“Xe meio un bicèr de dalmato / che l’amor mio…” (better a glass of Dalmato than my love): So begins a traditional Istrian-Venetan song, evidence of southern Dalmatia’s long and renowned winemaking tradition. The region’s wines have been famous since the Adriatic was a crossroads for empires and seafaring republics. In this labyrinth of wind-whipped archipelagos, the Pelješac peninsula has long been the pride and joy of Dalmatian viticulture, its karst slopes plunging into the sea producing the wines that Emperor Franz Joseph served to his guests. Still today, “heroic” viticultural methods are used to cultivate the native grape Plavac Mali, known for full-flavored wines with a high alcohol and tannin content. During the grape harvest, the local families also use Plavac Mali to make an unusual, highly concentrated grape syrup, known as varenik, whose existence was documented during the time of the Republic of Ragusa, or Republic of Dubrovnik (Ragusa in Italian and Latin) in the 16th century.
After leaving the freshly pressed grape must in contact with the skins in a cool place, to slow down the natural fermentation process, the juice is filtered and cooked to obtain a thick, sugary liquid, which can be stored for over a year. With aging and sedimentation, the color changes from blood red to a dark caramel. The flavor is very strong and sweet, with a fruity, Marsala flavor with notes of honey.
Back when sugar was a luxury for most people, the syrup was given to children and to women to help them recover after childbirth. It makes an excellent condiment for salads and meat, and is considered an essential ingredient in a traditional local dish known as paštičada, a kind of beef stew, and in traditional sweets like mantala.
Varenik je dragocjeni sirup koji se dobiva dugotrajnim iskuhavanjem mošta najkvalitetnijeg grožđa autohtone hrvatske sorte Plavac mali. Ručno obrađivan u pelješkom krajoliku tradicionalnih terasa od suhozida, bojom će varirati od krvavo crvene do tamne karamele, a okusa slatkog i voćnog s notama meda i tamne čokolade.
Vratimo se nakratko u prošlost: još od XV. stoljeća od varenika se, dodavanjem brašna, badema, kore naranče i začina, priprema kraljica dubrovačkih slastica - mantala. Varenik je najvažniji sastojak specijaliteta poput pašticade (vrste kuhane govedine), “šporkih” makarula, začin salatama i “tajni” dodatak rižotima, brudetima, jelima od divljači.
Prezidij
Samo nekoliko obitelji još uvijek proizvodi varenik i nemoguće ga je pronaći na tržištu. Uvjerena u ekonomski i kulturni potencijal proizvoda za lokalnu zajednicu, grupa mla- dih lokalnih vinara nastoji oživjeti njegovu proizvodnju. Oni ulažu vrijeme i sredstva u povećanje proizvodnje, uvodeći sitne inovacije kako bi jamčili visoke standarde kvalitete, ostajući pritom vjerni tradicionalnom receptu.
Prezidij radi zajedno s proizvođačima i lokalnim partnerom, udrugom Kinookus, na defi- niranju protokola proizvodnje koji će kombinirati tradiciju i inovaciju, s ciljem promocije varenika u Hrvatskoj i inozemstvu. Prezidij je pokrenut u okviru ESSEDRA projekta koji promovira Slow Food, a sufinancira Europska unija preko Opće uprave za proširenje (DG Enlargement). Cilj projekta potpora je europskim integracijskim procesima Balkana i Turske kroz jačanje civilnog društva i njegovih sposobnosti utjecanja na politike i sposobnosti promicanja održivih modela ruralnog razvoja.
Poluotok Pelješac, južna Dalmacija
Proizvođači
Mario Bartulović
Marijeta Čalić i Denis Bogoević-Marušić Ivan i Josip Miloš
Dubravko Vukas
Koordinator prezidija
Marijeta Čalić
tel. +385 958796186 vinarija.kriz@gmail.com
Prezidij financira
Projekt ESSEDRA
www.essedra.com
The Presidium is working alongside these producers and its local partner Kinookus to draw up a production protocol that will combine tradition and innovation, and to promote varenik in Croatia and internationally.
The Presidium has been established as part of the ESSEDRA project, co-funded by the European Union through DG Enlargement and promoted by Slow Food, which has the objective of supporting the process of integrating the Balkans and Turkey into Europe through a strengthening of civil society and its capacity to influence policies and promote sustainable rural development models.
Production area
Pelješac peninsula, southern Dalmatia
Presidium supported by
ESSEDRA project – co-finanziato dalla Commissione Europea (2014/351-624)
Maja Čalić and Denis Bogoević-Marusić
Ivan and Josip Miloš
Dubravko Vukas
Maja Čalić
tel. +385 958796186
majacal@yahoo.com
