Interm Meeting of the Regional Experts Advisory Working Group - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Interm Meeting of the Regional Experts Advisory Working Group (REAWG) on Wine Prof. Dr Vesna Maraš, Director of Development Sector MSc Jovana Raičević, Project manager in Development Sector

 Culture of grapevine growing in Montenegro dates back form the pre-roman period. At the time of the Illyrian state in today’s Montenegro, vines are grown on the coast of Skadar lake.  Necropolis 3rd century B.C. – Budva (wine courts)  Later, Montenegrin viticulture was improved by the Romans, who have left numerous inscriptions about varieties and modes of cultivation of vineyards.

• In 1484, Ivan Crnojević gave vineyards around Rijeka Crnojević a to monastery in Cetinje. • In the 14th century - contracts, leases, testaments and vineyards in the area of Tivat, Kotor • Organized work on the viticulture of Montenegro began during the reign of King Nikola (1860- 1918) • He introduced legislation to which each groom had to prove that before the marriage - if it was from one of the viticultural areas of Montenegro, and according to his possessions planted from 100 to 1 000 vines • At that time, the first grapevine nurseries and first regulations in the production of wine were established

• The first specialized winemaking cooperatives (Godinje-Crmnica, 1911) was opened and the foundations for modern viticulture and wine production in Montenegro are set. • In that period, Montenegro has 1 145 ha of vineyards • The period between the two world wars is characterized by the further development of viticulture

Crmnica’s Awards for quality of wines in that period: - 1907. exibition of wines from Balcan countries, in London - the first award; - 1928. exibition of wines in Belgrade - among six best wines in country.

The realization of the project „Ć emovsko field" (1977-1982) was a turning point in the further development of Montenegrin viticulture and wine production.

Within the project " Ćemovsko polje" (1977-1982), Montenegro has got 1500 ha of vineyards, as well as a modern wine cellar with a capacity of 2000 wagons

"13. Jul Plantaže " a.d. - the biggest producer of grapes and wines in Montenegro The largest vineyard in Europe in one complex with a surface of 2310 ha • About 11.5 million of vines • 22,500 t of table and wine grapes • 1.5 million kg of peach • 12 000 olive trees • 1 million vintage grafts • 100 tons of trout • 3 wine cellars: " Ćemovsko Field", " Lješkopolje " and " Šipčanik " with a production capacity of 30 million liters of wine • 17 million bottles of wine and brandy • 3 restaurants "Mareza" and "Jezero" • Retail stores • Equestrian Club Montrenegro

„1 3. jul Plantaže " a.d. - the largest grape and wine producer - Vineyard area - 2310 ha - Established European rules in grape and wine production - Creation of wine brands - Implementation of quality standards (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000 and HACCP) - Production of large wine series of standard quality - Competitive wines on the EU market - Permanent growth of export

• The market leader in the region • Wine export to 43 countries around the world, with sales of around 14.5 million bottles - about 60% of total annual production • Participate at all important international wine evaluations – with over than 1000 Wine exporting countries of Plantaže international and domestic awards • Only in year 2018 we awarded over than 40 gold and silver medals at international trade fairs, such as Decanter World Wine Awards London, Decanter Asia, AWC Vienna, BIWC Bulgaria, Mondus Vini Germany, Vino Ljubljana.

The company „ 13. jul Planta ž e “ has recognized the importance of science and scientific research for the development of innovation and competitiveness, and represents a positive example of linking science and the economy and includes all relevant entities for the development of the sector in the country.

Importance of variety It is well known that the grape variety is related to territory, history and tradition. All this contributes to the emphasing of autochthonous and the importance of terroir in the manifestation of its best characteristics. In this way, the national product becomes a powerful marketing tool because it represents the value of origin, tradition, history, hard work, care and knowledge.

GENETIC IDENTIFICATION In period (2004-2008) in cooperation with Italian partners (Instituto Sperimentale per la Viticultura-Susegana-Conegliano (TV) was done the identification of Montenegrin autochthonous grape varieties.  Original and unique DNA pofil were confirmed by varieties Vranac, Krstač and Žižak. Analyzes have shown that the variety Kratošija has the same genetic profile as Zinfandel from California, Primitivo from Italy and Crljenak Kaštelanski from Croatia, which confirmed the thesis of academician M. Ulićević (1959, 1966) that this is the same variety. The research also confirmed that the Vranac variety in close genetic relation (parent- offspring) with the Kratošija variety. Antonio Calò, Angelo Costacurta, Vesna Maraš, Stefano Meneghett and Manna Crespan (2008): Molecular Correlation of Zinfandel (Primitivo) with Austrian, Croatian, and Hungarian Cultivars and Kratosija, an Additional Synonym American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 59:2:205-209. Davis, CA, USA .

The oldest written document that points to the importance of cultivating vines and wine production on the territory of Montenegro is the medieval Budva ’s statute from 1426-1431 (written in Italian) The Budva Statute contains 20 heads dedicated to viticulture, grape and wine; Chapter 261 – Kr atošija’s vineyards Krato šija Head CCLXI - vineyards indicates the importance of grape and wine production, as well as the significance of the variety Kratošija for viticulture and winemaking of Montenegro in this period.

17 different biotypes of variety Kratošija

V. Maraš, V. Božović, S. Giannetto And M. Crespan (2014): state that Krato š ija, with all its biotypes, was cultivated in Montenegro for centuries. Bearing in mind its presence in the past in all viticultural areas of Montenegro, the variability of its population, the existence of 17 biotypes, a close genetic relation with Vranac, and its presence in all vineyard regions of Montenegro, indicate that Montenegro can be considered as a country of origin of this variety and the starting point of spread this variety to other countries of the region.

The company "13. jul Plantaže“ (Development Sector) in 2011, the Ministry of Science received a license for performing scientific - research activities in the field of agricultural science and participated in numerous international projects related to grapevine characterization and identification. REALIZED PROJECTS: • SEEDnet project (2009-2010) - ''Identification, characterisation and conservation of old and autochthonous vine varieties in Eastern European countries'’ • SEE.ERA.NET project (2010-2012) ''Preservation and establishment of true-to-type and virus free material of endangered grapevine cultivars in Croatia and Montenegro'' ERA 91/04 • As a result of the work on the characterization of the Montenegrin grapevine germplasm, within the mentioned projects, Montenegro is the first time in 2012. presented its autochthonous varieties and officially joined the EU Vitis database. • Participation in the COST ACTION FA1003 (East-West Collaboration for Grapevine Diversity Exploration and Mobilization of Adaptive Traits for Breeding) (2012-2014) • Participation in ECPGR group ''Increasing the efficiency of conservation of wild grapevine genetic resources in Europe – InWiGrape project (2016) • Participation in ECPGR group “On -farm inventory of minor grape varieties in the European Vitis Database – GrapeOnFarm (2017) • Project "Genetic diversity of vines in Montenegro" , in cooperation with Institute of Vine and Wine (ICVV) in La Rioja, Spain (2013 - 2017)

Project: "Genetic diversity of grapevine in Montenegro “ 2013-2017 • Work on genetic identification of Montenegrin autochthonous grape varieties continued through the cooperation with Spanish Institute for grapevine and wine from La Rioja (ICVV). • Project was performed in cooperation with the Montenegrin Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Science, National Association of winegrowers and winemakers • By now this is the most comprehensive research of grapevine in Montenegro. • It was marked and sampled over than 500 of vines from different localties from all Montenegrin viticulture regions, both cultivated and wild ( Vitis sylverstris ).

Results • Found 28 pedigrees • Montenegrin viticulture is based on familiy genetically related varieties • Variety Kratošija is in the center and represents base of Montenegrin viticulture • Parents of Vranac: Kratošija (father) i Duljenga (mother) • In Montenegro Kratosija has 21 offspring • 63 new genotypes found in Montenegro and these genotypes were not found in any database.