Ivo planted five excellent grape varieties at the Venje vineyard. Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling form the great white wine trio of Alsace, one of the most renowned regions for white wines. Sauvignon Blanc is the world's most popular variety for by-the-glass sales in wine bars while Graševina is a major Central European variety that yields its finest wines in Slavonia and the Danube region.
Not enough wine to bottle five varieties
The initial idea was to produce a separate wine from each variety. The very next year, after the first harvest, Enjingi filled several small barrels with each of the varieties. In 1998 there was not enough wine to create five distinct labels, so he blended everything together in a large tank, following a traditional practice of the region, and tasted the result after some time.
It was terrible at the first tasting. I thought about dumping it all, but I had space in the cellar, so the wine stayed. A few months later, the wine began to show quality, and it improved with every subsequent tasting. It became clear that something might come of it after all, recalls Enjingi. He was contacted by Ivo Ivaniš, a wine consultant and writer from Dubrovnik who had also lived in the Netherlands, after Decanter asked him to secure samples from Croatia for their inaugural competition.
The 2002 Graševina is also famous
Many winemakers had turned him down, but Enjingi sent his wines. He won the Regional Trophy with his 2002 Late Harvest Graševina, while the 1998 Late Harvest Venje, a wine that was completely new at the time, became a world champion.
We paid tribute to a wine that had made Croatian wine history at the 11th Vino.com International Festival in Zagreb’s Esplanade Hotel in 2016. We held a workshop there that brought together every vintage of this great Croatian wine, including some that were no longer on the market.
The 18 years old wine was trully excellent
A 2002 late-harvest Graševina served as the welcome drink for the 45 participants, who had packed into a room designed for 30, before the world champion was poured. Damn good, I blurted out after a sip. Venje 1998 had been impressive back then, too, not because it had come of age, but simply because it was truly excellent.
It has the aroma of ripe fruit and a youthful color. Its taste bursts with freshness, yet time has lent it just enough of a patina to reveal that it is something special. Next came bottles from the 2002 and 2003 vintages, followed by the 2004 vintage served from a half-bottle (0.375 L).
The 2010 brought the 1998 to mind
Then, the 2007 and 2008 vintages, which were currently on the market, were served. Earlier that same day, in the same hall, we had named the younger of the two the top-ranked white wine of the third season of Wine Stars Competition. Finally, the 2010 vintage arrived, bottled specifically for this occasion. Enjingi remarked that it reminded him most of the champion 1998 vintage. We tasted the latter again to compare the two and attempted to predict what the 2010 vintage would be like in 2028, when it, too, reaches the age of 18.
And then, the 2006 vintage was served. Enjingi used to say that this wine was the best of all those he had produced to date, and I still consider it the best Croatian wine ever made. At the time, it was still in the tank, and Ivo would occasionally bottle a few dozen bottles for tasting.
All the wines are alive, many are lively
The question remained whether it would hit the market or if the approximately 25,000 liters would, as Enjingi sometimes puts it, simply be consumed by friends and those who truly appreciate what they are drinking. He did release it, and so, even in 2026, it can be purchased at Vrutak for €25.09. We repeated the tasting of all the Venje vintages in January 2026, and they were all alive, even lively and spirited. Including the 1998 vintage.
It is worth noting that Ivan Enjingi stores his wines in tanks under special, secretive conditions, bottling them only when needed. It is also worth mentioning that, in January, Enjingi brought seven Graševinas to Zagreb, ranging from the 2023 vintage (which was youthful in 2026) to the 1994 vintage (which was still remarkably fresh in 2026).
He Will Never Die
The headline of the column I wrote about him for 24sata daily newspaper in 2018 was Enjingi Will Never Die. Two years later, Željko Garmaz used it as the preface for the book Enjingi: The Great Life Story of Croatia’s Greatest Winemaker. Well, I’m not going to die either! I have no desire to find myself in a situation where I can no longer drink Venje, Graševina, and his other wines.
Next Sunday, in the series on great Croatian wines, read the story of two that won Decanter's highest honors.