Šumadija Wines Going Sideways

Once upon a time ”adventourism” was a synonym of traveling after dangerous sporty adventures. Today’s adventures are more passion driven. 

There is a great need for exclusive traveling, possibilities to travel for own hobbies and passions. 
Culinary experiencing is one of those on the rise. And it’s not only culinary traveling, but experiencing authentic food and combining this enjoyment with learning about the local culture. 

When the most famous destinations has already been seen, it’s time to find new places. 
Serbia is propably the least known country on European continent which rises it’s potential to become a travel destination of this decade.
Serbia was indeed chosen the European travel destination of the year in 2019. 
Why not to rise it on the world map?

Let’s start with Šumadija wines!

What is Trending in the Global Travel market?

Era of mass tourism is long gone. Travelers are seeking for something niché based on their private interests: for example food, sports and sometimes those combined.

Few trends are noticable: 

• Interest in unconventional places, going to places where ”no one else” has been to
• Authentic experiences
• Nostalgy
• Sustainability
• Tasting local foods and wines, not those of certain country, but specific region and even the small village
• Giving up flying and traveling slowly, using local transportation and staying among local people
• Studying the culture 

Serbia offers a Perfect Palate for Culinary traveleres seeking for authenticity

Culinary traveling is on the rise, yet there is a lack of places that mcdonaldization hasn’t hit.
While the fusion kitchen became a trend in the 80’s, now it’s time for new global cuisine. 

But where would you travel to have authentic local experiences, slow food and a sense of the place?
Lusting for sushi, but traveling after sushi means buying a ticket to Japan, not to Italy. 
Italy is Modena’s aceto balsamico, Roman artichokes, Bistecca alla Fiorentina enjoyed in Florence, Sarde in Saor and other cichéti in Venetian bacaros. 

Unfortunately traveling to Italy is also fast food in Verona, where the city mayor has tried to sweep off all that foreign food not authentic to the region, but hasn’t managed very well. 

If the food will become the same all around the world, what is the point of traveling to new places?
Then where would you travel to taste food and drinks authentic to an area?
Serbia could be one answer. 

Serbians are proud of their local cuisine. And they should be!
While international expats are often complaining about the lack of the new global cuisine in this country, seeking for exotic spices and lusting for foods they’ve tasted on their travels or in their native countries, Serbian stubbornly stick with their own habits. 

Yes, there are international restaurants, at least in the capital city of Belgrade, but going into a Portuguese restaurant means having piri piri chicken, maybe a pastel de nata as a dessert, but the menu will have a whole set of original Serbian foods as pljeskavica, karađorđeva šnicla and ćevapčići.

Traveling to Serbia is the destination for the culinary traveler. This is the place to enjoy so-called authentic food, locally grown veggies, Serbian meat and other local specialties. And there are dozens, even hundreds of restaurants to choose from.

Šumadija’s Potential in Wine Tourism

For the most dedicated traveleres food & wine itself is enough a reason to travel to the farthest places. Yet there are thousands of vineyards competing for visibility in the market and trying to attract tourists to attend to their tastings. 
Wine itself isn’t enough if the place isn’t easily reached and doesn’t have an existing infrastructure for tourism. 

Šumadija region in Central Serbia is located only 1-2 hours drive away from Serbia’s capital city of Belgrade. It has full potential of becoming a destination for adventure seeking food tourists willing to find less conventional places. 

Šumadija is known for it’s vineyards, but is not as famous as Fruška Gora region amongst international culinary traveleres. Whilst Fruška Gora is producing wines of more common grapes as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, Šumadija is known as a place of producing wines of Serbian indigenious grapes such as Prokupac.

For travelers seeking for authenticity and very local niché experiences Šumadija is the perfect place to visit. 
Šumadija’s vineyards are rather small and their wines are mostly consumed in the region and enjoyed with the locally produced food.
Yet Šumadija is the biggest of the Serbian wine regions with plenty of vineyards to visit. 

Area holds a proud heritage of combining wines and food grown on the same ground. Indigenious Prokupac grape has made it’s way to an International Wine Calendar, celebrating it’s day on October 14^th, but still not widely known outside Serbia. 

Central Serbia is the place for connoisseur travelers who have already sipped their Champagne in Champagne and Pinot Noir in California.
Trends are often created purposely by the world famous chefs, yet sometimes accidentally or at least partly unpurposely created. 

Šumadija Wines Going Sideways

The Sideways comedy movie made Pinot Noir trendy, but reduced consumption of Merlot as one of the main characters in the film was dedicated Pinot Noir man who wouldn’t touch Merlot even if it meant sacrificing a potential date with a beautiful woman. 

After a release of this Hollywood movie in autumn 2004 sales of Pinot Noir wines rose by more than 20 percent over the 2004-05 Christmas/New Year period compared to the same period the previous year. 

I’d love to see the same thing happening to Prokupac, – not Merlot, but that Pinot Noir thing. Making this Serbian grape interesting enough for oenophiles to travel to Serbia.
I wouldn’t want Šumadija region to become a mass tourism destination, but a destination for travelers dedicated to very special indigenious wines and authentic and pure local food.

Wining & Driving Isn’t the Best Combo

Visits to vineyards are often done by private cars. It’s understandable as wine regions around the world are mostly unreachable by public transportation. 
But it doesn’t have to be this way. For example the city of Aleksandrovac in Central Serbia is easily reached by a bus from Belgrade. 

By booking an accommodation in this city it would give possibility to do bit more wine tasting than if driving. Arriving by bus or leaving the car parked and then visiting local vineyards by foot would be ideal for many wine enthusiasts. 

As wining & dining, but also hiking are my main topics in this blog, I’d love to see Šumadija becoming a destination for travelers who like to combine outdoor adventures with culinary experiences. And not only Šumadija, but other wine regions in Serbia too. 

At the moment I’m writing an essay about food tourism in Serbia for the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences and have chosen areal development of Šumadija as my main topic.
This work could also be easily applied to any other area in Serbia. 

I’d be glad to be a part of the tourism development in this country, so if there are local wine producers, restaurateurs or folks working in tourism reading this article and interested in cooperation, I’m more than happy to talk about my ideas.
Feel free to drop me a message!

Serbia has a beautiful nature with forests, rivers and mountains. Combining wine tasting and hiking or wines, food and short walks would be a perfect combination to enjoy this country. 

Pre-Covid I had already some tourist groups coming to Serbia for whom I planned few day tours. During these idle times I started planning something more niché on these fields that are dear to me. 
I came up with an idea of Wine Walk. 

Šumadija Wine Walk

Šumadija Wine walk product is targeted for people who are seeking for less beaten paths and unconventional places. 
These travelers are adventurous, conscious, highly educated, interested in history and willing to spend money, if they have possibility to experience something very authentic.
They might travel solo or in couples, maximum small groups. 
These people have traveled all around the world and are seeking for new, less crowded destinations not hit by mass tourism. 

They are not pleased with the man playing harmonica wearing traditional clothing just for tourism purposes, but are seeking for authentic stories.

This traveler would enjoy visiting a wine cellar and learning about wine. (S)he is interested in hearing the story behind the beautiful wine in his glass. – Why is this grape or blend chosen and why is it combined with that exact food on his plate? 

Culinary traveler is traveling thousands of kilometers for his food, but doesn’t want his food to travel far. He wants to see the plant that offered his food. He wants to taste the grape that handed over the beautiful wine in his glass. 
He wants the environment and atmosphere to fit with the palates on his glass and plate.

Sustainability is important for him, as well as his own wellbeing. He loves to eat and drink, but also to take care of his health. Therefore wining & dining combined with hiking would be his idea of a perfect vacation. 
Give him the map of the local hiking trails, he is ready for an adventure. To hit the path and to walk from one vineyard to another.

History of Šumadija’s Wine & Food is a Legend

The food and wine in the Šumadija region are locally produced and consumed. It drawns from the the history and culture of the area. 

During the Ottoman Empire local people grew pigs as their conquerors wouldn’t touch pigs, neither couldn’t tax them. Hundreds of years later Serbs are still barbequing piglets and enjoying their original recepies. 
Despite the fact of escaping taxes, Serbian cuisine has also taken influence from their conquerors and the local food is a mix of the Turkish and Austro-Hungarian kitchens and ancient Greek and Roman wine making traditions. 
Again trendy orange wine, which is considered as the most original kind of wine, is of course produced here too. 

Serbia is still strongly an agricultural economy and country has also invented a lot of technology for sustainable and organic food production. New technology is introduced to old traditions giving new possibilities for sustainable production. 

Let’s Do It!

To fit for the latest trends this area could invent more plant-based menus as local vegetables and berries are widely known for their high quality. Also, cutting a bit on using salt and replacing it with local wild or cultivated spices and herbs would make a huge difference on becoming a world famous food travel destination. For example sage grown in Serbia is one of the best I’ve tasted and would be perfect match with the local pork meat. 

Šumadija region already has a capacity of hosting international tourists. Even some of the vineyards have possibility to accommodate travelers, they have restaurants existing, cities in the area have quality hotels with spas and country has investments on the road construction making it’s rural areas more reachable. 
Infrastructure does exist, but marketing is not widely done. 
Serbians themself found their own gems during pandemic as domestic traveling was highly on the rise.

Cooperation of the companies in the area could lead to something highly interesting to international traveleres and also well profiting. 
Already existing Prokupac Day wine festival has a full potential of becoming world famous. 
This area could easily draw itself on the world culinary map. 
Let’s start banging those oak drums!
Will you join me?

Sources

IMDb Internet Movie Database
New Global Cuisine: tourism, authenticity and sense of place in postmodern gastronomy; Scarpato R., Daniel R.
8 Food Travel Trends to do something about; Moilanen T.
Consumer trends to watch for in 2020; Morrison O.
20 food trends for 2020; Naylor T.
A Profile of Organic Food Consumers—Serbia Case-Study; Radojevic V., Tomaš Simin M., Glavaš Trbic ́ D., Milic D.

Are you a culinary traveler?
Subscribe here to get my latest articles to your email: