Zmajevac Wine Cellars

Zmajevac sits on the edge of the Bansko Brdo ridge in Baranja, and the hillside behind the village is loess - fine wind-blown silt, firm enough to hold a tunnel and soft enough to dig with hand tools. Generations cut cellars, called gatori locally, straight into it in rows along sunken lanes, and the ground holds them at a steady cool temperature all year without any cooling equipment. Many are still in use by the families that own them, some take visitors for tasting, and the wines are the Baranja reds and whites, graševina prominent among them. The lanes themselves, cut below field level with cellar doors on both sides, are the thing to see.

What you actually see

• Cellars cut into loess - dug by hand into the hillside.
• Sunken lanes with doors both sides - the local arrangement, called gatori.
• Cool without machinery - the ground does the work all year.
• Family cellars still in use - some open for tasting.

When to go

May to October, with the harvest in September. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Most cellars are private and tastings need arranging in advance rather than turning up. The village is small with few services. Baranja is a long way from the coast routes. Cellar interiors are cold and damp.

Nearby

Kopacki rit is south-east; Osijek is south across the Drava.