(Nomination for 2012 AUREA Award): Zvonko Bogdan Winery

Zvonko Bogdan Winery was opened near Palic Lake in April 2011. From the very start, there has been but one rule – everything must be top of the tops: from climate and land to the endeavor to move on to the organic production, which is why top quality is a must. A traditional way of production combined with the use of contemporary technology and the experience of top enologists guarantees the top quality of wine.

The chief enologist at the winery is Thomas Seeger, owner of Germany-based Seeger winery and for years one of the best winemakers in the opinion of the association of local winemakers. He has transferred his long-time experience in winemaking to the winery in Subotica, where he introduced a so-called “anaerobic fermentation system“ that keeps oxygen away from must and wine during the entire fermentation process, which results in wine containing 10 percent less sulfur. Mr. Seeger also plans to be the first in Serbia and among the few in Europe to develop organic production in vineyards at Palic, and he is already spraying the vineyard with nothing but natural products. The winery is equipped with the state-of-the-arts production technology, stainless steel vessels and centennial oak barrels, and each vessel where wine is stored is connected to a computer network, so that it can be remotely controlled.

The winery is designed in line with the IHS standards, compliance with which is requested by all large systems in the West.

In order to preserve the top quality of its wine, the winery exclusively processes grapes from its own vineyards, which is why a great attention is paid to grape growing. Only ripe berries are sent to the crusher, but not before the grapes are separated from stems, and people at this winery are the only in the region to do that by hand.

The first production of wine from grapes from the Palic-based vineyard started in Slovenia in 2010, when 54,000 bottles were produced, and the first bottles from the winery at Palic will be offered to the market this April. These wines have already won awards at some important international competitions.

The plan for the next year is to open a hotel and a restaurant next to the winery, while the construction of a farm featuring the Museum of Zvonko Bogdan is going to kick off as early as this spring. In this way, the winery will also contribute to the development of tourism at Palic Lake.

INNOVATION

Everything at Zvonko Bogdan Winery is subordinated to the maintenance of quality. It took two years to explore 500 hectares of land at Palic Lake in order to find the most suitable soil for growing vines and building Zvonko Bogdan Winery. Over 180 analyses of soil carried out at the Enology Faculty in Germany and a thorough analysis of the climate preceded the decision to build a winery in the vicinity of Palic Lake. There is now a 17-hectare vineyard next to the winery, while another vineyard, spanning 9 hectares, is situated near the farm of Zvonko Bogdan, on the bank of Ludos Lake. The land on which this vineyard is planted is made up from a five-meter layer of black soil and an underlying 68-meter layer of clay. Clones were procured exclusively from viticulturists from Germany and France, who produce their planting material in cooperation with the Enology Faculty in Munich. These two vineyards, spanning a total of 26 hectares, are planted with carefully chosen grape varieties (sauvignon blanc, pinot blanc, merlot, lemberger and cabernet franc), which are then processed in the most contemporary way at a facility built in the Hungarian Secession style.

The winery complex is not designed only to be used as a wine making place. A hotel and a restaurant are already being built next to the winery, and the construction of a farm and the Museum of Zvonko Bogdan will kick off as early as this spring. Tourists will be able to tour the winery and vineyards, see where and how organic grapes are produced and enjoy the beauties of the Vojvodina plain.

The person who deserves the most credit for the top quality of wine from this winery is its enologist Thomas Seeger, German viticulturist and owner of Germany-based Seeger winery. In the opinion of the association of local winemakers, Thomas Seeger has been among the top 10 winemakers in that country over the last 15 years, and his red wine edition was declared the best in Germany in 2005. However, he is the most famous for being the first in Germany to use so-called “anaerobic fermentation system“, which he also applied to Zvonko Bogdan Winery. Thanks to Seeger, the winery in Subotica will also start the organic production of grapes in the following period, and vineyards are already being sprayed with nothing but natural products. People at the winery are of the opinion that there is no high-quality wine without a good and experienced enologist, quality grapes and top technology.

Anaerobic fermentation

Oxygen is wine’s enemy, which is why sulfur is often added to fermenting must in order to keep oxygen away from wine. At Zvonko Bogdan Winery, thanks to the anaerobic fermentation system, wine has no contact with oxygen at any moment during the fermentation process. An airlock mounted on the fermentation vessel does not allow oxygen to enter the fermenter, thus keeping oxygen away from wine and eliminating the need for sulfur. White wines have between 0.15 and 0.20 percent of sulfur per bottle, 10 times less than those of the same price made by competitors. This and the state-of-the-arts equipment at the winery guarantee the top quality of wine.

Grape treatment

Since a good raw material is necessary for a good final product, grapes in the vineyards of Zvonko Bogdan Winery receive a special treatment. About thirty days prior to the harvest, in August, the level of sugar, tannin development and acid are measured and the overall disposition of the grapevine is checked before the final process of removal of excessive leaves and fruits, after which only 4 to 6 clusters are left in order to clear the space around the cleanest berries, so that sugar and all acids in them could get as much sun and minerals as possible, thus ensuring the grapes achieve maximum ripeness. Zvonko Bogdan Winery makes between 0.5 and 0.7 liters of wine per vine, that is, maximum 4,500 liters per hectare, and people at this winery stress that no top wine in the world is produced in the amount of over 5,000 liters per hectare.

Grapes are picked exclusively between 5.30 AM and 8 AM, so that the temperature stays below 18 degrees, preventing the berry juice from fermenting. Grapes are picked into 7kg boxes. Once picked from vine, it takes clusters only 25 minutes to reach the processing line. People at Zvonko Bogdan Winery are the only in the region to pick berries by hand before crushing. Stems are separated on the processing line, berries are first washed and then classified on a vibrating table, and only fully ripe berries go to the crusher and fermentation vessels. That confirms once again that the winery always puts quality before quantity.

Technology

Fermentation vessels, built in Austria and Slovenia according to Seeger’s design, are made of stainless steel and are computer controlled. Each vessel where wine is stored is connected to a computer network, so that it can be remotely controlled even if there’s no one at the winery. A digital archive of each vessel contains information about the parcel of origin of the wine stored in that vessel, the harvesting date of grapes the wine is made from, the temperature within the vessel, the wine storage period and the names of winemakers checking it. Since there are records on each vessel, if a change occurs in one of them at any moment, Seeger and other responsible persons in the production sector receive a text message notifying them about the change. Thanks to the networked computer system, Seeger can monitor and set the temperature in each vessel and remotely control everything even when he is in Germany.

Red wines are first stored in oak vessels and then in small oak barrels made in France. The coopers that make barrels for Merlot issue a guarantee that they are made of oak tree that is over 100 years old. A proof that the winery does not save on quality is the fact that one such oak tree costs EUR 780.

In the cellar, which spans 1,200 square meters and features French oak barrels, there are 10 sensors that automatically measure air humidity, temperature and evaporation. During the fermentation process in barrels, wine releases carbon dioxide. When sensors detect that the level of carbon dioxide in the cellar is too high, the vent system is automatically turned on. Also, when air humidity drops, sensors initiate automatic injection of artificial humidity because barrels require the level of humidity to be high.

SOCIAL UTILITY

Zvonko Bogdan Winery is designed in line with the IHS standards (stricter than HACCP), compliance with which is requested by all large systems in Europe, and the only reason why the winery still has no certificate of quality is because they have failed to find a company in Serbia with experience in the introduction of the IHS standards. The winery has its own water filter, with the daily capacity of 30,000 liters, in which EUR 300,000 were invested. It also has a power generator, monolithic floor (yu crete material, the only one approved by the EU) and double chiller for maintaining the temperature.

Since the winery is guided by the principle that it is necessary to use only the best to get the best final product, and winemaker Seeger insists on the development of organic production, grapes in the winery’s vineyards are sprayed with nothing but natural products supplied from Germany, France and New Zealand. People at the winery explain that it is necessary to spray the vineyard when it’s raining during the harvest, adding that the rule is to wait 20 days before resuming the harvest after using traditional products whose ingredients are not natural, which is often disobeyed by winemakers. In that way, chemical substances enter the must, giving people a headache after consuming wine. The products used by Zvonko Bogdan Winery allow for the harvest to continue 32 hours after spraying, and the quality of wine is much better.

As soon as organic production is completely developed, Seeger will stop using machines in vineyards, and the soil will be fertilized with the help of horses - absolute return to the nature.

A restaurant and a hotel within the winery complex, which spans 5,600 square meters, will open to guests in a year and half. Construction of the Museum of Zvonko Bogdan should commence in spring 2012. The idea to open that museum, where the Zvonko Bogdan memorabilia, the awards he won at various music events and details from his life will be kept, originates from the 1990s. After last year`s harvest, the winery is open to tourists who are able to see the process of production of a quality wine and taste it. In spring 2012, once the hotel and restaurant are completely furnished, visitors will be able to come here on a vacation and stay for couple of days.

For its contribution to the tourism development at Palic, the winery has been presented with an award by Park Palic. The winery building is built in the Hungarian Secession style, and the winery also won the second prize for architecture at the 20th International Urbanism Show in Nis. This investment is also among the candidates for the Best From Serbia awards for the best local brand and for the best new brand (competition is still underway).

Some wines from this winery have already won certain awards. Sauvignon Blanc won a gold medal at the International Wine Competition 2011 in San Francisco, which gathered about 1,600 wineries. The winery has also won two silver medals in Belgium and one bronze and two silver medals in Tokyo.

FINANCIAL POTENTIAL

Zvonko Bogdan Winery was officially opened in 2011, although the first wine from grapes from the vineyard in Subotica was made in 2010. This batch of wine was actually produced in Slovenia, at the winery Ptujska Klet, which also uses anaerobic fermentation system. These wines can be bought in Serbia (in well-supplied wine cellars and wine stores, not in large markets), but they have also found their way to customers in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Germany. The first bottles of wine from the winery at Palic will appear in the market in April 2012.

Aside from Thomas Seeger, a top expert for wines and the chief enologist, the winery’s team also includes Bojan Kobal, assistant winemaker for Sauvignon Blanc and the chief enologist at Slovenia’s Ptujska Klet winery, Michael Acker, expert adviser and the chief enologist at Schumacher winery in Germany, and Francois van Zyl, vine selection and vineyard planting and maintenance adviser and an enologist at Laibach winery in the South African Republic.

People at the winery believe that customers will recognize the quality of wine based on the experience of top enologists, and that the winery will experience a boom with the development of tourism.

New technologies and systems and commitment to quality will make this wine from Serbia competitive in the European market. The price of wine made at Seeger’s winery in Germany ranges from 30 to 120 euros per bottle, while the wine of the same quality from the winery at Palic will cost between 6 and 8 euros.

New vineyards are in the pipeline. The winery will plant a 15-hectare vineyard this spring and another 15-hectare vineyard in autumn 2012. With the existing 26 hectares planted with vine, the winery’s vineyards will span a total of 56 hectares.

If Zvonko Bogdan Winery is your favorite for the innovative investment of the year, you can cast your vote on the official website of the 2012 Aurea Award.

Vinarija Zvonko Bogdan doo Subotica

eKapija.com Beograd

Park Palić d.o.o. Palić

Aurea

Aurea 2012

Palic

Palic Lake

Thomas Seeger

Seeger Winery

anaerobic fermentation

wine making

mast

stainless steel

oak barrels

IHS standard

grapes

Museum of Zvonko Bogdan

Ludosz

sauvignon blanc

pinot blanc

merlot

lemberger

cabernet franc

organic production of grapes

grape production

red wine

white wine

oxygen

sulfur

vinification tank

tannin

HACCP

grape harvesting

grape sprinkling

Park Palic

Urbanism Show in Nis

International Wine Competition 2011 San Francisco

Ptujska klet

Bojan Kobal

Michael Acker

Schumacher Winery

Francois Van Zyl

Leibach Winery

investment of the year

investment of the year award

innovation