Zapadna kontinentalna Hrvatska

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• In Zapadna kontinentalna Hrvatska, vineyards are situated on hilly and submontane slopes at elevations of 100 to 400 metres above sea level.
• In the far east, viticulture has developed on the slopes of Moslavačka gora, where younger sediments have been deposited over an ancient granite core, giving rise to pseudogley soils; the sands within these deposits, characterised by good drainage, effectively balance soil moisture.
• On the south-eastern calcareous foothills of Medvednica and Kalnik, Miocene deposits of limestone, clay, and fine-grained sands are found, which have favoured the development of fruit-growing and viticulture in these areas.
• On the amphitheatre-like sites of Plešivica, on the south-eastern flank of Žumberak, today's vineyards are established on anthropogenic soils underlain by a very shallow carbonate-clay-sandy Neogene sediment formed along tectonic lines running in a north-east–south-west direction.
• The climate of this area is moderately continental, with a mean annual temperature of 11.1 to 11.5 °C, an effective temperature sum during the growing season of 1,250 to 1,450 °C, and annual precipitation of 800 to 1,070 mm, of which more than 55% falls during the growing season.

• Fossils of vine ancestors dating from the Cretaceous period, more than seventy million years old, have been found in the Zapadna kontinentalna Hrvatska area at the locality of Radoboj in Hrvatsko zagorje.
• The spread of viticulture and winemaking in this area is attributed to the Thracians, Illyrians, and Celts, while the Romans at various times either suppressed or encouraged production — for example Emperor Domitian and Emperor Probus respectively.

• The white wines of this region are crystal clear, light yellow-green in colour through various shades of yellow-green, medium in alcohol, with moderate to high acidity, good extract, and aromas ranging from delicate to expressive.
• The red wines are clear, of varying ruby-red colour intensity, medium in alcohol, with moderate to high acidity, moderately ripe tannins, and pronounced fruity aromas; predikatna vina, with the exception of late-harvest (kasna berba) wines, are more complex and associated with noble rot aromas.

• A moderately continental climate with greater diurnal temperature variation and well-distributed rainfall favours the retention of acidity in the grapes, while warm summers promote sugar accumulation; these climatic and pedological conditions are well suited to the production of fresh, approachable wines with good acidity levels and composition.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Croatia

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-HR-A1663
• Official trade body site — Bregovita Hrvatska