How is it that one of the most ancient wine-making cultures can be so consistently overlooked in our modern wine world? Viticulture has been an established pastime in Serbian culture since pre-history, from the Roman period, to the Byzantine Empire, and through to today. Even with that established history, we often look past Eastern and Central Europe and unfairly favor their more famous neighbors to the West. Maurer Fodor Olaszrizling is reason enough to shine a light on Balkan wine. Farmed organically from a small one-hectare plot in the Serbia’s northernmost wine region, Oszkár Maurer treats his Olaszrizling (or Welschriesling, unrelated to Rhine Riesling) the way his grandfather taught him – two weeks on the skins, all in barrel, with no additions. He describes his wine as “grease and motor oil for the soul,” and with a wine this texturally compelling, full of stone fruit, citrus zest, and peach iced tea flavors, we’re inclined to agree with him.
