09/08/2025
It is always a pleasure to learn about wine from Advanced Sommelier and co-owner of Root & Flower Jeremy Campbell. Our ever traveling Bailliage chose to learn about Croatian and Balkan varietals this time since many have either been to the Balkan area and unexpectedly loved the wines there or are getting ready to travel to the region.
So off we went on our wine journey tasting and learning about four varietals:
• Rodica Malvadiesel 2022: 100% Malvazija varietal from Gulf of Trieste in Slovenia. A white wine aged in acacia barrels with notes of white flowers, peach, pineapple and green tea.
• Skegro Krš Orange 2022: 100% Žilavka varietal from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. “It is impossible, they say, to make a drinkable orange wine...” said the back of the bottle. But drinkable it was! The wine obtains its unique color from an extended period of skin contact during fermentation. Instead of pressing the juice off the skins immediately like a traditional white wine, the skins of the Žilavka grapes remain in contact with the must, transferring color and tannins into the wine, resulting in a full-bodied, dry, amber-hued drink with a distinctive texture.
• Bura-Mrgudić Basina 2022: 100% Plavac Mali varietal from the Peljesac peninsula in Croatia. A red wine with rich, deep and earthy notes with softer tannins and amazing complexity reminiscent of a zinfandel.
• Piližota Babić 2022: 100% Babić varietal from outskirts of Šibenik, Croatia. A red wine aged in Slavonian oak barrels, with aromas of ripe dark fruit, particularly blackberries, blueberries, plums, and figs.
Everyone had a different favorite wine and was eager to learn more about these hard to find and minimally exported wines.
Next up…we are taking suggestions 🍷 🍷 🍷!
