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THE STORY BEHIND THE WINE

It all began with a single grape variety, one project, and people who believed its story was not yet over.

The Vitus winery above Sveti Križ Začretje grew out of a project that brought indigenous grape varieties back from obscurity and transformed them into wines with a name and origin.

How It Began

Vitus Vina is a winery that grew out of the story of a single grape variety. It all began with Belina, an indigenous variety that for centuries grew alongside the vineyard cottages and pergolas of Hrvatsko zagorje, and whose true importance to European wine heritage became clear only over time, through research and study. Around this story, an estate took shape above Sveti Križ Začretje: vineyards on the slopes, a winery where contemporary technology meets traditional architecture, and a place where one can see where the wine comes from and how it is made.

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In Hrvatsko zagorje, wine and the vine have always been part of the landscape and part of life. This relationship stretches back centuries, along with the richness of indigenous grape varieties that grew on the hills, along pergolas, and in vineyards that sustained families. When it became clear that many of these varieties were quietly disappearing, a desire emerged to preserve what had not yet been lost. From that desire, in 2006, the project for the protection and revitalisation of indigenous grape varieties of Hrvatsko zagorje was established - a joint effort by local winegrowers, the Faculty of Agriculture University of Zagreb, and Krapina-Zagorje County.

The Bratković family, Dragutin and Darko, became involved early on. Dragutin has been in the vineyard since childhood; he grew up with this land and these vines, and never turned away from them. He followed the project from its beginnings, first through a personal connection to the region, its people, and its wine, and later through Trgocentar - a company he built over decades, and which, at the right moment, was able to provide what indigenous varieties needed to move beyond collection plantings and become real vineyards. When the revitalisation project required a partner who could provide what a laboratory cannot, vineyards, land, and people, he chose to give the indigenous varieties of this region a home once again. Vineyards were planted: first Belina, followed by Volovina crvena, Modra kosovina, and Dišeća ranina. From this long-standing work with the vine, the land, and the people who know it, the idea of a winery embedded in this story was born. Today, Darko, who shares the same connection to the region and to wine, continues where his father began.

The name Vitus comes from the very landscape in which the winery and its vineyards are set. Not far from the estate, on a rise above Komor Začretski, stands the chapel of Saint Vitus on the same site since 1334, on a hill overlooking much of Zagorje, all the way to the mountains that frame it. From our highest vineyard, the small chapel can be seen in the distance, watching over the vines. Saint Vitus or Sanctus Vitus gave the winery its name, which also resonates with the Latin Vitis, meaning the vine.

How It Began

The People Behind Vitus

Behind every harvest and every bottle are real people - winegrowers, oenologists, and hosts who will welcome you when you arrive at the Vitus winery. These are not faces you will see only on labels, but people you will meet in the cellar, among the barrels, or at the table. To them, Belina is more than just another variety, and the vineyard is more than a workplace. When they guide you through the cellar, they do not speak only about yeasts and temperatures, but about years, about weather, and about everything that makes wine alive.

Dragutin Bratković

Dragutin Bratković

owner
Darko Bratković

Darko Bratković

owner
Mladen Kantoci

Mladen Kantoci

oenologist

From Story to Vineyard

For us, indigenous grape varieties are not just part of history - they are the vineyard, harvest, and wine in the cellar. Our role is to continue what the profession and the local community began, because we believe that in doing so we preserve the centuries-old history of this region, and that indigenous varieties have their own value, their own character, and their rightful place in the glass.

Today, Vitus manages more than 10 hectares of vineyards and around 40,000 vines. More than 100,000 vine grafts, mostly indigenous varieties, have been produced in-house, from graft to vineyard, from grape to wine in the bottle, without reliance on external suppliers. For grape varieties once at risk of disappearing, this is a commitment that they will no longer be left to fade into obscurity.

From Story to Vineyard
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