Wines of Illyria Trnjak 2019

Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Wines of Illyria Trnjak is a premium dry red of 100% Trnjak 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.

Wines of Illyria Trnjak is 100% Trnjak, an indigenous grape variety of the Herzegovina (Her-tsuh-GOH-vee-nuh) wine region. This bold but elegant full-bodied wine has lots of herbal notes and an abundance of spices. On the palate one can taste clove, vanilla and cinnamon, ripe currant, raspberry, cherry and plum jam. Vegan wine. 750ml, 13.5% ALC.

Interesting fact: Trnjak is best known for being Blatina’s pollinator, as both varieties bloom at the same time. Blatina is very difficult to cultivate as it has female only flower, blooms only for three days and requires a pollinator to be planted in the same field. The winery Citluk has planted a row of Blatina, a row of Trnjak, 2 rows of Blatina, a row of Trnjak and so on. The goal is that Blatina has Trnjak at least on one side. Very small production.

Wines of Illyria Trnjak is a perfect red wine with any hearty meal or as a cocktail wine. Pair it with spicy cheeses, grilled lamb, beef stews, steaks.