Vineyards of the winery “Svijetli dvori” stretch on the south side of the Bansko hill, at an ideal altitude of 160 to 200 meters – close to the Hunjar, Kamenac Mountain, Nadlaz and Peres’s hill.
They are every day exposed to sunshine necessary for the production of quality grape vines, especially graševina, white grape varietie that is characterized by good and regular fertility and high grape quality. Vineyards are full of reproductive power, aged between 7 and 12 years. Currently on 13 hectares of vineyards, counting has reached 52,000 vines.
Vineyards represent agricultural areas or land where grape vines are grown for grape and wine production. The quality of the grape vine depends on the environment in which the vineyard is located, ie. on the climatic conditions to which the vineyard is exposed. The air temperature and exposure to sunlight play a big role as well as the characteristics of the soil itself. The quality of grapes and wines also depends on the ways of harvesting (industrial, traditional) and on the time when the harvest is made.
Factors such as climate, time, and soil affect the quantity and quality of grape vines. Heat is in this case indispensable: the plant uses sunlight and chlorophyll to produce the glucose needed for growth and development by combining carbon dioxide and water. In short, the goal of wine growing is to concentrate glucose not only in vine, but in fruit itself. The plant will then use all the available resources that will stimulate its growth and yielding fruit.
In the field of viticulture, it is extremely important to distinguish between climate and weather. The climate refers to the average weather characteristics over a few years. Changes that arise in these characteristics make weather.
Sunlight: as mentioned earlier, light is essential for the development of grapevine; without light there is no photosynthesis and the plant dies. The amount of light the plant absorbs determines the speed of photosynthesis. In other words, as much light is, there is more glucose. Exposure to sunlight can be harmful: grape skin can burn, resulting in a bitter taste that affects the quality of the wine.
Vineyards are most successful in areas where the soil consists of different sizes of pebbles, humus or decomposing organic matter and nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. If the level of nutrients is too high, the grapevine in this case grows excessively, leading to extremely thick branches or “treetops”. This would prevent sunlight from reaching the grapes, thus preventing the ripening of the grapes.
The ideal vineyard soil is well drained and should have sufficient water storage capacity at the beginning of the crop growth cycle to ensure a strong growth start. In the summer the excessive exposure of vineyards to water decreases in order to lead to the ripening.
Harvests in vineyards start when wine growers decide that grapes have reached the perfect balance between sugar levels and physiological maturity. Sometimes grape harvest must be done to avoid threatening weather conditions. Hailstorm can damage the grapes, while excessive rain fills the berry with water, which affects the dilution of sugar. This reduces the quality of the subsequent wine.
If you take your trip to Baranja, be sure to visit the most prominent Baranja ethno village Karanac, an ideal tourist destination that revives old crafts every year and impresses numerous guests, both domestic and foreign.
