A year does not last exactly 365 days but a few hours longer, which is why we have leap years, and the same reason lies behind the occasional shift in the dates on which the seasons begin. Autumn 2025 thus arrives a day earlier, on 22 September at 8:19 pm. But that gives us one more day to enjoy autumn wines, so here is a recommendation for sparkling, white, rosé, red and dessert.
Šember Pavel
The first sparkling wine at this year’s judging of Croatia’s 100 best wines was Pavel 2019 from the Šember family of Pavlovčani near Jastrebarsko, in Plešivica (Croatia’s cool-climate sparkling heartland). It is a single-vineyard sparkling wine, made from grapes of the vineyard whose name it bears. Produced by the traditional method of second fermentation in the bottle, from chardonnay (90 percent) and žuti plavec, it is a serious, aged sparkler that will quench thirst and refresh on sunny autumn days, and restore body and soul on rainy ones.
Grabovac Draga
We do not know whether wolves eat grapes, but we do know that the slopes of Vučja Draga (Wolf’s Vale) above the Imotski field, in Dalmatia, yield excellent berries of kujundžuša, pošip, žilavka, sauvignon and chardonnay, from which the family winery Grabovac of Prološac makes the phenomenal Draga Riserva. The day-night temperature swings there are wide, allowing the grapes to retain freshness, so this 2022 vintage suits both warmer and cooler autumn days. 
Poletti Rosella
The dry rosé from the aromatic muškat ruža crni variety is Rosella 2024 from the Poletti winery of Markovac near Višnjan, in Istria. It pairs with a great many dishes: certain types of sushi, our raw seafood, pastas and risottos with select ingredients, more delicate meat dishes and light fruit desserts. It is a wine that can truly be drunk at any time, at any part of the day and any part of the year, yet in its soul, in that fine warmth and softness, it is autumnal. 
Martin Albus Frankovka
Emphatically juicy, with a long and memorable finish, the Frankovka Martin Albus 2021 from the PP Orahovica winery. Deep ruby in colour, it opens on the nose with sour cherry, cherry and redcurrant. Then, from the background, come piquant-spicy notes of clove, cinnamon and white pepper. The palate is powerful and elegant, with ageing potential, so there is no obligation to drink it this autumn. In the kitchen it is highly versatile, above all with roast pork and veal. 
Đurinski Traminac IBPB
The sweet Traminac from a selected harvest of dried berries, 2015, from Vina Đurinski near Zaprešić, smells of rose, naturally, but it does not strike the nose so much as caress it. Honeyed and marzipan aromas and noble rot come through beautifully. It was the best wine and overall champion of this year’s Kvarner Wine Trophy judging. From the same year, Stjepan Đurinski also has an ice-harvest traminac, which was the second-best-rated dessert wine at Croatia’s 100 Best.
22 September 2025
