The Republic of Serbia in Central and South-Eastern Europe Serbia in the centre of the Balkan Peninsula with the capital Belgrade covers 88,361 km². It borders Hungary to the north, Romania and Bulgaria to the east, Albania and North Macedonia to the south, Montenegro to the south-west and Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia to the west.

From the 1990s onwards, the former state of Yugoslavia was divided into its former parts as a result of warlike events. First Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and Slovenia became independent and in 2003 the rest was renamed Serbia-Montenegro and in 2006 Montenegro seceded and became Serbia. Finally, in 2008, the southern province of Kosovo also proclaimed itself independent.

History

Viticulture in the area that is now Serbia dates back to ancient times and was influenced by the Thracians and Greeks even before the turn of the millennium. After Emperor Domitian (51-96) issued a ban on viticulture outside the Apennines in the Roman provinces in 92 AD, it was reintroduced by Emperor Probus (232-282). The first vines were probably planted on the slopes of the low mountain range of Fruška Gora in Syrmia (in Vojvodina), as indicated by some archaeological finds.

A mosaic of the vine-covered wine god Dionysus was found in the Romuliana palace complex of Emperor Galerius (250-311) near Zaječar in eastern Serbia. Between the 12th and 14th centuries, Serbian Orthodox monasteries gave rise to a flourishing wine culture, which subsequently gained great economic importance. In 1459, Serbia was finally conquered by the Ottomans and remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 1804. During this time, the Islamic ban on alcohol led to a decline in viticulture.

Viticulture in the modern era

There was an upswing after the Second World War (1939-1945) during the communist era under Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980) in what was then Yugoslavia. The total area at that time was 250,000 hectares. Mainly simple mass wines were produced. This included the medium sweet developed blackbird field (today Kosovo). Serbia was the largest wine country in Yugoslavia at the time. The structure changed dramatically as a result of the break-up. There were hardly any warlike events in central Serbia, which is why the vineyards remained largely unscathed, unlike in other parts of the country.

Wine-growing areas

These are mainly located along the Danube, Morava and Timok rivers near the borders with Romania and Bulgaria. Serbia is divided into five wine-growing regions. These are Timok in the Krajina with Negotin and Knjaževac on the Romanian border (mainly red wine), Sumadija-Velika Morava south of Belgrade (mainly white wine), Zapadna-Morava on the upper reaches of the River Morava, Juzna-Morava with Vranje in the south (best red wines) and Pocerina-Podgora east of Belgrade. The continental climate is characterised by cold winters and warm to hot summers.

Grape varieties

In 2023, the vineyards covered 20,113 hectares and the wine production volume was 544,000 hectolitres. Traditionally, fruit brandies, especially plum, are very popular. The grape variety index:

Map: Goruma
Flag: from srbija.gov.rs, Public domain, Link
Coat of arms: Public domain, Link
Source 1st paragraph: WIKIPEDIA Serbia