When I started falling in love with wines and discovering their charms in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Davor Zdjelarević and his wines had a large role.
Davor Zdjelarević was among the first to create a private label. For those who don’t know, it was borderline illegal at the time – in the former state a private label was simply not foreseen.
His wines brought something new, different and better than we had on the market then, except for those who secretly smuggled a bottle from France or Italy. In any case Davor Zdjelarević is one of the pioneers of Croatian winemaking. I probably compared all other wines to his unknowingly.
The Zdjelarević Wines brand has been built up over 30 years, plantations expanded in Brodski Stupnik, an excellent winery and hotel constructed. The entire building, next to vineyards, is surely one of the finest in wine tourism in Croatia. Now, when he should be enjoying the successes of his winery, Davor is pushing an entirely new project, forced into it partly by Croatian conditions (or lack of) and partly by his own challenge-seeking spirit.
Again a revolutionary project – after selling the entire property in Brodski Stupnik, which we believe was an emotionally hard moment, Davor sets off to launch the first diffused winery. In fact he already did so we got to taste the first wines from the winery, named Z.W.S. (Zdjelarević Wine Selection). You’re probably wondering what diffused winery means – let me explain.
Davor is entering into a co branding with several winemakers such as Jakobović, Cossetto and Antunović Turk, totaling around ten. Production uses the resources of certain wineries under the enological patronage of Davor Zdjelarević. Grapes are either bought off by Davor or they are in it together. Small series are produced, 3.000 to 5.000 bottles sold directly to superior wine shops and better restaurants. These wines will not be found in shopping centers. The front label is Z.W.S. as the Zdjelarević name guarantees brand visibility, while the back label holds info on the winemaker that produces the wine.
The winemakers get insight into the functioning of a top winemaker, counseling, market breakthrough with a joint product and we don’t doubt the old fox Davor will advance them promotionally. Zdjelarević himself gets a breadth of production, not limited ot a territory – he’s currently into a Malvazija and Pošip with more to come. He’s not burdened by every detail in a cellar or vineyard, more like a mentor which gives him the freedom to deal only with the wine. A project complicated at first look is actually quite simple and we believe it will bring something new to our wine scene. We will follow the development of this project which may not stay unique in Croatia for long. For those of us who visited Davor in his winery with joy, some good news: in the coming 3-5 years Davor will build a small winery for around 15.000 liters, but also for large gatherings and hedonism, in Jakovlje near Zagreb – more than good for us Zagreb folk.
The project and first wines under the Z.W.S. label were presented in Dobra Vina restaurant in Zagreb with a fitting dinner in five courses. As Dobra Vina were chock full, it’s evident that both have their devoted audience.
MENU:
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Welcome drink
Lightly sparkling chardonnay, 2013 -
Lightly smoked duck breast on a base of leafy salad, assorted sprouts…
Rose Z.W.S., 2013 -
Homemade pasta with white sauce and crushed feta cheese…
Malvazija Z.W.S., 2013 -
Graševina Z.W.S., 2013 -
Turkey leg roll stuffed with carrot, bacon and asparagus on a creamy risotto…
Cabernet Sauvignon Z.W.S., 2012 -
Homemade cookies from nuts…
Chardonnay late harvest Z.W.S., 2013
