The new Trivanović winery is being built in Erdevik, making this location, along with other novelties, one of the most prestigious wine and gastronomic centers in Serbia.
Ivan Trivanović is the owner of a winery that is currently still located in Šid, and from where great wines come, starting with the rosé Lex, which for years has been known as the biggest favorite of the Serbian pink sky, then the outstanding Optimus grašac, top-quality Pinot Grigio, but also Shiraz and Cabernet.
The future prestigious winery is located in the place where the Trivanović family’s wine story started, just above the first vineyard planted by Ivanov’s grandfather back in 1959. Grašca, of course, because these slopes of Fruška Gora are known for that variety, so the small vineyard below the winery will most likely be built in accordance with the 65-year tradition.
At the moment, the object of about 670 square meters in the cottage settlement in Erdevik has already risen to the roof, but the first work will start next year. The two vineyards of Trivanović are only a kilometer and a few hundred meters away from the winery, which promises a further jump in terms of quality. But why a new winery when the one in Šid produces a good product?
– The winery we have in Šid is a technical building. By coincidence, my father, the popular Brka, planted a large number of hectares under vines in his time, wanting to produce grapes and not wine. When we had to make wine afterwards, we simply moved into a space located in an industrial zone where wine tourism is zero. So which hedonist will come to the industrial zone to enjoy wine?
Projekat buduće vinarije
So the building was not intended – explains Ivan – and as such only a temporary solution, and we are building a new one at the extremely symbolic place of the origin of our wine tradition. Which was the idea and wish if we ever do it. But wishes and opportunities do not always coincide, even finances do not play a decisive role here. Sometimes you just don’t have enough space, you don’t have the necessary structure, this or that, so I’m very happy that I have the opportunity to fulfill my decade-long wish now.
In an extremely beautiful place above the lake from where the view extends over the tops of the trees, from the beginning of 2023 a building is emerging which, according to the idea, provides a serious approach to wine tourism. In the first phase, apartments are not planned, but the idea stands and land has already been designated for that purpose. But we are going in stages, says Trivanović, so we will see what will be realized and what will not.
For now, the tasting room plus the terrace occupy about 150 square meters. Below are a hall with tanks, a warehouse and a barrel cellar, while the processing is on a covered plateau that is an integral part of the winery.
– The crucial idea is that we make wine according to the gravity principle, where the wine has freedom and we do not turn on the pump. This reduces the binding of oxygen, which is a very nice thing. We will continue this harvest in the old space because there is a specific timing for moving the winery, which is when the tanks are empty. So during May and June, for which it is now too late, and moving wines and equipment in July and August is real hell. All in all, we will have the first processing in the new winery in 2025.
At this moment, Ivan clearly sees the potential for congress tourism, team buildings and the like where a certain wall is already planned for design. In addition to seating tables, there will also be tall ones for cocktail varieties when the tour bus comes by.
In the dilemma of whether to open a restaurant or a tasting room, the second option still prevailed because the restaurant business is very serious in terms of manpower, which is in an increasing deficit, especially further from urban centers.
Radovi na novoj vinariji uveliko napreduju
– Then it’s a big pain and I don’t know what we would get. So there will be a tasting room, but what used to make people happy, to give them wine and bring out something for them to taste, is no longer valid. You have to be ready for a different organization, for all categories and number of guests. To add something new or for those who came to enjoy aged wines, to prepare something meaty for them as if they were in a restaurant.
This will be possible because there is space for a smaller but well-equipped kitchen where the guest chef could prepare something interesting. Also, the hall will not have strict working hours, but you can come to meet upon notice, and the main word in the whole thing is flexibility, emphasizes Trivanović.
At the moment, the Trivanović, Erdevik, Imperator, McCulloh, Vinčić wineries are located or are being built within a radius of only a kilometer or two, so in Erdevik, right next to the border with the EU, a wickedly good Serbian center of wine and haute gastronomy is emerging. Beautiful wooded nature, lakes, tradition, fairs of famous Srem specialties, are a beacon of a better future for the entire region, where everyone who comes in the same day will be able to visit several wineries, tasting areas or restaurants, and choose what to eat and where to enjoy. Perhaps with Lex wines, Pinot Grigio or Optimus peas from the 2023 harvest, which will soon be on the market, and perhaps with a beautiful, gentle, elegant Merlot Trivanović in a further announcement.
But Ivan’s father Brka is already preparing to move to the old family cottage under the new winery. He did not plant all those vineyards in vain.|
Photo: Slobodan Vidović
Source: vino.rs
