Šijački Winery (Vinarija Šijački) is a family project that continues the tradition of grape growing and wine making, which is very long in the Šijački family. Jovan Šijački is responsible for the beginning of intensive wine production, the business was expanded by Milan Šijački, and today the Šijački Winery is run by the fourth generation of Šijačkis – brother and sister, Ivana and Milenko.
When you come to this place, already widely known for good wines, the first thing that will inspire you will be the smile of Ivana Šijački Majoroš, an oenologist and co-owner of the Winery. That smile is an expression of satisfaction and optimism, and the key to understanding the wine of this house, because like a smile, they arise from the harmony of life that the owner and oenologist of the Winery builds through faith in the success of a loving endeavour.
Here, too, the charm of making wine begins in the Šijački vineyard, where the following grape varieties are carefully cultivated on 17 hectares[1]: Italian and Rhine Riesling, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Muscat Hamburg, Seduša and Neoplanta. The following wines are offered: Italian Riesling Šijački, Chardonnay Šijački, Neoplanta Šijački, Rhine Riesling Šijački, Rose Ivana Šijački, Muscat Hamburg Šijački, Merlot Šijački, Frankovka Šijački, Seduša Šijački and Aldumaš. In essence, they are light, fresh fruit wines that are made partly in the traditional way, and partly using modern oenological means.
Recognitions were not missing, and the most recent ones were achieved at the Grand Wine Evaluation of Serbia in 2021: in the category “Still wines from local and international aromatic varieties” (gold for Neoplanta Šijački 2020); in the category “White still wines from local non-aromatic varieties” (silver for Italian Riesling Šijački 2020); in the category “White still wines from international non-aromatic varieties” (silver for Chardonnay Šijački 2020).
There are few places where there is such a strong connection within one family, as in the case of the Šijački family, so that the wines got the names or characters of ancestors and descendants of this family through labels, and all together they are connected into suggestive stories, including those about the old indigenous grape variety Seduša or about my grandfather’s favourite word “aldumaš” (a drink in honour of a deal made) which was found on the label of Italian Riesling fermented and aged in a wooden barrel. Visitors are welcome here, and they have at their disposal a tasting room and a terrace overlooking the Danube.
The programme for tourists, depending on the agreement, includes a tasting of three to five wines with appropriate snacks for wine separation. There are gastronomic delights from the surroundings, but also cold-pressed grape seed oil, and grape “slatko” (thin fruit preserve) and grape marmalade, both cooked with wine. Many will continue to enjoy wines and stories about it on the terrace of the Šijački Winery, where the Danube smells indifferently of the sea in summer.
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 09:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m., closed on Sundays. The groups that wish teambuilding activities, walking to the vineyard or a full day of stay need to announce themselves two days in advance.
Svetozara Markovića Street 3, Banoštor
Phone: +381 (0)63 467 006
E-mail: vinarijabononia@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: June 2021
[1]The grape assortment as well as the transcription of the grape varieties 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.
