Through cold maceration of the berries and fermentation in oak barrels on natural yeasts, the Vino Budimir winery from Aleksandrovac in Serbia’s Župa wine region produces Riesling Margus Margi. It takes its name from the Latin term for the Velika Morava river, beside which the winery lies. Wine is like a person: it lives and grows, developing to its peak. After that, sooner or later, it begins to age, losing its energy and power. Wine must be understood and loved, just like a human being, runs part of the philosophy at the winery, which will present itself at the Rizling Raj(n)ski festival on Saturday, 22 November, at Hotel Capital in the centre of Zagreb, at Jurišićeva 22.
From abroad, at least in part, comes the Rhine Riesling of the Kotolenko winery, which has its vineyards in the hilly Haloze area of north-eastern Slovenia but makes its wines in Cestica, on the Croatian side of the border. They won silver at last year’s Decanter awards with their 2022 Riesling, and this year their 2023 struck gold. It is an off-dry Riesling, but very refined, with lush floral and fruity aromas and pronounced mineral freshness. Their Sauvignon 2024 is very good too. 
A biodynamic German wine is the Rizling Rivaner, which will be presented at Hotel Capital by the importer, the Zagreb company Biodinamička vina, owned by Ivana Vidak. It is a blend of Rhine Riesling and the Müller-Thurgau variety, which we long also called Rizvanac, believing it to be a cross of Riesling and Silvanac. Genetic research, however, has shown that one parent is indeed Riesling, but the other is Madeleine Royale. Its official name thus honours Professor Müller, who crossed it in the Swiss canton of Thurgau.
Tickets for the Rizling Raj(n)ski Festival are already on sale, as are those for the masterclasses that precede it; for prices, discounts and further details read here.
11 November 2025
