Reading Time: [est_time] Our first stop to the Balkans four years ago was Serbia. We started our three-month romp through the peninsula in Serbia. Back then, our expectations of Serbian wines were low. The high quality of the wines instantly impressed us. The possibilities for Serbian wines
Reading Time: [est_time] Do you like wines with a touch of bottle age? Croatia is a fascinating country with plenty of quality wines made from both indigenous and international varieties. Thanks to the high volume of tourists and a voracious local market, the best producers sell out
Reading Time: [est_time] Visiting an old friend. That's what if felt like to revisit the Fruška Gora region and the Vojvodina Wine Show 2019 in Serbia. Fruška Gora was the first region Charine and I visited in the Balkans. You can get a glimpse of our first
Reading Time: [est_time] In the Spring of 2019, Charine and I were invited to the 8th Annual 'Balkans International Wine Competition & Festival' in Sofia, Bulgaria. The contest is open to wineries from all countries located in or around the Balkan Peninsula. In addition to the
Reading Time: [est_time] It took us nearly two years to track down the wines from Francuska Vinarija. These wines are made by a French couple, Estelle & Cyrille Bongiraud, in eastern Serbia. The Bonigraud's were in search of a great, lost terroir when they stumbled upon
Reading Time: [est_time] 2017 marked the third year of our location-independent lifestyle and the second year of our wine career. It was a momentous year for us---in the span of 12 months, we authored and published our second and third wine book Sipping Santa Barbara and Cracking Croatian Wine, traveled
Reading Time: [est_time] It seems as if every country that is either, new to winemaking or reacquiring its winemaking past, try their hands at Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Who's to blame them? These are grape that people are familiar with. In addition to that, they adapt
Maurer White Wines Maurer Kövidinka 1941 2015 In the past, this was the low alcohol quaffing wine for laborers. Made with grapes of old bush vines. Flavors of dandelion, meadow, mushroom, white pear, apple juice. Bright up front and tastes a little like apple juice. Low acidity
Reading Time: [est_time] The dark-skinned grape Vranac (pronounce Vrah-nahts) is largely believed to be indigenous to Montenegro but also found in the surrounding areas such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Vranac usually delivers wines that are deeply colored with juicy acidity. The best
Reading Time: [est_time] We had a fantastic time at the (Facebook) #winelover's See You In Serbia trip. Having spent nearly six months in the country, we consider ourselves rather familiar with Serbian wines. Because of that, we oscillated between "Let's go. I'm excited!" and "Meh. I'm not sure