“SMEDEREVO WINE ROUTE”
This noble culture, the grape vine, was brought to our region by the Romans in the 3rd century. It was first planted in the surrounding of Smederevo and in Fruška gora. It was the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus (276-282), born in Sirmium, who introduced the grape vine to this region, believing that it had almost perfect conditions for its cultivation.
Smederevo is a city of fish specialties, good wine and grilled food.
From Marcus Aurelius Probus, to Despot Đurađ and the nobility the vineyards have been cultivated in this area, to Miloš Obrenović, who in 1829 bought 36 hectares of vineyards and those vineyards still exist next to a well-known villa called “Golden Hill“, i.e. the summer house of Obrenović dynasty. At that time there were wineries in the vineyards around Smederevo in which one could sleep and drink wine.
Probus and those who came after him, did not randomly pick this area within temperate continental zone as the most adequate to grow the grape vine.
From one side, this area is bordered by the Danube, and from the other by the Great Morava, making this region, together with its relief, climate and the soil quality, ideal for growing the grape vine.
In Smederevo, the sun shines longer during the growing season from April to October than in other wine-growing regions of Serbia. The local climate is characterized by regular temperature variations (heat conditions are very favourable, the average annual temperature is 11.4 C, while during the growing season it reaches 17 C).
The most common grape type in this wine-growing region is “Smederevka“, an indigenous variety of white grapes, grown here since ancient times. This variety of grapes is of a high quality and it is suitable for production of high-quality table wine. The wine has a pleasant and refreshing taste, and it is even better when blended with high-quality wines Riesling, Semillon, and white burgundy.
When in Smederevo, do not miss a cold spritzer, a mixture of white wine and soda. The fans of this drink believe that is has the best taste when mixed with the famous Smederevka.
The wine-growing tradition is Smederevo is very long; there is a wine cellar PK „Godomin“ built at the beginning of the previous century, in 1909. During the history, the wine producers of Smederevo used to export the high-quality wine „Smederevka“ also to the Western European market.
In Smederevo, there are also some other high-quality wines produced from the varieties such as: Italian Riesling, Sauvignon, Traminer. Regarding the varieties of red wine grapes, there are varietal wine-game and wines produced from variety of Prokupac.
The winemakers of Smederevo are somewhat lucky, for nature has given to them all that is necessary for good grapes and wine and what they have to do is to use it wisely.
During the mid-September, a traditional manifestation „Smederevo Autumn“ is held in Smederevo, dedicated to grapes and wine. Together with the defile of medieval knights, there are plenty of grapes and the best wine is selected.
The population of this region is also growing other types of fruit, in addition to wine-growing. Hence, there are also many local producers of rakija (Serbian brandy), mostly made of grape vine and plum, but also of apricot, quince, „William’s pear“ and other.
WINE CITY
Wine city is located at the very centre of Smederevo. This interesting nook consists of authentic barrels as houses that are several hundred years old and alleys bearing the names of wines this region has been famous for since the ancient times. Owners of wine cellars from Smederevo and nearby sell their wines here so every day you can buy wine and rakia from our local producers.