Sremski Karlovci is a city of history, culture and wine, and thus many who come to it are looking for ambiences where history important for the Serbian people was created and through the Karlovci Peace Treaty for Europe as well. I believe that there are those who expect to see the everyday life milieus that Jakov Ignjatović wrote about.
Exactly such a place is the seat of General Agricultural Co-operative Benišek-Veselinović (Opšta zemljoradnička zadruga Benišek-Veselinović). It is a house four hundred years old, with a flower yard, a cellar where wine and brandy are kept today, but where people live and receive guests. Here, the production of wine and brandy united the Benišek and Veselinović families. Mario Benišek, the fourth generation in the family that makes wine, brought the impulse, decades of experience and knowledge of viticulture and winemaking into the joint venture, and Mirko Veselinović, with his wife Nataša and sons, future educated viticulture experts and fruit growers, brought necessary skills and fresh zeal and creative optimism. The vineyards of the Benišek-Veselinović family are located in the vicinity of Sremski Karlovci, and there is a distillery on one of them.
They opted for the following grape assortment[1]: Pinot Gris, Italian Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. They offer the following wines: Rosé, Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Krstuševina (Cabernet Sauvignon barriqued for three years) and the widely known Bermet (red), the first to be produced for mass consumption in 1997, and made according to the recipe of the Benišek family that is more than one century old. These are honest wines produced with very few oenological agents, and part of the production is run off obtained by maceration. In viticulture and winemaking that adheres to tradition, hands are crucial, which is why hand-made wines give uniqueness and recognisability here as well.
The General Agricultural Co-operative Benišek-Veselinović is known for the production of quality brandies from grapes, plums, apricots, quinces, pears (“Kaluđerke”), and they offer Orahovac (walnut brandy with the addition of wormwood, anise and vanilla), Bermetica and Vinjak Specijal. The visitors like coming here for wine and brandy tasting and buying, and by prior arrangement they can do it in a spacious wine-brandy cellar, garden (up to fifty people) and part of the house prepared for the occasion (up to twenty people).
Each of these spaces is unique, yet a space for visitors in the house, with pieces of original baroque furniture, dominated by a richly decorated cupboard and a large mirror in complete harmony with it, give the tasting a new dimension that should not be missed.
The content of the offer for wine tasting and purchase depends on the previous agreement, and can be conceived in several variants: only wine tasting with the purchase with snacks for wine separation; wine tasting and purchase with gastronomic delights from local cuisine (corn “proja”, dried meat specialties made by Veselinovićs, homemade cheeses from Čurug and Jazak); wine tasting and purchase with an appetizer (“proja”, cured meat products), lunch (usually beef stew), homemade cake with Bermet, coffee and brandy. Guests can sometimes go down to the wine and brandy cellar with the host to get new pleasures.
According to the wishes of the visitors, the food served with wine tasting can be adjusted to the needs of vegans, vegetarians and people with gluten intolerance (barley stew, roasted pumpkin, beets, spinach, etc.). Another feature of this place in the centre of Sremski Karlovci is that the hosts nurture openness and tolerance in communication with the world, and above all kindness that opens all doors and makes people happy to return. Many stay for a while, because the hosts also offer accommodation in a facility connected to the main house.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 09:00 a.m. – 09:00 p.m. Announcement is mandatory for groups.
Ivana Mažuranića Street 5, Sremski Karlovci
Phone: +381 (0)62 521 161
E-mail: benisekveselinovic@gmail.com
Text: Gordana Stojaković
Photographs: Aleksandar Milutinović
Tourism Organisation of the City of Novi Sad is not responsible for changes in information and services.
The text posted in: July 2021
[1] Transcription of the grape variety names is given according to: Cindrić, Petar and Vladimir Kovač (2007) “Vinogradarstvo i vina“ (“Viticulture and Wines“) Fruška Gora. Ed. Nebojša Jovanović and Jelica Nedić. Pg. 498. Beograd: Zavod za udžbenike.
