Prošek (wine)

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Central and South Damaltine Prošek region

Various Dalmatian dessert wines are grouped together under the name Prošek (pronounced Proschek ), but they differ greatly in terms of vinification and the composition of the grape varieties. The only thing in common is the extremely late harvest of the grapes, which are often raisined, their occasional drying and the very slow, as cool as possible fermentation. The color, bouquet and overall quality of the wines are correspondingly different.

The origin of the name is uncertain, but the Croatian adjective prošli (last, last) could give the name and indicate the very late harvest of the grapes used for this wine.

During the Tito period and in the last few years of Yugoslavia , some large wineries in Šibenik and Split marketed large quantities of very modest products, especially under the brand name Dioklecijan , which enjoyed great popularity due to their low price, but did not meet higher quality standards could. In the meantime, the quality standards of the large wineries have also improved, so that a Dioklecijan is still not a remarkable Prošek, but at least a drinkable product.

Today, a prosek is often a mass product. Originally it was a festival wine. It was only produced in small quantities and in special years and only drunk on very special occasions.

Production and wine characteristics

Two bottles of pure Prošek from Pelješac made from Mali Plavac

The best Prošeks are made and expanded in small family businesses using the passito method. Grapes from around 15 red and white grape varieties are permitted, the musts of which are single-variety, but much more often as Cuvėe. The overripe grapes are dried on straw mats or foils for a few weeks and then destemmed . The loss of moisture increases both the sugar and the relative extract values. For high-quality products, only first musts are used that ferment slowly under refrigeration (either in deep cellars or in refrigerated fermentation tanks) until fermentation breaks off by itself at around 15-16 percent alcohol by volume. Despite the maximum sugar conversion, these wines still contain a residual sugar content of over 120 grams / liter. Smaller grapes, however, largely ferment the sugar, so that better products are added to sugar with concentrated grape must after (or during) fermentation. The Croatian wine law, however, also allows sugar to be added with caramelized sugar, which is the rule for lower quality wines. A Fortification is not common, but is occasionally used. The composition of the base wines is very different; Bogdanusa , Marastina , Pošip , various types of Malvasia and, above all, Vugava are the most common and mostly dominant varieties, to which small amounts of must from other, often only locally known, vines such as Prč or Grk are added. On Hvar and on the Pelješac peninsula , a red, often fortified, reminiscent of port wine Prošek is produced from the Mali Plavac .

A uniform wine characteristic cannot be described; However, what all Prošek variants have in common is the relatively intense, sometimes perceived as superficial sweetness and a relatively high alcohol content of around 15 percent by volume ; wines with this name with even higher alcohol levels are fortified wines. Prošeks, which mainly consist of musts of white grapes, range in color from light to dark amber; with more red must, light reddish brown to reddish brown tones predominate. Wines with a high proportion of Bogdanusa or Marastina usually retain a refreshing acid residue; despite their sweetness and concentration, they appear lighter and livelier. Vugava-based Prošeks, on the other hand, are often reminiscent of sweet sherry. Both the Prošeks made from the Mali Plavac, as well as cuvées with Vugava, Bogdanusa, isolated - especially on Korčula also with Grk - are currently the best products alongside the white Bogdanusa-Vugava cuvées.

A successful, carefully vinified Prošek deserves attention today. In many cases, these wines, especially those from the islands of Hvar and Vis and now also from Postup (Pelješac), achieve the quality of the remarkable Vini Santi , from whose tradition they come. Prošeks are usually easy to store.

Name dispute

Towards the end of Croatia's accession negotiations with the EU, Italy claimed protection of the Prosecco brand name and successfully demanded a ban on the use of the similar-sounding name Prošek. Although the characteristics of the two wines are completely different and the correct pronunciation of Prošek (= Proschek) largely rules out confusion, the name Prošek may no longer be used for export products to the EU since Croatia joined on July 1, 2013. Croatia has appealed against this and the matter is pending. Some large wineries reacted to the decision and have been using newly created names since then, while others continue to export under the old name. For small businesses that only produce small quantities in particularly good years, this legal dispute is irrelevant anyway.

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