📍 Slavonia

Slavonia is a historic area in eastern Croatia, between the Sava, Drava and Danube rivers. It is a fertile plain with low mountains, Papuk, Krndija and Požeška Gora, where the best vineyards lie. The climate is continental: summers are warm, winters cold and autumn long. Slavonia is also known for its forests of oak, from which wine barrels are made across Europe.

The main grape is Graševina (known elsewhere as Welschriesling), a white giving fresh wines with scents of apple and flowers. Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and other whites also grow, with fewer reds. The centre of the best-known zone is Kutjevo, where Cistercian monks founded a monastery and cellar in 1232 that still operate today.

Slavonia is part of the larger region “Slavonia and the Croatian Danube”. The landscape is gentle, with hills, ponds and villages, and wines go mostly to the local market. In recent years wineries have been investing in modern technology.

For comparison with its neighbours: to the west lies the rest of Croatia, to the north Hungary's Pannonia and Villány, and to the east Serbia's Vojvodina.