Šember Winery in Plešivica: Famed Sparkling Wine & More

Continuing our tour of the Croatian wine region of Plešivica, we visited the Šember Winery, located in the small settlement of Donji Pavlovčani. For seven generations, the Šember family has been producing wine, but it wasn't until 1991 that they released their first wine under the Šember label. Currently, three generations of the family are involved in the winery business, including Zdenko, their "visionary and main creator," and his wife Ivanka. It is a true family business, and the entire family lives on the estate. 

We met two members of the younger generations, including Nikola and Lucija (pictured above). Nikola is an agronomist and enologist while Lucija, who studied economics and business, engages in numerous business aspects of the winery. She states that at the winery, she "has never had the same day" which is something she loves. She also loves meeting new people, and as they have guests from all over the world, she gets the opportunity to meet many different people. Both were personable and charming, knowledgeable and down-to-earth.

In 1997, Šember produced their first sparkling wine, in the Méthode Champenoise, and they have been informed that their terroir is similar to that in Champagne. That is a common comparison for the Plešivica region, and once you taste the sparkling wines from this region, you will understand the similarities. Then, in 2011, they produced their first amphora wine, using qvevri from Georgia, which are buried on their grounds. 

They currently own 6.5 hectares of vineyards and recently purchased an additional 2 hectares. Their different vineyards are named Pavel, Bresnica, Vučjak, Starjak, and Mladina, and their ages range from 10-90 years. They are also working toward organic certification. Each year, they choose to invest some of their money, whether in the vineyard or in the cellar, maintaining a slow and steady growth. 

In their cellar, they age their Chardonnay and Rhine Riesling in 1500-3000 liter French barrels while they age their Pinot Noir in 500 liters French barrels. Some of their other wines are aged in Slavonian oak. 

They are a small winery and annually, they produce only about 5,000 cases of wine, broken down into about 40,000 bottles of sparkling wine and 20,000 bottles of still wine (mainly Riesling and Pinot Noir).

For our wine tasting, our hosts brought our a plate of local meats, cheeses and bread. This was the norm for the numerous Croatian wineries we visited. It was all so delicious, and you wanted to eat some of it, no matter how many other wineries you had visited that day. It helped to offset the alcohol of the wine, as well as working as a palate cleanser. Plus, it was quite tasty.

Our wine tasting began with the Šember Brut Rosé, produced from 100% Pinot Noir and with a 12.5% ABV. Made in the Méthode Champenoise, it was matured on the lees for at least two years (with plans to start aging it even longer). This wine was first produced in 2005. It possessed a pleasing light pink color with an alluring aroma of red fruits and floral accents. On the palate, it was fresh and crisp, with bright raspberry and strawberry flavors, with a touch of brioche. It also possessed excellent tiny bubbles and a satisfying finish. Pure delicious! Would be great for Thanksgiving. 

The NV Šember Brut Sparkling Wine, also made in the Méthode Champenoise, is an intriguing blend of 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Bjeli (Pinot Blanc), and & 10% Plavac Žuti (an uncommon indigenous variety). This wine was also aged on the lees for at least three years before disgorgement. A fine golden color, lots of tiny bubbles, and a compelling aroma. On the palate, it was dry and elegant, smooth and crisp, with complex flavors of green apple, brioche, peach and more. Everything was well balanced, down to its lengthy and pleasant finish. This is serious bubbly, perfect for special occasions, or just a Tuesday night dinner. 

The 2018 Šember Pavel Extra Brut is their single vineyard (Pavel vineyard) sparkling wine, which is only produced in excellent vintages. The previous vintages included 2013 and 2016, and they have made subsequent bottlings in 2019 and 2020. They didn't make this wine in 2021 as frost damaged their grapes. About 5,000 bottles of the 2018 Pavel were made. Again using the Méthode Champenoise, this wine was a blend of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Plavac Žuti, and spent at least three years on the lees. 

This was an exceptional sparkling wine, complex and alluring, subtle and seductive. When you think of the elements of quality Champagne, this wine possesses all of them, from its tiny bubbles to its complex aromas and flavors. Each sip brought something different to my palate, and you would enjoy slowly sipping this wine over the course of an evening, seeing how it unfolded over the hours. It's also the type of wine that eludes an easy description, one that needs to be experienced to fully understand. Highly recommended. 

With these three sparkling wines, it's easy to comprehend why Šember Winery has acquired an excellent reputation for Croatian bubbly. But don't ignore their still wines!

The 2019 Šember Rajniski Rizling, produced from Rhine Riesling, is a dry style Rieling, and we were informed that basically no one in the region makes sweet Riesling. This wine was aged in large Slavonian oak barrels and had a 13.5% ABV. A nice golden color, an aroma of apples and pear, and a palate with bright fruit flavors, some minerality and a touch of petrol. 

The 2017 Šember Rajniski Rizling Amphora was produced with 25 days of skin contact and had a 13.5% ABV. I'll also point out that this wine label uses Roman numerals for this vintage, which is their common practice for the best vintages. For normal vintages, like the 2019 (for the basic Riesling), they use regular numbers. I love this style of wine and this was an impressive example of such. Smooth, clean and tannic, with a complex and fascinating palate with notes of citrus, herbs and minerality. With a lengthy finish, and a rich mouthfeel, this wine would be great for many food pairings and we were told that the local restaurants love this wine. Highly recommended! I'll also note that I was impressed with many of the orange/amber wines I tasted in Croatia.

The 2018 Šember Pinot Crni ("Pinot Noir") is sourced from young vineyards and was aged in 500 liter French oak  barrels, a mix of new and used. 2018 was another very good vintage, as we see by the Roman numerals on the label. Another excellent wine. Elegant and complex, this Pinot had bright cherry flavors, subtle spice notes, and good acidity. Delicious, food friendly, and definitely a style I enjoy very much.

Our final wine of the tasting was the Šember Pet Nat Duck, produced in the Méthode Ancestrale from Blauer Portugieser. Tasty, refreshing and with bright red fruit flavors. A fun wine, great on its own or paired with food. Why is it called "Duck?" The "Duck" is a nickname for a type of car, the Citreon 2CV, which you can see on the label. The Šember family owns a 1971 "Duck" which we saw parked on their property.

Their Duck is also an advertisement for their winery. 

The front of the vehicle also shows their love for Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones. 

And the rear of the vehicle has a nod to B.B. King.

Their friendly wine dog is named Jimi, also in honor of Jimi Hendrix.

Šember Winery was another enjoyable winery to visit, with an excellent portfolio of wines, from Sparkling Wines to Amphora ones. Croatian sparkling wine certainly needs to be better known to wine lovers, and those of Šember would be a great place to start. Croatian Pinot Noir also needs to be more well known, and the quality of those wines was a pleasant surprise to me.