There is just one St. Vinko, but a lot of Vincelovos! Nevertheless, the largest and the best-known celebration of the feast of the famous saint in the Požega’s Golden Valley is traditionally organised by Kutjevo.
The picturesque Vinkomir vineyard hill, high above the town of Kutjevo, suddenly becomes alive and awakens all the good spirits of the magic of taste and smell of high-quality young and mulled wines. And not just wines, but of everything which Slavonia has to offer. Local and international guests could also try to grill and taste the Slavonian sausages, enjoy the deliciously roasted carp halves, enjoy the lamb and ox meat on a spit and some homemade cakes. Immediately after the arrival, the guests were presented with glasses in order not to “suffer” while sausages were grilled and for the whole experience to be complete because that is precisely what hedonists really love. Helped by the musical programme presented by cultural societies Bektež from Bektež and Poljadija from Grabarje, the Slavonian atmosphere was guaranteed!
From the beginning of times, people always needed to prune their vines and bless their vineyards, and then to drink good wine in order to make the vineyards produce a lot of grapes that year. It appears that last year’s prayers to St. Vinko were very much heard since sales records have been broken.
As in previous years, Enver Moralić, the majority owner of Kutjevo, was joined at this festive event by former president Stjepan Mesić, as well as Alojz Tomašević, the prefect of Požega-Slavonia County; Josip Budimir, the mayor of Kutjevo; Josip Ređo, the CEO of Kutjevo. Kutjevo parish priest Marijan Đukić blessed the event.
“This past year was filled with many medals won at both domestic and foreign wine competitions, and we sold the record five million litres,” said Ređo at the start of the event in a specially constructed VIP tent.
Of course, this year’s Vincelovo was an excellent opportunity for the famous winemaking giant to thank all the friends and business partners for their loyalty, as well as journalists from all over Croatia who have been following the company for years and have faithfully reported on all of its impressive achievements.
More than 700 guests enjoyed the Slavonian specialities and the young wine, with the festive atmosphere being provided by joyful Indira Forza (who did not forget to praise the juicy sausages), and the Dyaco tamburitza band. The true Slavonian feast lasted until the early morning hours, with people enjoying the wines, dancing and listening to tamburitza music. As always at the Vinkomir, people wined and enjoyed themselves throughout the night.
More news on the Croatian wines can be found in the Lifestyle section.
