A small but extremely significant, innovative and proactive Kastav winery Plovanić vina presented two new wines to the media in Kastav, expanding its wine range to seven wines. Belica MI2 and Pjenušac Amfora 365 are the new wine stars of the Kastav region, Kvarner and the Croatian wine scene. The wines were presented by the owners of the winery from the Rubeša family – Dejan, Đurđica and Ivana, as well as the multiple Croatian sommelier champion and director of the Bevanda hotel and restaurant Klaudio Jurčić, oenologist and associate at the Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development Tomislav Pavlešić and chef Nenad Kukurin, the founder of Croatian slow food and owner of the Kukuriku hotel and restaurant in Kastav.
Belica MI2 is a blend of six varieties – verdić, mejski beli, jarbola, brajkovac, divjaka and malvasia. The special feature of this wine, created as a joint project of the Plovanić winery and the famous Kastav chef Nenad Kukurin, is its complexity and a new look at the local autochthonous belica, which in this edition is obtained by fermentation with its own yeasts and longer maceration. The wine matured for one year in used barrique barrels, and from this week it is available for tasting and purchase at the Plovanić vina winery in Kastav.
The sparkling wine Amfora 365 is a serious undertaking and certainly the new star of this Kastav winery, created as a joint project of the Plovanić vina winery and oenologist Tomislav Pavlešić. The sparkling wine is obtained using the classic method of bottle fermentation from Pinot Grigio, which was macerated in amphorae for 8 months and then 2 years in wooden barrels. It is aged for 2 years on its own yeasts, and the remaining unfermented sugar classifies it as a brut sparkling wine. The sparkling wine Amfora 365 is also available for tasting and purchase at the Plovanić vina winery in Kastav.
The new labels are designed by Marino Krstačić Furić and Ana Tomić.
„"Thank you to my family who supports and sustains my crazy ideas. Thank you to the City of Kastav, the Kastav Tourist Board and the Belica Association for supporting us in our development. Thank you also to the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the Kvarner Tourist Board and the Kvarner Wines Association for strongly emphasizing the importance of producing and promoting wines from indigenous varieties. My best man Nenad Kukurin and I made a wine to our taste and that's how Belica MI2 was created, while the Amfora 365 sparkling wine is a kind of homage to the City of Kastav, which was created in collaboration with oenologist Tomislav Pavlešić," emphasized Dejan Rubeša during the presentation of his new wines.
„"We made a great wine. Belica MI2 has all the characteristics of a top-quality wine that we are extremely proud of and is very usable in gastronomy, which is ultimately the most important thing," said chef Nenad Kukurin.
„"If I had to summarize the description of these wines, I would say that these are genuine hipster wines that will certainly find their way to modern lovers of special wines, and I definitely recommend them for tasting and enjoyment.".
Belica MI2 is golden yellow in color, with an intense and complex aroma of white pepper, wood, and ripe fruit such as peach, apple, orange peel, and herbal notes of Mediterranean herbs. On the palate, it is dry, concentrated, and full-bodied, with the presence of fine tannins, soft and rounded, and I would recommend this wine with risotto with Kvarner scampi and pasta with truffles.
"Amfora 365 sparkling wine is deep orange in color, with very fine bubbles, rich and complex. With pronounced tertiary aromas of dried figs, baked apples, marzipan, arancini, dried Mediterranean herbs such as thyme and oregano, a concentrated presence of tannins in the taste, and a fine, juicy, creamy perlage and a light nutty note in the finish. I would serve this wine with hard cheese, homemade liver pate, homemade prosciutto, pancetta and hard salami (not smoked), but also with beefsteak and grilled vegetables," said sommelier Jurčić.
“"Exceptional wines that were not at all easy to make. Belica matured on its own yeasts and the grapes gave this wine the best it could. It is exceptional and rare to encounter sparkling wine made from wine from an amphora, that is, amber sparkling wine. These wines have certainly inscribed this small winery in capital letters in the encyclopedia of Croatian winemaking," emphasized Pavlešić.
