The wine story of Ilok is one of the oldest in Croatia: the planting of vines in the Srijem region was encouraged by the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus back in the 3rd century. The foundation of everything we know about Ilok winemaking today was laid by Nikola Iločki, who in 1450 built a castle on the site of the Roman fort Cuccium, and beneath it a wine cellar, the first architectural and technological structure in these lands built exclusively for the production and keeping of wine. That Old Cellar still works today, and one of the wines bears the name of Saint John Capistrano, the town’s patron saint, who is buried in Ilok.
A new chapter was opened by the Italian noble family Odescalchi, who took over the Ilok estate in 1697. They named the finest vineyard site Principovac, after the Latin princeps, the first, and in 1710 they brought the first Traminac vine to these lands from South Tyrol. Ilok has been a synonym for the variety ever since, and in 1864 the family built a summer residence at Principovac where they stayed during harvests and hunts.
A Traminac served at royal tables
World fame came to Ilok Traminac in 1953, when the celebrated 1947 vintage was served at the coronation celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II, and a predicate Traminac later also found its way to the table of King Charles. Traminac and Graševina bearing the Ilok seal of origin remain among the most awarded Croatian wines to this day, with regular recognition at the biggest international competitions.
The winery became independent from the Vupik system in 1999, and since the completion of privatisation in 2003 the majority owner has been Juraj Mihaljević, under whom Iločki podrumi has grown into one of the four largest Croatian wineries and a unique eno-gastro destination. Today it farms 330 hectares of its own vineyards, with a further 660 hectares under cooperation agreements, and an annual production of around four million litres in which, alongside Traminac, the leading roles belong to Graševina and Frankovka.
Visitors have a whole wine world at their disposal: a tour of the Old Cellar from 1450 with its rich archive, where bottles of the famous 1947 vintage still rest, tasting rooms and a restaurant in Ilok, and the Principovac country estate, where wine, gastronomy and leisure meet among the vineyards overlooking the Danube.
Website: www.ilocki-podrumi.hr
