It includes nine wine-growing subregions:
1. Paracin
2. Jagodina
3. Jovac
4. Levac
5. Temnic
6. Trstenik
7. Krusevac
8. Zupa
9. Razanj
Spreading of the Tri Morave wine region
Tri Morave wine region is located in the central part of Serbia, in the lower basin of the Zapadna Morava river, the lower basin of the Juzna Morava river and the upper basin of the Velika Morava river and their tributaries. The region is surrounded by mountains - in the West and North by Gledicke and Besnjaja mountains; in the South by Goc, Zeljin, Kopaonik and Jastrebac mountains; in the East by Beljanica, Kucajske, Rtanj and Ozren mountains. It includes the territory of the municipalities of Trstenik, Rekovac, Varvarin, Jagodina, Cuprija, Paracin, Cicevac, Krusevac, Aleksandrovac, Razanj, as well as small parts of the municipalities of Brus and Aleksinac.
The region occupies an area of 286.929,90 hectares, with the largest wine-growing subregion Krusevac. Based on the data from 2012, there are 7.529 hectares of vineyards. The biggest vineyards are on the territory of the municipalities of Trstenik, Krusevac and Aleksandrovac. The vineyards spread at an altitude of 200 to 350 meters, on the mild to steep slopes of terrain. In Zupa wine-growing subregion vineyards spread at an altitude of 650 meters.
Soil
The predominant soil types are Vertisol, Fluvisol and Cambisol. Also, other types of soil may be found depending on the location of the vineyards. In terms of climate, the region of Zupa of Aleksandrovac has a moderate continental climate with distinctive features of the Mediterranean sub-climate. Winters are mild with little snow, and temperatures rarely drop below -10 degrees. Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that locals have been involved in vine-growing for centuries. The driest period of the year is April-June, whilst autumn is typically sunny and dry, which is particularly favorable for late varieties such as Prokupac.
Grape Producers
In this wine region, 18.129 households own vineyards. The largest area of vineyards is in the municipality of Trstenik.
Grape varieties
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Italian Riesling, Prokupac, Blaufrankisch, Pinot Noir, Tamjanika, Rhine Riesling, Chardonnay.
Interesting facts
Just as the tradition goes in the entire Mediterranean belt, the typical vine pruning system in Zupa since ancient times has been “zupski kondir” i.e. bush vines, which is best suited to Prokupac variety which requires plenty of Sun throughout the day. In the local dialect, such vine is called “gidza” and you may come across old vines on some plots whose age has been estimated somewhere between 50 and 120 years.
In Zupa you can still find unique temporary wine-growing colonies called “poljana”. “Poljana” was constructed by owners of vineyards from the village Gornja Zupa, so they could live there during the period of working in vineyards. “Poljana” first appeared in the Middle Ages, although the vast majority of today’s “poljana” originates from the end of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th century. Architecturally, these are small vine-grower colonies with a central square. Wine cellars are made of mud, stone, unbaked bricks, or on rare occasions, wood. The town Aleksandrovac – the center of the Zupa wine subregion is surrounded by “poljana” from all sides. 24 vine-grower colonies have preserved till today, and the most famous ones are Lukarevina, Krusevica (whose origins are associated with the emperor Lazar (14th century)), Jezevica, Botunje, etc…
At the beginning of the 20th century, a few wine-making families from Zupa owned cellars of one million liters capacity. In that period of time, wine was very important for the regional economy. But the Tri Morave wine region was also affected by a large decrease in the area under vineyards and the extinguishing of the winemaking tradition. The wine renaissance which swept the whole of Serbia returned the wine-growing hills of its central parts to the path of glory, and today, we are witnessing huge changes in this region.
1. Paracin wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the wine-growing subregion
Paracin wine-growing subregion covers a large area of the hills on the right side of the Velika Morava river – from Cicevac in the south to the borders of municipalities of Cuprija and Despotovac in the north.
2. Jagodina wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the wine-growing subregion Jagodina wine-growing subregion includes terrains on the left side of the Velika Morava river, near the city of Jagodina
3. Jovac wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the wine-growing subregion Jovac wine-growing subregion is located on the left side of the Velika Morava river, south of Jagodina.
4. Levac wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the wine-growing subregion Levac wine-growing subregion is located in the northwestern slopes of Juhor mountain in the upper part of the course of the Lugomir river.
5. Temnic wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the wine-growing subregion Temnic wine-growing subregion includes high-ground vineyards on the right side of the Zapadna Morava river, in its lowest part, till the composition with the Juzna Morava river, as well as part of the hills that continues from there and is located on the left side of the Velika Morava river.
6. Trstenik wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the wine-growing subregion
Trstenik wine-growing subregion extends around the Trstenik municipality, on hilly terrain on both sides of the Zapadna Morava river.
7. Krusevac wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the wine-growing subregion Krusevac wine-growing subregion stretches over undulating and hilly terrains in the north and south of Krusevac.
8. Zupa wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the wine-growing subregion Zupa wine-growing subregion is located on high grounds and the hilly terrains of Zupa, around Aleksandrovac.
9. Razanj wine-growing subregion
Spreading of the wine-growing subregion Razanj wine-growing subregion extends on the slopes of mountain Bukovik in the east, till the rivers Velika and Juzna Morava in the west.