The awards being won worldwide by Serbian wines are proof that insisting on top quality always pays off, and that this is the path to continue pursuing, says Aleksandrović Winery’s owner Božidar Aleksandrović
For the past two and a half decades, Božidar Aleksandrović has been steadily building an authentic Šumadija wine story with his Aleksandrović Winery, step by step, transforming Serbia into a wine destination that’s recognised worldwide. In his vineyards, his “factories under the open sky”, this visionary creates the finest, most authentic wines that are served all over the world.
Aleksandrović Winery produces around 300,000 bottles of wine exclusively from its own grapes. Do you believe this is the only proper way to maintain quality?
— Aleksandrović Winery has around 80 hectares of vineyards in production and produces about 300,000 bottles of wine annually. Our strategy and vision from the very beginning have been to produce consistent quality. In order to be successful, you must maintain and repeat that quality year after year, which is difficult in viticulture and winemaking, because we produce in a “factory under the open sky”. Many factors negatively impact our quality – drought, rain, hail and other natural disasters – things we cannot control, yet we manage to persevere.
In the years when nature doesn’t allow the grapes to reach the desired quality, and quality grapes are the foundation for producing premium wines, we select only grapes from those vineyards that can deliver quality. The rest of the grapes are turned into distillate and used to produce brandy, grappa or cognac.
For us, everything starts in the vineyard and comes down to a lot of work and knowledge. There are no quality wines without our own vineyards, because the interests of grape producers and premium wine producers often conflict. Grape producers aim for higher yields and lower costs, while quality wine demands higher production costs and lower grape yields per vine and per hectare. That’s why we grow grapes according to standards that allow us to produce premium wine.
You’ve planted your vineyards accordingly, and you treat your grapes and wine production with the same philosophy… That’s why everything is done by hand at your winery?
— In winemaking, there are two paths: the path of quality and the path of quantity. We chose the more difficult path—the path of quality—which involves establishing new vineyards, creating new wines in our vineyards, and continuous improvements. Depending on the year, we spend 200 to 300 hours of manual labour per hectare in our vineyards, not counting the use of agricultural machinery.
We put in a lot of effort and work, and the result is premium wines served in the finest restaurants from Shanghai and Hong Kong, through Western Europe, to the United States—San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago…
As a result, we also receive the most prestigious awards from Europe and around the world. Recently, our “Vožd” wine won a gold medal in London at one of the most prestigious international competitions, as have many of our other wines previously.
Despite the popularity of “Harizma” and “Vizija,” and the awards won by “Rodoslov,” “Trijumf” remains the first association with Aleksandrović Winery?
“Trijumf” has been our guiding star from the very beginning. A wine with a story; a wine created in the royal winery at the foot of Oplenac, a wine unique in the world. “Trijumf” identified us as a top producer of white wines, brought us our first awards, and earned us the reputation we enjoy today. Later, as our vineyards with red grape varieties matured, awards for red wines and sparkling wines began to accumulate.
“Trijumf” didn’t just bring fame to your winery; it paved the way for other Serbian wineries and Serbian wines?
— Our success on the world stage has contributed significantly to the development of the Serbian wine story, because from the very beginning we’ve been paving the way for ourselves and others. As a wine destination, Serbia was entirely unknown to Europe, let alone the rest of the world, because we have so few vineyards. Our maximum of 10,000 hectares means nothing in that world, and it’s important to remember that, during 50 years of communism and industrial wine production, no one focused on quality.
We put in a lot of effort and work, and the result is premium wines served at the finest restaurants from Shanghai and Hong Kong, via Western Europe, to the United States
That’s why we started with varietal wines from our own vineyards, which began to express the specific characteristics of this region, making them increasingly interesting as a sort of exoticism. This paved the way for us and allowed us to stand out, to sell not just Sauvignon, Chardonnay, or Cabernet Sauvignon, but to offer the exotic, distinctive aromas and flavours of our region, which the market of wine lovers and connoisseurs had never previously experienced.
Our wines have helped make Serbia more recognised as a wine destination, to have people talk about Serbia as a wine destination, and for our wines to gradually develop their own identity. This is very important, because great wines don’t exist without distinctiveness, uniqueness and identity.
An increasing number of wine tourists are visiting Serbia, and it’s undeniable that wine tourism is the future of our country’s development. You were also pioneers in this field?
— When travelling through Italy, France and California, I saw that wine tourism is entirely compatible with the vineyard story and wine production. This inspired me to invest in facilities at the winery that would allow wine tourists to taste our wines, enjoy the winery’s ambiance and sample local food, even 20 years ago. Aleksandrović Winery currently has 14 rooms, allowing wine tourists to stay with us for several days. We also have two cottages with swimming pools in our vineyards, which contribute to our image and the image of the Oplenac vineyard region.
The Oplenac vineyard region, from Topola to Aranđelovac, now has about 20 wineries, which contributes to the opening of new accommodation facilities and restaurants. This prompted us to embark on a new investment, and we are now building a boutique hotel within the winery – a wine resort that will include a wellness and spa centre, wine bar, restaurant, meeting room, and new accommodation facilities… We will be able to rival Tuscany, Piedmont and other regions that embarked on this path long before us.
The third Wine Vision by Open Balkan will take place in Belgrade from 21st to 24th November this year. Are you preparing to participate?
— We were present at the first two events and are also preparing for this third one. We will have a stand at which we will showcase our wines, our winery and our accommodation facilities. I believe that organising an event that brings together the best winemakers from the entire region, wine lovers and traders from around the world is beneficial for all of us. Many of our partners and customers from China, Japan, Western European countries and the United States will be coming. They will visit us here at the winery, as well as at the stand at the Open Balkan event, and we will welcome them at both places with our range of wines – from sparkling wines, via “Trijumf”, “Harizma”, “Trijumf Rose” and “Oplen”, to “Vizija”, “Regent”, and “Vožd”.
Main photo: Ivana Čutura