📍 Negotin Valley

Negotin Valley (Negotinska Krajina) is a wine zone in eastern Serbia, in the corner where the country meets Romania and Bulgaria, not far from the Danube. Its centre is the town of Negotin. The climate is moderately continental, summers are warm, and the grapes grow on hills overlooking the river.

The zone includes the wine villages of Rajac and Rogljevo, known for their "pivnice", old stone cellars. They stand in rows along the village streets, are still used to store wine, and host tastings and festivals. They are as much a part of local culture as the vineyards themselves.

Varieties of the region include black Tamjanika, a fragrant dark grape, and Bagrina, a local white. Prokupac, the main dark variety of Serbia, and Gamay also grow nearby. Tamjanika often goes into reds and sweet wines, Bagrina into dry whites.

Negotin Valley belongs to Serbia's national division into wine districts, whose wines carry a geographical indication. For comparison with its neighbours: to the west lie better-known districts such as Šumadija and Župa near Kruševac, and across the Danube the vineyards of Romania and north-western Bulgaria.