for rosé and black sparkling wine and Müller-Thurgau and Chardonnay for white sparkling wine. The sparkling wines will be excellent due to the optimal acids in the grapes, and thanks to the quality of the grapes, they will retain their varietal characteristics," said Krešimir Ivančić from the Griffin winery. Plešivica winemakers are pleased they did not have to fight vine diseases this year.
"According to all parameters, this will be one of our better vintages. Grapes are healthy. This year, we had the fewest interventions regarding vineyard treatment and vine spraying. In our vineyards, we first harvest part of Pinot Gris for wine, Pinot Noir grapes, and some old varieties for rosé sparkling wine. As a winemaker, I cannot afford to have bad wine, but from this year's harvest, we will be able to create excellent wines," said Franjo Kolarić from the Coletti winery. The winegrowers from Plešivica estimate they will complete the bulk of the grape harvest by mid-September. They look forward to the work ahead - that in the wine cellars. They do not hide the excitement with which they will watch how the must turns into wine and all the other steps that precede the bottling of the wine. They hope the final product will be as good as the grapes from which it is made.
The people of Zagreb and their guests will be able to taste the sparkling wines of Plešivica winemakers from grapes from previous years at the 3rd BregFest, the wine festival of Bregovita Croatia, which will be held in Zagreb's Lauba on Friday, October 25, 2024. Plešivica is one of the five vineyards of the Central Hill Region of Croatia. The vineyards of Zagorje and Međimurje, Prigorje and Bilogore, Pokuplje, and Moslavina are located in this wine region. Central hilly Croatia is one of the four Croatian wine regions, and the association Bregovita Hrvatska is a regional organization of winemakers and winegrowers for that wine region.
Photos: Ante Gudelj
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