Terroir
Our vineyard under the frame is in Bačka vineyards, within the Subotica-Horgoška sandstone, in the northern area of Vojvodina’s Bačka, along the Hungarian border. It is the extreme southern part of a large sandy area that stretches between the Danube, the Tisa, Budapest, and the north of Backa.
With an average altitude of 117 to 134 meters, this undulating terrain extends to 25,000 hectares rich in water, including Subotica, Backa Vinograde with the Tonkovic winery, Hajdukovo, Horgos, Mala Pijaca, Kanjiza, Kelebija, Palic, and Tavankut. Viticulture in this area of Bačka developed thanks to afforestation which prevented the erosion of sandy soil, today a crucial part of this specific terroir.
It is especially characteristic of sandy soils that they have excellent drainage and retain heat even during the night. It has also been scientifically proven that sandy vineyards are resistant to the biggest vineyard plague – phylloxera.
Terroir as a concept is scientifically unprovable, but its influence on wine was evident to ancient winemakers. When it comes to sandy soil and soils rich in sand, what we have established in our cadre is also known in many famous world regions where there is a sandy terroir: wines have a unique aromatic depth and refined depth freshness. They are exquisite, and their tannins are rarely coarse, even in highly tannic grape varieties.
This fact is repeated in different regions and vineyards planted with entirely different varieties. Colares in Portugal, where the leading variety is the Ramisco, then the prestigious vineyard in Piedmont, Cannubi, planted with Nebbiolo. The same story is in Graves in Bordeaux, under sauvignon blanc and semion or vineyards in northern Medoc, where Cabernet Sauvignon dominates. Also, in some parts of Chateauneuf di Papa, the elite appellation of the Southern Rhone, where there is more sand than usual pebbles and where the leading variety Grenache, otherwise known for its robust wines, produces significantly softer and sweeter wines.
Such is our shot from the sandy soil of our vineyards. Wines are elegant, smooth, aromatically intense, refined, and full of fantastic fruit freshness. It is indigenous, aromatic, attractive, and avant-garde.