2 June 2009 | Serbia is best-known for its sljivovica, or plum brandy, but according to the turnout at a recent gala in the capital, more and more locals are looking for a good glass of wine. The three-day In Vino Wine festival, held last month at the Sava Centre in Belgrade, was attended by more than 4,000 people.

From high-end brands at nearly 211 euro a bottle, to those as cheap as 10.5 euro, organisers attempted to reach a broad spectrum: from run-of-the-mill wine drinkers to connoisseurs.

Sicilian Tasca d'Almerita, which made its Serbian debut at the festival, was among 500 wines showcased at the May 26 event, and drew the biggest crowd, according to spokeswoman Marija Teofilovic.

From the Italian wine Campanile, to the Michele Torino vineyards of Argentina, 120 wineries from 15 countries all over the world came together for the event.

Amid a slew of Italian, Hungarian and French brands, domestic wineries also made their presence known. Rubin, headquartered in Krusevac, unveiled its new line, Terra Lazarica. Other wine makers, such as the small, family-owned cellars of Aleksandrovic and Radovanovic were on hand.

Regional wines, such as the well-known Montenegrin brand Vranac, also made an appearance.

In Vino also hosted various wine tasting workshops and sommelier courses.

“Every year interest grows in sommelier courses and that only proves that wine is becoming an increasingly popular drink in Serbia,” said Teofilovic.

Foreigners peppered the crowd, as the annual festival, now in its sixth year, has proved to be a good tool for beefing up tourism.

Milan Savic of Krusevac came to In Vino simply to taste some good wines.

“When people come back from a trip abroad, they no longer talk about how much wine they drank, but what they drank, meaning that quality is more important,” says Savic.

Whether it's white, red, dry or sweet, Savic added that when choosing a good wine, the bottom line is preference.

*This text is courtesy of the Southeast European Times (SET), a web site sponsored by the US Department of Defense in support of UN Resolution 1244, designed to provide an international audience with a portal to a broad range of information about Southeastern Europe. It highlights movement toward greater regional stability and steps governments take toward integration into European institutions. SET also focuses on developments that hinder both terrorist activity and support for terrorism in the region.

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