Zagorje – Međimurje

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyards lie predominantly on the hilly slopes of the Alpine system, at elevations of approximately 160 to 330 m above sea level, with exposures in all aspects.
• The subsoil is composed predominantly of Tertiary sediments — conglomerates, sandstones, and marls — deposited in a lacustrine environment, with erosion having produced diluvial clayey-sandy alluvial deposits that cover the viticultural hills.
• The pronounced clay content of the soils ensures good water retention, which, combined with an annual rainfall of approximately 890 mm — more than 55% of which falls during the growing season — favours viticulture.
• The climate is a humid temperate-continental type, with a mean annual temperature of approximately 11.1 °C and an effective heat summation during the growing season of 1,250 to 1,450 °C, enabling the ripening of varieties of the third epoch.
• The interaction of continental and Alpine climatic influences produces greater diurnal temperature variation, which favours the retention of primary fruit and floral aromas and higher malic acid levels in the wines.

• Records relating to the Peasants' Revolt of 1573 indicate that wine production in the second half of the fifteenth century and the early sixteenth century exceeded grain production.
• The predominant training system in this area is single and double Guyot.

• PDO Zagorje–Međimurje white wines are crystal clear, yellow-green to yellow in colour, medium in alcohol, with moderate to high acidity, good extract, and discreet to pronounced aromas of a fruity, floral, and spicy character.
• Red wines, made mainly from Pinot noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Frankovka, are clear, ruby-red of varying intensity, medium in alcohol, with moderate to high acidity, moderately ripe tannins, and pronounced fruit aromas.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-HR-A1662
• Official trade body site — Društvo vinogradara i vinara Međimurja “Hortus Croatiae” Štrigova