Vines:
From his 15-16 ha of vines split between fertile Fruska Gora and sandy Subotica he produces up to 40,000 bottles / year (sometimes half that if it’s a particularly dry year).
80-90% of these are exported to 30 countries where he is recognised as a cult natural winemaker.
Grapes:
He focuses on native grape varieties including the rare Bakator, Szereni Zöld and
Mězeš Fahir (“Honey white”) of which he estimates 2 ha of each exist globally (he has 1.5 ha of each).
His oldest vines date back to 1888 (Kadarka) and 1909 (Bakator)
Viticulture:
Minimal intervention all around, and some of Oskars vines are left unpruned over several years, including his original vines he planted himself which he has taken back under his control from other family members.
One surprising discovery is that when left to grow unpruned, the youngest grapes on the highest branches are the earliest to ripen and most complex.
After several years he suspects this is a return to nature where the vines evolved with the migrating birds and produced these premium grapes to increase their chances of propagation. He vinifies 3 harvests from the vine separately: The Birds (highest), The Deer (middle) and The Rabbits (lowest) named after the animals who would eat them.
Style:
Never a fan of heavy oak or big reds, Oskar focuses on freshness and experimental wines.
Like Bob Dylan, fans never know what they may find from one year to the next with the new wines: single varietal releases, multi-vintage triple ferments, perhaps even the good luck to taste a micro-production of one bottle from a single vine.
More recently Oskar has forgone filtration, so the wines may not for the feint-hearted conventional wine drinkers.
The bottles are closed with cork and sealed with clay from the vineyards (photo) that can be collected and returned to the vineyard soils.
Legacy:
Oskar has helped and inspired a new generation of natural winemakers and wineries such as Bikicki, Baša and Sagmeister
