Mihalj Gerstmajer: Vineyards serving the fourth generation of winemakers in spite of being 50 years old
Wine is a highly specific product, incomparable with any other, deriving its distinctive features in equal measure from the soil, the climate, and the people who make it. This is what makes the vintner and winemaker profession so rewarding, told us Mihalj Gerstmajer “Mišika”, whom we spoke with at his cellar, with the grape harvest in full swing around us.
Vedran Stapić
He owns eight hectares of vineyards in Banska kosa, near Zmajevac. Graševina, traminer, pinot gris, chardonnay and Rhine riesling plantings form the basis for the production of his unique white wines.
“Graševina, the prevalent white grape variety in Croatia, takes up most of the space in our vineyards too, about 60 percent. Driven by an ambition to make wines that will stand out in the market, we harvest our grapes later in the year, which means we also harvest a smaller amount, and this is reflected in the character of our wines. I’m the fourth generation of my family in this business. We are originally from Germany: our family were Danube Swabians who have settled in this region, interspersing with the Hungarians. Being a mix of the two, we picked up the best of both worlds”, Mihalj told us jokingly.
Zmajevac could be dubbed the winemaking capital of Baranja, but Suza, Karanac, Kamenac, Kotlina and Kneževi Vinogradi are all vying for the title too.
“There used to be 250 wine cellars in our village. Only about twenty are left now. After the peaceful reintegration of Baranja and Podunavlje in 1998, we returned to Zmajevac and relaunched our production. We used funding from the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) to plant four hectares of vineyards, and make a substantial investment in technology. Looking back, I realize we have been making continuous investments all this time, and we plan to keep this up in the future”, Mihalj Gerstmajer told us.
We replant our own vineyards
“Almost half of vineyards are over 50 years old, and we plan to replant most of them in the coming years. We replant our own vineyards, investing our own time and funds. Even though our proposal was accepted in the wine envelope tender, we could not accept its conditions, and we gave up on such funding. The envelope’s conditions are unsuitable for most of our winemakers. We cannot clear five hectares of land, and then wait for three years. How are we supposed to make a living in the meantime? And so we do things slowly and on our own. Little by little every year.
I have two sons. My younger, Ivan, helps me run the business, and I believe he will continue the family tradition. He went to school for it, and now he is slowly learning the practical skills by my side.”
