The Velimirovich Winery - Wines To Remember

The New Experience in Wine Tourism

Refined wines are created in a refined space. Brick vaults decorate the Velimirovich wine cellars, and a series of thoughtfully chosen details complete the rustic look, which will transport the visitor back in time and evoke an intense feeling of warmth and nostalgia.

On the fourth of November 1890 - you could read in the copy of the ”Glas Crnogorca“ weekly (“Voice of Montenegro”) published four days later - "from all sides, the Bjelopavlici tribe members gathered to welcome their beloved “Lord of Danilov Grad". In the small town named after his uncle, Prince Nikola I, gathered the people to say that "if Montenegrins were hard workers as they were heroes, they would be as rich as they are famous." After the laconic thought, an order followed: that each soldier coming from a place where vines can grow should plant 200 vines during the year.

That order, "coming from the noblest concern for the national good, and matured in deep thinking and long observation and study of the national situation", was received with "the highest enthusiasm", testified the „Voice of Montenegro“. " Bjelopavlići, Piperi, Komani and Zagarač tribes formed the fourth brigade having 4,000 soldiers... This brigade will plant 800,000 vines this year." The practical existential needs began to coexist with the epic narrative and the mythical layers of the ethical imperatives of "chivalry and valor".

ROOTED IN THE NATIVE SOIL

It was in those regions that, four years later, in 1894, with the birth of Dušan Velimirović and planting of grape vines on the family estate in the village of Malenza in Donji Zagarač, in the vicinity of Danilovgrad, there in the area of dynamic contact between the gentle Bjelopavlići lowlands and the sharp and harsh Katun karst, on the eastern edge of Old Montenegro, the peculiar and subtle story of the Velimirovich Winery began. The story firmly rooted in the native soil, which, according to the owner Goran, Dušan's son, is passed on to future generations...

Comfortably resting on the lap of Garač Mountain, overhanging its western side, the Velimirovich Winery, one of the oldest in Montenegro, covers 60 hectares. Of these, 20 are planted, looking longingly at the mountain ranges that color the horizon to the north. The enchanting micro-locality, with favorable - "valley-like " - climatic conditions,

as Dušan's contemporaries would say, is an ally of a wide range of grape varieties. A third of the vineyard is "dominated" by the autochthonous Vranac, well known to the palates of wine lovers around the world, while the rest of the plantings include reliable French trumps Petit Verdot and Marcellan. Listening to the wishes of the users, aimed at expanding the offer, the Velimirovich Winery works carefully and thoroughly on the cultivation of white grape varieties, which are yet to be heard about.

VELJI MRAMOR

The vineyards in Malenza are inclined towards the northeast, to be exposed to the benefits of the sun to the greatest extent possible. Precisely because of the adjusted slope, each vine gets a chance to play with the sun's rays. Due to the constant mixing of the air currents coming from the "sea of stones" and the plain, the vineyard is already dry a few hours after the rain, which strengthens the resistance of the grapes.

God gives power to those who always strive! It took a lot of "power" for the owner of the Winery, Goran Velimirović, armed with will, love and the call of his fatherland, to prepare the soil on the stone bed and adapt it to the vines. He applied the accumulated experience in the construction of buildings to subdue the rocky terrain and transform it into gentle vineyards, which also preserved the tenacity of the karst.

The Velimirovich estate and the surrounding area were home to an ancient lake in antediluvian times, the draining of which left a well-drained terroir with quartz-like stone. The uninterrupted flow of time is most fully recognized in the Velji Mramor micro-location, where Dušan, the founder of the Winery, planted the first vines, and from which the Velimirovich family still harvests the highest quality grapes.

REFINED WINES IN A REFINED SPACE

Wine remembers the thick layers of history of the land that gives birth to it. Wine preserves traces of the caress of the Sun. The wine feels the care and attention given to it; the passion that stirs its phenols. Wine reflects the environment in which it is created.

The wines of the Velimirovich Winery absorb the most distinctive characteristics of their space, a modern architectural expression, created

by a contemporary interpretation of the original construction skills of the inhabitants of this part of Katun county. Cellars are real cellars: located below the surface of the ground, with facades carved from monolithic stone rocks quarried from the estate itself during the planting of vineyards. They are made up of two separate parts. The first serves for the processing of grapes and the production of wine, which is aged in stainless steel barrels, going through the fermentation process. In the second part of the cellar, the wine sits in barrique barrels and casks, and is bottled and stored.

Geomorphological agents make their contribution. Behind the walls of the cellar are karst caves, which humidify the air, to the extent that makes it ideal for maintaining barrique barrels.

Refined wines are created in a refined space. Brick vaults decorate the Velimirovich wine cellars, and a series of thoughtfully chosen details complete the rustic look, which will transport the visitor back in time and evoke an intense feeling of warmth and nostalgia.

Above the cellars is a tastefully furnished tasting room, from whose terrace the view is on the vineyards. Visual stimuli merge with auditorycharming sounds and silence of the rural environment - and gustatorystunning tastes of wine - into a unique experience. Right next to the hall rises the tower, the decoration of the entire estate, a unique dedication to traditional Montenegrin buildings. From it, the entire Velimirovich estate can be seen, and in the distance the urban outlines of Podgorica, twenty kilometers away, can be seen.

WINES INSPIRED BY HERITAGE AND YOUR TASTE

Under its recognizable label, the Velimirovich Winery producesdedicated hosts will say: pours - almost 80,000 liters of various wines, elegantly nuanced varieties, every year.

The wine "Velimirovich Malenza" bears a strong stamp of the soil from which it originates: obtained from the grapevine, it has a fruity aroma and a full and complex taste.

"Velimirovich Tomash" is adorned with ripeness in a harmonious combination of Vranac and Kratoshia. Inspired by terroir and stone,

For sophisticated connoisseurs and hedonists, Velimirovich Winery is preparing a special surprise - a limited series of wine "VELIMIROVICH 1894", dedicated to Dušan, a distinguished humanist, respected pedagogue, school superintendent of the Zetska Banovina district and one of the most excellent connoisseurs of the history and customs of Old Montenegro. According to the idea and design of his daughter-in-law Marijana, this premium wine will be produced in only 1894 bottles, each of which will be numbered, and will represent a precious exhibit for collectors. A dry wine of exceptional fullness and aroma, full-bodied with a fruity finish, will satisfy even the most demanding tastes of wine lovers. Are you among them?

EXPERIENCE A SPECIAL WINE STORY

They say the truth is in the wine. The joy of life is in the process of its creation. Doing what he loves, surrounded by family and friends, the owner of the Velimirovich Winery, Goran, calls himself a happy man. "Happiness is a personal thing, and I don't base it on money," is his motto.

Driven by the oenophile passion, the desire to translate the family history, centuries-long effort, spasm and the primordial will to last and survive, to steal from the land when needed, and to generously return and give to it, into a drop of nectar, Goran is fulfilled by the possibility to convey and share with others, through wine as a universal language, his rich life experience and the values of freedom, personal integrity, patriotism and cosmopolitanism...

The Velimirovich family is proud and particularly pleased to announce that their winery is open to all visitors, curious wine lovers who want to experience a special wine story and delight their senses. You are invited too.

Under its recognizable label, the Velimirovich Winery produces - dedicated hosts will say: pours - almost 80,000 liters of various wines, elegantly nuanced varieties, every year.

A: Vinsko selo - Malenza, Danilovgrad, Montenegro

I: www.instagram.com/velimirovichwinery/

E: velimirovicwinery@gmail.com

T: +382 67 164 237