SLAVONIAN HOUSE VINKOMIR – AMAZING RESTAURANT FROM KUTJEVO WINERY THAT YOU MUST VISIT

The end of summer is approaching and it’s hard to decide where to spend the last days of the sun’s breath. Soon we will have a foggy and rainy autumn, depression, unless we all work together in unison on Global Warming and at least turn our beautiful country into a tropical paradise, 365 days a year. Maybe I’ve strayed a bit from the topic? I’ll come back to the well-intentioned advice about releasing CO2 into the atmosphere later.

Namely, when you are a wealthy tycoon like Dear Leader Joe, people call you from all over the world: Come to Monaco… Come to the Maldives… Come to Miami… Here and there you will find a joker who says: “Come to Ogulin”, but there are provocateurs everywhere, including here.

The other day, my friend Matko from the Kutjevo Winery contacted me and said: “Why don’t I come to Kutjevo?” I answered him politely: “Matko, they’ve already provoked me to go to Ogulin. Don’t you do it now! Why would I go to Kutjevo? It’s plus 30 outside.” Matko: “The Kutjevo Winery has opened a new restaurant, “Slavonska kuća Vinkomir.” You have to try our new menu. Aren’t you a self-proclaimed Gastro Snob? By the way, stop by our winery, which is one of the oldest in this part of Europe (from 1232.). Combine pleasant with useful. You’ve never tried food like this before, at least not in Slavonia. You already know that our wines are top-notch. I’m heading to Kutjevo on Wednesday, so you’ll have free transportation. Feel free to bring someone with you.”

Who should I take? Everyone is at Dalmatian coast. Who is as dedicated to their work as I am, that they haven’t gone to sea? I remembered: Nikolina Gotal. Spokesperson for the Red Cross. She loves traveling, loves wine, loves good food, and since she’s from Vrbovec, a trip to Kutjevo is like landing a man on the Moon for her. She agreed immediately. I found it suspicious, somehow too good to be true. There must be some trick, but I didn’t have time for conspiracy theories right now. The next day, Matko, Nikolina and I got into the car and headed off in an unknown direction.

Restaurant Slavonian house Vinkomir is located on the slopes below mountain Krndija, which is located east of Mount Papuk. I was not good at geography because I always knew that one day I would be able to copy from Google. Krndija is made of volcanic rocks and I could tell you now about the influence of volcanoes on the quality of Kutjevo wines, but you will have to see for yourself, if my column inspires you to take such a trip or if you stop by a nearby wine shop.

The restaurant is amazingly decorated and honestly, I didn’t expect such a modern design in Slavonia. I’m just prejudiced. I admit it. I’m guilty. I’d say let them judge me, but not on an empty stomach.

Since they have a large terrace, and it was a nice and sunny day, we decided to sit outside and enjoy the view of the Cheimtrails above the green vineyards.

I wanted a manly picture in the vineyard with a bottle of Kutjevo Rose Premium, but Matko stopped me and said that Nikolina was prettier and that maybe it would be better to take her picture.

Those days of the month when I listen to Matko 🙂

After taking photos, Nikolina expressed her desire to try wine made from grape rose, but Matko explained to her that such a grape does not exist. We started with the Kutjevo Rosé Premium Brut sparkling wine. It is produced using the classic method from the Pinot Noir variety. The wine has a beautiful pink color, and the nose captivates with seductive aromas of red berries, dominated by strawberry, raspberry and cherry. I would add that I also smell a hint of volcanic lava from Papuk, but that is my professional deformation. If you don’t smell the sparkling lava, it is not because I made it up to sound like my fellow sommeliers. What is important to you as a guest is that the glass is full, not empty, and that you like the wine.

Nikolina said at one point that she was addicted to white. Me: “Again?” Nikolina: “You are idiot! White grape seed oil. This is too good.”

Cold-pressed grape seed oil is rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants (50 times more powerful than vitamin E and 20 times more effective than vitamin C), as well as linoleic acid and unsaturated fatty acids such as omega 3 and omega 6. Grape seed oil also contains resveratrol, the strongest antioxidant found in nature, whose effect is 1000% stronger than other known antioxidants. I expect a year’s supply of oil from Kutjevo for this PR 🙂

A main course without soup and appetizers is like a village without a church and school.

We ordered: Kutjevo Carpaccio for two – Beef carpaccio, spicy cottage cheese, pickled zucchini rolls, wild onion ice cream, pepper timut, beetroot rosette. If someone asks me why I didn’t go to Miami or the Maldives, this picture gives the answer. 14 euros of pure pleasure.

On the island of Hvar, I would get a scoop of ice cream and maybe some pepper timut for that money because I’m local 🙂

It was too good to be true. Something had to go wrong. Nikolina said: But I don’t eat meat. Can I order this smoked carp salad – Smoked carp, mixed green salad, avocado, fresh cucumber dressing and fried shiitake mushrooms.

Matko and I looked at each other in shock. Does this mean there’s more carpaccio for us? Every cloud has a silver lining.

I told her to give me one bite to try, but that no one should know that I ate fish and vegetables in Slavonia. I took two or three bites later, but that’s not for publication either. Nikolina, a big fan of fish and vegetables, says that this is one of the best, if not the best fish salad she’s ever tried, and she’s tried a lot because she’s traveled more than Anthony Bourdain 🙂

The salad is also 14 euros, but it’s big enough for two people and another illegitimate child on the side.

We also ordered the cream of asparagus soup with fried bacon, celery, and wild onion foam. It reminded me of that Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi. I would wait in line for this soup. I want something like this from a bag to warm me up on cold winter nights.

Even Nikolina, who doesn’t eat meat, ate the bacon from the soup. That says it all 🙂

Matko suggested that we try the top-quality Kutjevo Grasevina. A fresh, harmonious and substantial wine with a crystal golden-yellow color. The aroma opens with floral notes of chamomile and a fruity bouquet. The taste is dominated by citrus aromatics with shades of green apples and vineyard peaches in the taste, with the presence of strong minerality in the aftertaste.

Awarods: 

Decanter 2025 – Silver medal

International Wine Challenge 2025 – Silver medal

Mundus Vini Spring Tasting 2025 – Silver medal

GROW du Monde 2025 – Gold medal

Nikolina had the same expression on her face as the Dalai Lama when his favorite rice bowl was broken. She said something that you can’t say in Kutjevo: “But I don’t like Graševina. It’s sour wine, it’s for the squeamish!” It’s like someone in Bosnia saying they don’t like ćevapi, and only eat burek if it’s with cheese. I told you right away that I was suspicious of how quickly she agreed to go. It was too good to be true. First the meat, then the Grasevina… They would say in Virovitica: “Damn, she’s fucked up!.”

Everything pointed to disaster, and then Nikolina took a sip of wine out of politeness and flashed a smile that even Ursula Von der Leyen wouldn’t be ashamed of when she realized she had managed to delete the messages from Phizer in time. “I smell peaches too!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Well, this is good. I’ve never had a Grasevina like this!?”

I broke the prejudices about Slavonia and elite gastronomy, and Nikolina about Grasevina. Matko was proud. He said: If they remember me on Grasevina Day, they remember me, if not, nothing. It was my civil duty to lead her on the right path.”

He told her later that he wasn’t like other wine connoisseurs. He was sensitive. He voted for the right party. He showed her a screenshot of the ballot.

It was time for the main course. We all know that modesty is the virtue of the poor, so I ordered anything but a modest meal.

Lamb Franch Rack baked with a pistachio crust, kohlrabi cream, sautéed broccoli with almond flakes, potatoes with thyme and lamb jus.

Since lamb is always in short supply, I also had lamb strudel – confit young lamb, pulled pastry, potatoes, baby spinach and chive mayonnaise. The price for this rhapsody on a plate is only 13 euros.

Nikolina continued as usual. Fish order, vegetables order.

Grilled perch – Perch fillet baked in the skin, sautéed zucchini, potato salad and fish jus.

Stuffed zucchini with seitan, root vegetables, fresh cottage cheese, celery cream, reduced wine vinegar. Even I threw myself into this like Donald Trump on Stormy Daniels.

Just so it doesn’t turn out that we didn’t eat enough… There was more than enough food, but since this is a tasting gastronomic trip, I also ordered the deer Wellington – deer fillet in puff pastry, kulen spread, Slavonian pork bacon, sautéed broad beans, celery puree, and venison jus with juniper.

How to describe these delights on a plate? I simply want to die from clogged blood vessels in Kutjevo. Perfection of taste and aroma. This could only have been prepared by someone who has seen the world and worked abroad. It was time to invite Chef Hrvoje Loncarevic to the table and thank him for this spectacular menu.

I was right because he immediately admitted that he had worked in Austria and Germany and was now presenting all his knowledge and experience at the Slavonian House Vinkomir. I wanted to be polite and start a conversation, so I mentioned that I knew of an Austrian painter, but Matko and Nikolina immediately interrupted me in a friendly conversation.

Vinkomir Grasevina has arrived on the table. The queen of all Grasevinas. A single vineyard line of premium Grasevina produced from hand-picked and selected grapes. This is the sommelier description of our colleague Mario Meštrović – Aromatic when poured into a glass, a beautiful, ripe, yet fresh scent of ripe apples, peaches and yellow flowers immediately rises. Such a ripe scent that we expect sweetness in the taste that it actually does not have.

Awards:

Catad’or World Wine Awards 2023 – Gold

Mundus Vini Summer 2025 – Gold

I only know that Nikolina didn’t say a word. She enjoyed every sip, and her thoughtful gaze wandered into the distance. It was as if she was looking towards Cucerje, but I wasn’t sure.

Grasevina is the most popular white variety in Croatia, and it occupies over 25% of the vineyard area. The Vinkomir location in the Kutjevo vineyard is planted with 80% Grasevina, and the vineyard is located at 250 to 310 meters above sea level. Hight is important. I know this best.

Here’s a photo of Dear Leader Joe in the company of the beautiful Nikolina. So that people don’t say I’m making it up that I was at the restaurant.

Lunch without dessert is like a wine without grapes.

Summer sphere Vinkomir – White chocolate sphere filled with raspberry and cranberry ice cream, pistachio crumble, strawberry caramel, mini apples and chocolate and cardamom espuma. The real effect comes when the sphere is poured and dissolved, but for that experience you will have to come to the restaurant 🙂

Premium grasevina ice cream, nut croquette, dark chocolate mousse. Ice cream worth 6 euros 🙂

We had another dessert that is not on the menu, but can be ordered upon recommendation from the Chef or waiter and may vary depending on the type of sorbet 🙂

A variation of sorbet, lime and mint, pear and grasevina granit. Maybe my favorite, but it’s hard to decide. You have to try them all 🙂

With desserts, we drank Kutjevo Rose Premium – a blend of world-famous Zweigelt and Pinot Noir varieties obtained by short-term maceration. The aromatic profile opens with delicate scents of roses and pomegranates rounded off by gentle fruity aromas of strawberries and raspberries perfectly blended into the seductive salmon color of the Provençal style, and Maximo Bianco – a semi-dry wine made from selected, hand-picked grapes of the Grasevina and Traminer varieties, which seduces at first glance with its golden-yellow, clear color. Fragrant associations open with pronounced, layered and rich floral aromas, such as meadow flowers and roses, with attractive notes of honey and fine citrus.

I copied this from the Kutjevo website. That’s what the experts said, and I’ll say that we opened a total of about ten bottles, so I don’t even remember what we tried. It’s good that the menu already has a recommendation of which wine to try with which course, but no one is stopping you from improvising. We had Matko, so we let ourselves be guided by his expert guidance.

If you’ve had too much to drink or just want to stay longer in Kutjevo, above the restaurant there are the deluxe rooms Koria and Maximo, which provide an unforgettable experience of luxury and elegance, allowing you to fully enjoy and relax in nature.

Behind the restaurant is the Vinkomir Villa or the Vinkomir Memorial. It was built in 1939, modeled after an observation tower from the period of Turkish rule. This place offers one of the most beautiful views of Kutjevo, the Pozega Valley, beautiful nature, forests and fields.

When you are in Kutjevo, you must definitely visit winnery Kutjevo which has the largest Slavonian oak barrel and one of the oldest wine cellars in this part of Europe (1232).

Kutjevo Winery won the following awards for its wines at this year’s international wine competition Mundus Vini Summer 2025, which took place in Germany:

• De Gotho Graševina 2021. – Gold medal
• Graševina Vinkomir 2023. – Gold medal
• Maximo Oro 2022. – Gold medal
• Vrhunska graševina – Silver medal
• Graševina 2024. – Silver medal

Congratulations to the head enologist Ivan M. and all the colleagues in the cellar who participated in the creation of the award-winning wines 🙂

Interestingly, the winery allows you to store the wine of your choice in a wine vault. You can contact them by email at trezor@kutjevo.com, You choose your favorite label from the catalog, or several, and leave your favorite wines to the care of Kutjevo cellar masters and enologists.

Nikolina also wanted to see the widely known Kutjevo wine archive. The largest and oldest wine archive in Croatia, with more than 65 thousand bottles of wine.

The ancient Latins would say: “IN VINO VERITAS” or translated: Women are like wine. The older they are, the more years they have.”

Winnery Kutjevo – wine cellar archive
Photo: Dear Leader Joe, Flash.hr

Kutjevo winery also offers: Carriage Tour – Superslavonac

Program includes:

• Experience the richness of Slavonian wine heritage with a unique package that includes:
• Expert-guided tour through the wine cellars: New Cellar, Old Cellar 1232, Turković Cellar, Vault 1232, and Archive Cellar
• • Tasting of 3 premium wines from the prestigious Maximo and De Gotho lines
• Palate cleansers for a complete tasting experience
• Carriage ride through the vineyards to the exclusive Vinkomir site
• Three-course lunch with wine pairing (3 glasses of wine) in the authentic setting of the Slavonian House Vinkomir restaurant

Suma Sumarum, Kutjevo is a great destination for a day or weekend trip, business team building, birthday celebration, etc. Beautiful nature, top-notch gastronomic offer in the Slavonian House Vinkomir, the historic Kutjevo winery with phenomenal wines, and the only thing that might be missing from this little Slavonian paradise is a bust, or rather a life-size statue (meaning 2 meters aka 6.56 ft.), of the Dear Leader Joe. It doesn’t have to be made of gold. I don’t want to provoke the poor people. Bronze will be ok.

Author: Josip Novosel aka Vin Diesel for the poor, self-proclaimed Dear Leader Joe, recreational spell caster from Cucerje, passionate collector of small-point tapestries, correspondent member of the magazine “If water was good, Jesus wouldn’t have turned it into wine”, friend of the wealthy, first and foremost a human, and only then a tycoon and Gastro Snob.