Did you know that Montenegro is a wine country?

There is a long tradition of making domestic, exceptional wine in Montenegro.

How did the wine production started in Montenegro?

Although there are evidences that wine was produced in Montenegro in Pre-roman period, the expansion of wine culture began during the reign of King Nikola (one of the most important rulers in history of Montenegro).

The culture of vine growing in Montenegro took an upward trajectory when he issued an order in 1890, according to which every adult man who wanted to marry, was obliged to plant 200 vines in his vineyard area, and those who would plant 2000 vines would be exempt from paying all the taxes at that time. The Mediterranean climate has almost ideal conditions for growing vines, and with all that in mind, the majority of man started planting vineyards.

Nowadays, there are many families all over Montenegro who, in keeping with the tradition of their ancestors, continue to produce wine grapes and produce high quality wines.

In total, there are about 4 300 hectares of vineyards and more than 60 small independent wineries in Montenegro.

Montenegro wine regions

Perfect geographical and climate conditions of Montenegro enable successful cultivation of grapes all year round, creating two main wine regions in Montenegro.

First and the most important is Skadar Lake Wine region, with its sub regions of Podgorica, Crmnica and Rijeka Crnojevica. Here you will mostly find small family run wineries with the exceptional customer service, friendly members of family welcoming you and some of the best Vranac wines in Montenegro.

The second one is Coastal Wine region which is located between the Adriatic Sea and endless mountains on the other side. Its sub regions are Budva, Bar, Herceg Novi and Ulcinj area and Grahovo. The coastal wineries feature some of the best white wines, and often, good views and good meze. The wines are really exceptional, the region takes advantage of fertile land and an amazing microclimate.

Plantaze vineyard in Montenegro

Thirty kilometers from the Adriatic Sea, next to lake Skadar, are infinite rows of grapevines form one of the largest and most beautiful vineyards in Europe – Ćemovsko polje.

In 1960 a vineyard was built on Cemovsko polje, near Podgorica, and 11 million grapevines were planted until 1982, thus allowing Plantaze to be the leader in the region in this field. Nowadays, a half of whole wine territory belongs to Plantaze - it covers 2.300 ha with around 11.5 million grapevines.

Plantaže winery produces 22 million kilos of grapes annually, selling more than 16 million bottled products in over 40 countries in the world.

The vineyards are located on the territory of the former military airport of Yugoslavia, and the main wine cellar is located in a hangar for military aircraft.

Grape varieties in Montenegro

Vranac grape variety, an autochthonic Montenegrin grape, makes up to 70% of all grape varieties used for wine production. One of the favorite souvenirs from Montenegro is a bottle of this rich red wine. The second variety that is often used for wine protection is Krastošija.

White wine is produced mainly from Krstač and Zizak varieties.

Krstač is also an autochthonic Montenegrin grape variety,and it is mostly cultivated in the southern part of Montenegro. It often grows at the regions close to Podgorica.

Wine tasting in Montenegro

We can help you organize a wine tasting in some of the family owned wineries, or also at the biggest one - Plantaze. Although visiting Plantaze is an amazing experience, the smaller wineries should not be missed. The hosts will often offer you a glass of rakija as an aperitif, traditional alcoholic beverage, with strong burning flavor (it’s no accident that we call it fire water).

A little warning: after a couple of glasses, wine and rakija from Montenegro will make you feel invincible!