Kvarner Wines

The story of the VINOgradi of the VINOdol Valley can be best summed up in the saying: "It's not who it's intended for, but who it's destined for!"„

Although evidence of viticulture in the Vinodol area has existed since before the Common Era, due to a combination of historical circumstances, it was not until 1994 that the revitalization of viticulture and winemaking in the hinterland of Novi Vinodolski began, initiated by the Slavonians. The Palinkaš family was brought to this area by the unfortunate events of the early 1990s.

In almost 30 years of work and effort on the Vinodol land, they have created top-quality wines. The indigenous Žlahtina stands out, but they also cultivate chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, pinot blanc and yellow muscat. They are also proud of their sparkling wines, all in the top category: "1288", "Palinkaš", "Ružica Vinodola" (rose) and "San Marino" - a sparkling wine made from Žlahtina. In addition, they produce 4 types of interesting distillates related to the Vinodol region.

However, the hardworking Palinkaš family did not stop "only" at the return of top-quality winemaking to Novi Vinodolski, as evidenced by the fact that they built a beautiful new cellar and tasting room on their property, which attracts a large number of visitors to this predominantly tourist area.

1. How did the Slavonians bring back viticulture to the Vinodol Valley?

With the arrival of a group of exiles from the Vukovar area, employed in the then Vupik, to the Novi Vinodolski area, the revitalization of the Vinodol Valley began. Most of the exiles were winegrowers or had their own vineyards. In 1994, we planted our first vineyard and since then our story has begun, reaching the current 30 ha.

In 1880, the Vinodol Valley had 614 hectares of vineyards, but it was devastated by phylloxera, leaving it without vineyards by the mid-20th century. The main grape variety in this valley was Žlahtina, and sparkling wines were also produced (Vinodolska vodica).

2. Your winery produces 4 labels of sparkling wines, and Vinodol is clearly the right choice for them. Why is that?

The Vinodol Valley is suitable for the production of sparkling wines due to its location between Gorski Kotar and the sea. This location provides cool nights and warm days, which is precisely what gives the grapes good aromas and an ideal sugar-acid ratio, which is ideal for the production of sparkling wines, as well as wine.
We came up with the idea of producing sparkling wines about twenty years ago. Our first sparkling wine was “1288” (the year of the Vinodol Law). We made it from Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Žlahtina, and it was the only top-quality sparkling wine in Croatia at the time. That gave us the impetus to continue producing it.

We also produced a sparkling wine from the Žlahtina variety called San Marino (an island in Novi Vinodolski) and a sparkling wine called Kvarnerski spēnušac. The latter won the title of champion of indigenous Croatian varieties (WINE od DAVNINA competition). The third sparkling wine is the rosé Ružica Vinodola from the Cabernet Sauvignon variety. The fourth sparkling wine is Palinkaš-graševina from the Graševina variety, which is produced on the banks of the Danube where the Palinkaš family owns 4 hectares of Graševina. The grapes are transported to the Pavlomir Winery in refrigerated trucks and are a favorite wine of many.

3. Was your family involved in viticulture before the war?

The love for vineyards and wine stretches back into the distant history of the family, which was a leader in grape and wine production on the banks of the Danube in the picturesque town of Šarengrad. The Palinkaš family had as many as 4 hectares of vineyards, and that love was transferred to this beautiful Vinodol Valley. The vineyards in Šarengrad were destroyed in the Homeland War and later restored through the hard work of their father Josip and brothers Dinko and Miroslav Palinkaš.

4. Is your tasting room one of the most popular tourist locations and attracts many tourists throughout the year?

Our tasting room and winery are located on a small hill in the middle of the vineyards and are a real mecca for many wine lovers. We got the idea for the whole project after the first few years of living and working in this valley. I wanted to buy local wine, but that was not possible and that's when I said I would produce it. From the very beginning, we have been slowly building and expanding the winery, financing and lending are always very challenging, but with the opening of EU financing, everything started easier and faster. This is a business where you can't stop, the challenges are there, you always want to have better and higher quality wine, a more beautiful tasting room, every harvest is different, challenging, creative...