Josić: the winemaker from the Golden Hill

The hill Banova Kosa in Baranja, a wine-growing sub-region in the southeastern part of Croatia, was called Mons Aureus (The Golden Hill) by the ancient Romans.

Not because there were gold mines but because it was the source of golden-colored drops that revived the body and the soul.

Baranja in Hungarian means ‘the mother of wines’, so it leaves us without a doubt about the wine quality for which this area was recognized centuries and centuries ago.

This is where the vineyards and the wine cellars of Josić winery are situated.

The Josić family, Damir, and Vlatka bought a wine cellar back in 1999 that had been built in 1935 in the Banova Kosa area. They reconstructed it completely with the latest wine technology equipment keeping the original 42-meter-long wine cellar.

Together with a restaurant, it is now the base of what Josić can offer to a wine and food enthusiast interested in Croatian wines.

If you are curious how the Josić wine cellar and restaurant look and feel, you can take a virtual stroll with a few clicks on their website. What you cannot experience with mouse clicks is the taste of Josić wines.

The wines are made from authentic regional wine grown in their vineyards:

• Graševina (Welschriesling),
• Pinot Gris,
• Sauvignon Blanc, and
• Cabernet Sauvignon.

Josić Graševina (Welschriesling) is best described as a superior wine, and it is a great pick if you are getting to know Josić or Croatian white wines. It has a specific green apple flavor and a full, harmonious, and bitterish aftertaste.

Josić also makes a great rose from the Pinot Noir grape variety – a pale pink color wine, an elegant rose of soft and refreshing taste.

Baranjski Šiler stands out as a unique Josić coupage made of two wine makes – cabernet sauvignon and blaufrankisch (frankovka). It is a quality wine of vivid red color and particular flavor and bouquet best enjoyed with red meat and cold cuts such as sausage and ham.

When asked why he has chosen winemaking for his life journey, Damir Josić gives a simple and honest answer: It’s just something I love and enjoys doing. Josić winery is living proof that sometimes ‘just’ love and passion for winemaking is enough to turn an old wine cellar into a modern winery that produces awarded and recognized wines of a superior and recognizable taste.

And not only that, but it’s also enough to turn it into a must-see (and feel) destination for any wine lover by pairing the wine cellar with a restaurant where one can explore the best tastes Baranja has to offer – freshwater fish, venison, and Kulen, a traditional spicy sausage of protected origin.

In their own words, Josić’s only mission is for their guests to leave as satisfied as possible and return as soon as possible.

Josić wines have been awarded numerous gold medals for their quality, design, and their original approach to decorating bottles with labels containing rare and endangered non-migratory bird species native to the area.

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