It includes four wine-growing subregions:
- Bor
- Boljevac
- Zajecar
- Potrkanj
Spreading of the Knjazevac wine region
Knjazevac wine region is located in the area around the upper course of the Timok river and surrounded by mountains. It includes the territory of the municipalities Zajecar, Bor, Boljevac and Knjazevac. It occupies an area of 177.805,70 hectares where the Zajecar wine-growing subregion is the biggest. Based on the data from 2012, there are 1076 hectares of vineyards. The vineyards spread at an altitude of 80 to 130 meters, on the moderately steep to gentle slopes of terrain.
Soil
The predominant type of soil is Vertisol. To a lesser extent, there are also Cambisol and other soil types.
Grape Producers: In this wine region, 6,473 households own vineyards. The largest number of vineyards is in the municipality of Zajecar.
Grape varieties
Rhine Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Italian Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Muscat Hamburg, Vsanac.
- Bor wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the Bor wine-growing subregion
Bor wine-growing subregion occupies the northwestern part of the region in the vicinity of Bor municipality and represents the eastern and southeastern slopes of the mountain Crni Vrh.
- Boljevac wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the Boljevac wine-growing subregion
Boljevac wine-growing subregion occupies hills on the left and right sides of the Crni Timok river and consists of two separate parts.
- Zajecar wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the Zajecar wine-growing subregion
Zajecar wine-growing subregion occupies the hills around the upper Timok river course and lower course of rivers Beli Timok and Crni Timok and consists of four parts separated by these flows.
- Potrkanj wine-growing subregion
Spreading of Potrkanj wine-growing subregion
Potrkanj wine-growing subregion spreads around the upper and middle Timok river course, on the hills around Knjazevac municipality and consists of three parts.
The Agricultural cooperative “Dzervin” has been the most reputed winery in the Knjaževac region for decades. In 1922, Bogdan Arandjelovic owned 4.5 hectares of vineyards. He sent his oldest grandson Radul Bogdanovic to study at the winemaking school in Bukovo near Negotin. After he graduated, Radul suggested setting up an agricultural cooperative in order to increase the production capacity. Shortly thereafter, Bogdan and five other wealthy citizens of Knjazevac invested funds, whilst several hundred small shareholders from Knjazevac and surrounding villages invested the remaining share capital. The agricultural cooperative was founded on March 27th, 1927. Already in 1929, the agricultural cooperative had the first harvest under the supervision of a retired German oenologist from Vrsac and Radul Bogdanovic. This triggered the rapid development of winemaking in the Knjazevac region. This was the beginning of the story about “Dzervin”, as remembered by Radul’s descendants… After the Second World War, the wine cellar got expanded and the private wine cooperative “Dzervin” became state-owned. After that, Radul Bogdanovic worked as an oenologist in Tunisia, Navip, Strumica and Veles. In 1960, the agricultural cooperative merged with the state-owned agricultural estate Timok to form the “Dzervin Cooperative Cellar”. The name Dzervin indicates the business activities of the cooperative (DZE= jams (“dzemovi”), R = brandy (“rakija”), VIN = wine (vino)). During the 1990s, “Dzervin” went through a period of hardships. A decline in production was followed by unsuccessful attempts to restore former production volumes. Failed privatizations in the first decade of the 21st century led to the further collapse of Dzervin’s potential. Finally, in 2013, current owners took over the ruined company and initiated a gradual revitalization of fruit and grape production.