Montenegrin wine

Vineyard by Lake Skadar

Montenegrin wine is wine made in the Balkan country of Montenegro. Montenegro is a Mediterranean country located on the southeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. On the opposite side of the Adriatic lies Italy. Montenegrin viticulture has a long tradition shaped by the country's Mediterranean and continental environments and by indigenous grape varieties, particularly Vranac and Kratošija. The long history of grape cultivation in Montenegro belongs to the broader viticultural history of the Balkans, which genomic research has identified as an early area of European grapevine diversification and a “bridge region” in the westward spread of domesticated grapevines. Its highly diverse climate conditions, isolated valleys, soil types and orography create highly diverse environments that, together with its historical and geographic context, promoted the generation of a rich grapevine biodiversity.

Overall, grapes are grown in Montenegro over 2.800 ha, with a gross production of 22.200 t in 2017. Traditionally, around 70% of Montenegrin wines are produced either entirely from Vranac or as blends containing it.

Winemaking in Montenegro mainly relies on the production of red wine from two autochthonous grape cultivars, Vranac and Kratošija. Besides these two major cultivars, other less-known indigenous cultivars can be found in Montenegro, including Bioka, Čubrica, Krstač and Žižak.

History

Until recently, the earliest archaeological evidence for grape wine and viniculture pointed to the South Caucasus, in present-day Georgia, at approximately 6000–5800 BC, during the early Neolithic These findings have long placed the Caucasus among the earliest documented centres of viniculture, although the archaeological evidence alone does not establish priority for the initial domestication of the grapevine.

A large-scale genomic study published in 2023 substantially expanded this picture. Based on 3,525 cultivated and wild grapevine accessions from across the world, Dong et al. identified two approximately concurrent domestication events around 11,000 years ago, in Western Asia and the Caucasus. The two domesticated groups subsequently followed markedly different trajectories: the Caucasian group remained largely confined to both sides of the Caucasus and had only a limited influence on later European grapevine diversification, whereas the Western Asian domesticates dispersed widely across Eurasia and North Africa.

Roman funerary monument of Paconia Montana from Municipium S near Pljevlja, dating to the late 2nd century AD and decorated with grapevine and grape motifs.

One of the principal routes of the Western Asian domesticates expanded northwest through Anatolia into the Balkans, accompanying the spread of agriculture into Europe. During the subsequent diversification of grapevine in Europe, a distinct Balkan wine-grape ancestry emerged. Its divergence was dated to approximately 8,070 years ago, preceding the corresponding estimates for the Iberian wine-grape group, at about 7,740 years ago, and the Western European wine-grape group, at about 6,910 years ago. Dong et al. described this sequence as a stepwise diversification corresponding with the historical migration of Anatolian farmers into Europe. These introduced domesticates likely introgressed with local Balkan wild grapevines, gradually forming a distinct local grapevine pool. Some of these ancient local varieties could subsequently have dispersed westward, contributing to Central and Western European and Iberian wine grapes. In this context, the Balkan Peninsula has been characterized as a "bridge region" between the original grapevine domestication sites and the regions of origin of some of today's most important wine-grape varieties.

From ancient times to the modern era, the Western Balkans have been home to a succession of major European civilizations. Illyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, and Austro-Hungarians settled throughout the region, facilitating the exchange of people, commodities, and knowledge with both neighboring and more distant areas, including Near Asia, Dalmatia, and Magna Graecia.

Roman diatret glass vessel from Komini near Pljevlja, dating to the 4th century AD.

Winemaking and wine trading were two important activities for local economies at that time, as inferred from relics like those found in the necropolis of the coastal city of Budva (in modern Montenegro, dated from the fourth century BCE). In ancient times, viticulture was known throughout most of the Mediterranean. Archaeological material and written sources show that wine was a rather valuable export commodity. Wine production continued during the Byzantine period, and documents like the Medieval Statute of Budva reflect the importance of grapevine cultivation in Montenegro in the Middle Ages. The Statute, dated between 1426 and 1442, includes the relevance of certain grapevine varieties for local wine production, like the cultivar "Cratosia", probably referring to the grape cultivar currently known as Kratošija (meaning short-neck in Montenegrin).

Later, many vineyards were destroyed during the Ottoman period, and only some survived in remote regions in the center of the country and in several parts of the coastal regions controlled by Venice. Winemaking practices were partially restored under the rule of Nikola I (1860–1918), which promoted wine exports to Western countries. However, in the 19th century, viticulture in Old Montenegro (the Crmnica, Rijeka and Lješanska nahijas) stagnated and even declined compared with its condition during the periods of the Nemanjić, Balšić and Crnojević dynasties, due to the unfavorable economic situation, poorly developed trade, and frequent border closures. During the 19th century, Montenegro was visited by numerous travel writers, foreign travellers, envoys, botanists, professors of agricultural sciences, and agronomists, who in their reports and communications highlighted the quality of the grapes and Montenegrin wine, particularly Crmnica wine, comparing its quality with that of French wines.

Montenegrin viticultural areas in the 20th century included part of the Adriatic coast and the Zeta–Bjelopavlići Plain, which gravitates toward Lake Skadar. Grapevines were cultivated mainly in pure stands (vineyards), except on the coast, where they were grown in combination with figs, peaches, almonds, and olives. Among the special wines, Crmnica wine from the Bar district stood out for its quality. Crmnica wine won several first prizes at the Balkan Exhibition in London (1907), and at the exhibition in Belgrade (1928) it was ranked among the six best wines in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes,(the name of the state at the time, which also included Montenegro). In 1959, vineyards covered 1,010 hectares. Kratošija was the dominant grape variety and, by the end of the 19th century, was overwhelmingly dominant in ungrafted vineyards and plantings, making up around 90% of the varietal composition. It was regarded as Montenegro’s principal and oldest grape variety.

At the beginning of the 21st century, alongside the vineyards of Plantaže, new vineyards were established and privately owned wine cellars were opened in Montenegro. Numerous scientific studies, including the characterization of existing grapevine varieties in both cultivated and wild populations in Montenegro and analyses of the pedigrees of Montenegrin varieties, have confirmed that Montenegrin viticulture is based on a family of genetically related grape varieties, a feature typical of the varietal composition found in some of the world’s renowned traditional wine-growing regions. The research made it possible to assess Montenegro’s grapevine genetic heritage by identifying 51 genotypes previously unknown to science, establishing new varieties that may represent autochthonous Montenegrin grapes, determining their pedigrees, and helping preserve them from extinction as an important resource for future development.

Production

In Montenegro, the Vranac and Kratošija varieties are primarily used for making red wines, whereas Krstač is the dominant variety for white wine. Kratošija was the predominant variety until the phylloxera epidemic. The most prevalent variety, Vranac, represents more than 70% of domestic wine production.

The amount of land in vineyard cultivation has increased significantly throughout the Balkans since 2000, including in Montenegro. Grapes are grown on over 2,800 hectares (28 km²) with a gross production of 22,200 tons in 2017. Per European Union regulations, the Montenegrin wine-producing area is divided into four wine regions and fifteen sub-regions, the most important of which is around Lake Skadar. The other principal region is along the coastal area on the Adriatic Sea.

Trade

Counterfeit Montenegrin wine brands have circulated in Eastern Europe and the western Balkans; a group of researchers from Serbia, Finland, Montenegro, and the Netherlands have described a system using smart labels to identify genuine bottles and screen out imposters.

Shortly before the Montenegrin parliament ratified the NATO accession treaty, Russia banned imports of Montenegrin wine from the state-owned wine producer Plantaže under claims of elevated levels of metalaxyl, pesticides, and particle plastics. Previously, one-fifth of the country's wine exports went to Russia.

See also

• Winemaking
• Agriculture in Montenegro

External links

• Wines of Montenegro