On one of Karlovci’s tourist routes, near the Grammar School, through the open gate, you will see a shining garden that entices you to enter. The inscription on the wall and the wreath of a rare type of Straševski grapevine, which covers the entrance, indicates that you have entered the space of an unusual winery.
The first thing you notice is the order and beauty, and then you meet the owners of Došen Winery (Vinarija Došen), Dubravka and Dragan, and you understand that you have known them from somewhere for a long time and that you have come here as guests. The Došens are the descendants of grapevine growers and winemakers – Dragan, by his mother, from the Bokter family from Karlovci, and Dubravka from the Mrđanin family, where the winemaking tradition is very long. They inherit the tradition of civic life typical of Sremski Karlovci of bygone times, the reflections of which you notice at a second glance.
Their wine tasting room consists of spaces located in the house, on the porch and in the garden, decorated like civil society guest rooms, where there are stylish sets, sofa, dining table … the ones where you sit while you are tempted from the cupboards, shelves and walls to get up and take a closer look at the legacy of many generations and share the past of everyday life. Then comes the wine and the story of grapevine, first the one planted in the yard: Straševski, Viktorija, Crna Magija, Prima, Slankamenka, Muscat Hamburg, Merlot, Cabernet and Chardonnay.
In addition to the space of beauty and enjoyment, the garden of the Došen family is experimental property because, along with roses, the planted grapevines are the other face of the nearby vineyard on the stretch of Čerat. There, on the slope facing the Danube, there is the following grape assortment[1]: Chardonnay, Sauvignon White, Traminac, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wines on offer are: Maestro (Chardonnay), San Patiens (white Sauvignon), Rouge D (rose), Tango (blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon), Oltar (Cabernet Sauvignon) and Bermet (white, rose and red). As they arranged the garden and the whole space, so they nurture the vineyard, with commitment, love and joy from the grapevine stem to a drop of wine. Here, the ideal is work, dedication, but also the joy of life and everyday life is the enjoyment in what you do. Došens are ready to share a part of their enjoyment and joy with the visitors, although it is not an obligation, but a situation that depends on the guest as well.
There are also those who want the peace needed for thinking and solitude in the beauty that the Došen family provides. And that is respected here. The idea that drives the winery owners is completely adapted to the needs of modern visitors: in the region of quality wines, it is important to add beauty, joy and a little bit of soul, and freedom so that everyone can decide on the wine they like, whether awarded or not. This is also shown by the gold medal that Dubravka Došen won in 2003 at the First Competition of European Wine Judges for Women (Az I. Európai Női Borbíralói Verseny 2003), because wine in the eyes of a woman gives and requires complex sensitivity.
Došen Winery is not a place of mass arrivals, but the one that can give beauty to up to fifteen people at a time. The programme for tourists includes wine tasting, with crackers and possibly cheese as snacks for separating wine, and then buying wine. It is a place that will be loved by those who love wine, the beauty of greenery and flowers, the warmth of family stories of people who are waiting for the arrival of “St. George’s, spiritual and salvation rains” with a vineyard on Čerat.
Announcement is mandatory.
Karlovačkih đaka Street 10, Sremski Karlovci
Phone: +381 (0)64 3494011
E-mail: vinarijadosen@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
