The god of wine Dionysus or Bacchus, was already celebrated by the Greeks and Romans. His image was immortalized by some of the greatest artists in history, including two Michelangelos. Bacchus with a cap of vine leaves and a glass in his hand was painted by Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio. The more famous Michelangelo, one with the surname Buonarotti, depicted Bacchus in a similar way in a sculpture. Long before them, Roman soldiers also celebrated Bacchus in the most appropriate way, by enjoying wine. They even received part of their salary in wine, so it is clear that they were the ones who planted the first large vineyards in our region.
Greeks and Romans mixed wine with water
The first records of the unique cold water that springs in today's Jamnica, enriched with refreshing bubbles, date back to the time of the great migrations of peoples. The records were left to us by the ancient Celts, who, in the areas around today's Zagreb, rich in mineral springs, mixed wine with mineral water and thus, for the first time in history, drank gemischts. The beauty of this drink was recognized not only by the native Illyrians, but also by the Slavs who moved in in the 7th century. The wine society gathered more and more members throughout history, and was even accepted by the Turks. The latter, as recorded in Kutjevo, were well aware of the value of wine, despite their religion that forbade alcohol.
Poet Tin Ujević drank wine to stay sober
The Turks ruled Kutjevo from the mid-16th to the end of the 17th century and did not clear the vineyards or destroy the cellars. Moreover, in the old Kutjevo cellar, the upper class of the Požega sanjak enjoyed good wine. Famous Croatian members of the wine society were poet Tin Ujević, whose verse is I drink wine to stay sober, and writer Antun Gustav Matoš, who wrote that talent, art, joy of life, music and health grow alongside the vineyards of the Rhine, France, Italy and Croatian homeland. Vilim Lovrenčić, the owner of the Jamnička kiselica bottling plant at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, also wrote about health effects of the mineral water.
Gemischt solves problems
Numerous respected doctors prescribe Jamnička kiselica as a cure for many diseases, and it is unsurpassed as a refreshing drink with two-thirds wine, Lovrenčić advertised the water, which he was already selling throughout the Austro-Hungarian monarchy at that time, but also exporting to the United States of America. Franjo Šafranek, the main character of the best Croatian film comedy Tko pjeva, zlo ne misli (Whoever sings, means no harm), secured his place in the Wine Company almost 60 years ago. This jovial man solved every family or worldly problem easily: I'm going to Žnidaršić's bar for a gemischt, he would say.
After gemischt you love your own wife
About fifty years ago, Milan Milček Krčmar, the long-time manager of the First Plešivica Wine and Viticulture Cooperative, entered this society with a bang. A good gemišta makes you love your own wife, is a paraphrase of Milček's words, which are complemented by an old Burgundian proverb: Wine does a lot of good for women, especially when men drink it. And that it does good for men, also said the great wine lover from Zelina, journalist Stjepan Šagovac: Man has not invented anything better than a gemischt, Šagi said during every toast. And no one from the Wine Society, from ancient times to the present day, will contradict him.
God created water, man created wine
Next Sunday, read about Victor Hugo, who wrote that God created water and man created wine
