MOGU LI
SE U SREDIŠNJOJ ISTRI PROIZVODITI SORTNE RAKIJE I PREDIKATNA VINA
Result of Graduate
Work: Sweet Malvazija from Dried Grapes
Hrvatski
Wednesday, 29 December 2004
In
an experiment for graduate work in viticulture studies,
Elvis Visintin proved that Istrian Malvazija is an
excellent product for making dessert wine from dried
grape berries. Also, how to get a variety of grape tastes in
grappa.
ZARECJE – Wines from dried grapes and
varieties of grappa in Istria are practically unknown from the sommeliers'
point of view and from the point of view of the open market.
The grappa produced in the Istrian tradition, from the grape must,
in consumer's eyes is equal to the grappa produced from other countries,
especially Italy, but it could be better differentiated if it retained the
characteristics of the grape from which it is made. Certain types of grape
vines have never been in the Istrian vine-making tradition and the local
climate is not suitable for late ripening and frozen grape production.
This also holds true in other parts of Croatia.
To prove that the conditions could be
adapted for such production, Elvis Visintin, a vine-maker from Zarecje
near Pazin attempted to prove
it with his own experience. For several
years, he has been producing grapes, wine and
rakija and with these
products and is having significant successes. Besides 1¼ acres of a new
vineyard (to restore his family vineyard), where he has planted white
Pinot, he buys grapes (malvazija and merlot), from his neighbors in
Zarecje so that he makes yearly about 30 hectoliters (30 hundred liters) of wine which he
bottles and sells from home. In the last couple of years, he has
consistently won silver medals for merlot and pinot in Vinistra fairs
and at the Gracisce fair in central Istria. In Gracisce he also got a
silver medal for malvazija. Elvis Visintin is one of the rare young
Istrians who are using traditional Istrian agricultural products not
just to make a living but also to express their own creativity.
Equally interesting is Visintin's story
about the different types of
rakija. As in any Istrian family, the
Visintins make
rakija as a part of
their tradition. However, the idea of rakija varieties started when he talked to one of his colleague
vine-makers who gave him a large amount of must. Remembering some
of the university literature where there was mention of some technical
tricks, he prepared the must in the Italian fashion, and when the
time came to make the
rakija, the result was very interesting. Various
aromas appeared in the
rakija which did not exist before. A
sophisticated and educated tester could taste the aroma and the taste
that is characteristic to the variety of grapes that were used. This
accidental result was later deliberatedly duplicated using a planned
process and the results of several years of investigation and
experimentation which allowed Visintin the ability to today produce
rakika varieties from malvazija, white pinot, muscat, merlot, Cabernet
Sauvignon, Chardonnay. Besides these, he makes aromatic
rakija with
bisk, honey and
rude. Putting these products on the market has had very encouraging
results. In the fair in Hum in 2003, besides recognition in various
categories, his
rakija that was made from Muscat must was
selected as the best
rakija in Istria, while this year this title was
given to his bisk
rakija. Can he improve the quality of the
traditional rakija? Visintin claims that you have to treat must
with the same care and love as you do the wine, because this is not
refuse but the raw material for the production of quality
rakija. Like
with wine, you have to protect must from oxidation and bacteria,
so that it should be put into the plastic vat which is then covered with
plastic and then filled with water or sand to prevent contact with air.
The containers where you preserve the must have to be "drugstore"
clean, which is a prerequisite for healthy fermentation. Part of the art
is also in knowing when to separate various distilled parts, in
discarding the "head" and the "tail" and keeping the "heart" of
rakija.
With the distiller you must work patiently and with discipline, the
rakija must age in clean glass containers for at least six months, and
them is filtered and placed in bottles.
Visintin is planning to continue producing
these types of wines and "varietals rakijas", but his priority is to
establish new vineyards that will produce enough of his own raw
materials. Moderate consumption of "varietal rakijas" can give the taster
a lot of pleasure. Visintin considers this an opportunity to improve
Istrian rakija to rise above its current image of strong but lower-class
alcoholic beverage.
Translated by Pino Golja
Source:
- Davor Šišović, "Diplomska slatka
malvazija od prosunšenog grožđa", Glas Istre, 29 December 2004 -
http://www.glasistre.hr/?b5dcdb1f694c829788d081e3d675ca45,TS,279,,1679,,22666.
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