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Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/537558
www.cheersonline.com 36 • July/August 2015 bottle—and an equal number of Croatian wines. These range from a 2011 Zlatan Otoc Pošip Bast-Makarska for $42 to a 2009 Bura Dinga Plavac Mali Postup for $125. Brasserie Zentral has a multinational concept that centers on Central Europe, with wines from Germany and Austria as well as Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia. "Guests don't come in specifi cally for these wines, but they will look at the list, and say, 'Wow, I never tasted a wine from Croatia.' People come here because they are already open- minded, ready to try something new and unique," says Giraud. "Carrying these wines is unique in Denver and Colorado," says Nocifera at Lower48. He's referring to two current selections: a 2012 Evolucio (dry) furmint tokaji from Hungary ($8.50 a glass, $34 a bottle) and a Rojac 2013 malvasia istra from Slovenia ($12/$48). "I don't know of any other restaurant around here that is carrying these kinds of wines," he says. For Neighborhood Restaurant Group, "It's kind of a geeky program," concedes Kroll. "Customers come in looking for WHERE IN THE WORLD? BULGARIA Where: Southeast part of the region; north of Greece and Turkey, south of Romania Key red varietals: Melnik, mavrud, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, rubin, pamid Key white varietals: misket, traminer, dimyat, keratsuda Fun fact: The country was the second-largest producer of wine in the world in the 1980s. CROATIA Where: Western part of region; located just across the Adriatic Sea from northern Italy Key red varietals: plavac mali, teran, babic, tribidrag Key white varietals: malvasia istriana, posip, grasevina Fun fact: DNA testing has shown that zinfandel grape likely originated in Croatia. GEORGIA Where: Far southeast; north of Turkey and Armenia, south of Russia Key red varietals: saperavi, ojaleshi alexandrouli, Key white varietals: rkatsiteli, mtsvane, khikhvi, chinuri Fun fact: "Cradle of wine," with archeological evidence of winemaking dating back 7,000 years; clay qvevri vessels are still used in Georgia today. HUNGARY Where: Central part of the region; directly below Slovakia, above Croatia and Serbia Key red varietals: kadarka, kekfrankos, zweigelt, pinot noir Key white varietals: furmint, harslevelu, muscat (used in tokaji) Fun fact: World famous for the botrytized sweet white wine tokaji aszu, and the red egri bikaver, aka "Bulls Blood." MOLDOVA Where: Eastern part of the region; northeast of Romania, below the Ukraine Key red varietals: feteasca neagra, rara neagra, cabernet sauvignon Key white varietals: Feteasca alba, feteasca regala Fun fact: The country is shaped like a bunch of grapes. SLOVENIA Where: Northwestern part of the region; south of Austria, east of Northern Italy Key red varietals: merlot, cabernet, refosco Key white varietals: chardonnay, malvasia, pinot gris, friulano Fun fact: Celtic tribes fi rst made wine here in the 4th century BC; a key wine region borders Italy's. CROATIA CROATIA CROATIA SLOVENIA GEORGIA GEORGIA GEORGIA GEORGIA GEORGIA HUNGARY HUNGARY MOLDOVA MOLDOVA