MIVA bistro & wine bar hosted a masterclass devoted to the sparkling wines of Bregovita Hrvatska, the hilly belt of continental Croatia, and to the growing case that this part of the country has something to say in the most exciting category in wine.
Sparkling wine tends to be opened in moments of celebration, as the obvious aperitif or alongside a long list of dishes. It reads as refreshing, exciting and uncomplicated, yet the story behind it is a serious and complex one. What lies behind those bubbles, and how best to enjoy them, was the subject of the masterclass “Sparkling wines – the compliments of Bregovita Hrvatska”, held on 28 September at MIVA in Zagreb.
The evening was conceived as a journey through the different styles and viticultural signatures of Bregovita Hrvatska, and it was expertly hosted by sommelier Kristijan Harjač, a three-time Croatian champion in sommellerie. Across twelve selected sparkling wines, guests could explore how many faces the category can show once it is read through the prism of variety, site and method of production.
The tasting was divided into four stylistic flights: sparkling wines from indigenous Croatian varieties, blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs and rosé. That structure invited comparisons that went well beyond simply naming aromas and flavours. In the glass was a story about the freshness of a continental climate, about different vineyard sites and varietal character, and about the hand of the individual winemaker.
The twelve sparkling wines of the masterclass
Indigenous varieties
- Voštinić-Klasnić, Fraktal, škrlet
- Puhelek-Purek, Kraljica, kraljevina
- Jakopić, Trebotz, pušipel
Blanc de blancs
- Kopjar, Blanc de Blancs, chardonnay
- St. Jerome, Borealis, chardonnay
- Mladina, Tera Falconis, chardonnay
Blanc de noirs
- Šember, Blanc de Noirs, pinot noir
- Koščak, 2607 Blanc de Noirs, pinot noir
- Tomac, Blanc de noirs, pinot noir
Rosé
- Bolfan, Saint Benedict, pinot noir
- Kurtalj, Rosé, pinot noir and old Plešivica varieties
- Petrač, Bregh, cabernet sauvignon and merlot
Diversity is one of the most interesting things about Bregovita Hrvatska. The rolling vineyards of north-western and central Croatia give wines a natural freshness and liveliness, qualities that carry particularly well into sparkling wine. Alongside the international varieties one would expect, chardonnay and pinot noir, indigenous varieties are claiming more and more space, which gives these wines an added regional signature. The indigenous varieties are especially interesting in this context. Using them for sparkling wine raises the question of how contemporary and how workable a traditional range of varieties can be, and how much it can contribute to a recognisable Croatian signature in the glass. The answer is an encouraging one, and sparkling wine is increasingly becoming the category in which terroir is interpreted in a different, more refined way.
That sparkling wine is not reserved for the start of dinner was made clear by the gastronomic side of the masterclass. Each wine was served with a dish prepared for it, and the pairings showed just how wide its range at the table can be. Freshness, acidity and mousse sit as comfortably with lighter bites as with richer plates, while different styles of sparkling wine allow for entirely different gastronomic readings. That approach matters at a time when sparkling wine is less and less spoken of purely as a drink for special occasions, because a well made sparkling wine can be a serious gastronomic wine, an aperitif, a companion to a whole meal, and a very precise expression of the district it comes from.
The MIVA masterclass is part of the programme introducing Bregovita Hrvatska to a Zagreb audience ahead of BregFest, which on 23 October will gather a long list of producers and wine lovers at Lauba. Seen that way, an evening given to sparkling wine was a concentrated picture of what Bregovita Hrvatska can offer today: a range of varieties and styles, pronounced freshness, and an increasingly ambitious approach to making wine with identity and character.
