Wines of Illyria Stone Cuvée 2021

Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Wines of Illyria Stone Cuvée is a dry white blend from Herzegovina. In 2016, Indira Bayer founded Wines of Illyria, a wine import company dedicated to bringing wines from the Balkan peninsula to American consumers. Her goal was to create demand for Balkan wines in the U.S. which would in turn create jobs for unemployed youth in Bosnia-Herzegovina and other Balkan countries and stop the brain drain, one of the biggest issues these countries were facing at that time. In addition, Indira wanted to create a positive image of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the region plus add it to the list of the world’s well-known wine producing countries as its long history of wine making warrants it.

Stone Cuvée is made of 90% ZILAVKA (Zhi-LAV-kuh) and 10% BENA (BEN-na), indigenous grapes from the sun-washed Herzegovina region. It is similar in style to Verdicchio and Vermentino or a dry white Burgundy. Light yellowish-green in color and crystal clear. Clean and refreshing, expressing elegance and flavors of green apples, lychee and honey, scents of chamomile and verbena with a slight mineral and nutty tone. The ripe, warm flavors of apricot, star fruit and a hint of anise are coddled by juicy acidity, fine minerality and a long herbal-toned finish. 750ML ALC. 13% BY VOL.

Wines of Illyria Stone Cuvée is best paired with light white meat dishes and seafood. Try it with chicken marsala, chicken pakora, pork, or soft-shell crab.