Iločka Berba Grožđa

Every September for 58 years, Ilok has harvested grapes the same way: the Pudarina ceremony opens with the town crier announcing the harvest has begun, a tradition traceable to Roman Emperor Probus in the 3rd century. This is the same town where Franjo Volf saved 30,000 bottles during the 1991 war. The Cortejo parade runs illuminated floats through a medieval hilltop town on the Danube — Serbia visible across the water. From the castle battlements, you can see the phylloxera-immune vines spreading below while the Order of Santiago's former headquarters glows behind you.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Witness the Pudarina Opening — Croatia's Oldest Wine Ritual History · Free

   Where: The vineyard slopes just above Ilok's old town, or the festival opening ceremony in the old town square. The Pudarina ceremony opens the festival on Friday evening.

   What: Pudarina is the ancient custom that started this whole festival — vine-growers spending nights in the vineyards during ripening season, guarding grapes from thieves and animals until harvest. It's been going on here since before anyone thought to count the years. When Ilok's winegrowers revived it as a festival 58 editions ago, they were reconnecting to a tradition stretching back through Ottoman occupation, through Habsburg rule, all the way to the Roman soldiers Emperor Probus sent to plant these hillsides in the 3rd century AD.

   How: Arrive Friday evening for the official opening ceremony. The Pudarina moment typically kicks off the festival proper — look for the ceremonial procession from the vineyards into the old town. Ask at the festival information booth (usually set up near the main stage in the old town square) for the exact Pudarina schedule. No ticket required.

   Backup: If you miss the opening ceremony, find an older local vintner at the festival wine stands and ask them about Pudarina — every family has a version of this story, and they'll tell it with a glass of Graševina in hand.

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2. 2 Touch the Wall That Saved 30,000 Bottles From a War History · Price: low

   Where: Iločki Podrumi Old Cellar (Stari Podrum), Šetalište O. M. Barbarića 4, Ilok. The cellar entrance is 12 meters below the Odescalchi Castle, at the base of the old town hillside. Open daily 10:00-20:00, no reservation needed for groups under 10. Tel: +385 32 590 088.

   What: In 1991, as Serbian forces closed in on Ilok, a cellar worker named Franjo Volf refused to leave. He knew the Serbs would turn the archive wines into grappa — the occupation army's way of destroying Croatian heritage. Over two months, Volf rode his bicycle via back roads every day to avoid detection, entered the cellar alone, and moved 30,000 archive bottles one by one into a hidden vestibule. He then built a false wall to conceal them. The masterstroke: knowing a new wall in an ancient, dusty cellar would look suspicious, he gathered black mold from the walls and plastered it all over the false wall to make it appear centuries old. The Serbs never found it. At the end of the guided tour, you stand in front of the archive — 30,000 bottles including the 1947 Traminac — because one 83-year-old man is still alive in this town.

   How: Take the guided cellar tour (starts from the entrance; ask for English-language guide). The false wall story is told near the end, in the archive section. After the guide finishes, ask to see where the wall was. Some guides will show you the exact spot.

   Backup: The wine shop sells current-vintage Traminac. Tasting usually included in the tour price — confirm current rates at the door.

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3. 3 Taste the Wine That Poured at Two Royal Coronations Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: Iločki Podrumi tasting room (same building as the cellar), or at the festival's wine fair (Vinski sajam) in the old town square. During the festival, multiple Ilok producers set up tasting stands — Iločki Podrumi always has a prominent stand.

   What: In 1953, British Royal Household sommeliers chose 11,000 bottles of Iločki Podrumi Traminac — the 1947 vintage — to serve at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. They chose the 1947 harvest specifically because it was also the year Elizabeth and Philip married. Seventy years later, King Charles served the same wine (2019 vintage) at his own coronation in 2023. This is the only Croatian wine on the official royal wine list, and it has never left. The 1947 bottles that Franjo Volf saved now sell for €7,400 each — Croatia's most expensive wine. What you're tasting is the current vintage of that lineage. Note the honey, stone fruit and botrytis character — the same profile that made British sommeliers fly to this Danube hillside town to buy 11,000 cases.

   How: Ask specifically for 'Traminac' at any Iločki Podrumi stand — the Premium label is the most faithful expression. During the festival, tasting glasses are token-priced (typically 5-10 HRK / ~€1-2 per taste). At the tasting room, a proper tasting flight of 3-5 wines runs approximately €10-15.

   Backup: Graševina from Ilok is the equally compelling local white — Ilok's cool Danube microclimate gives it fresher acidity than any other Croatian Graševina. Order it if Traminac is not available.

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4. 4 Pick Grapes at Dawn the Way They Have for 1,700 Years Adventure · Free

   Where: Ilok vineyards on the Fruška Gora slopes above town. The 'Berem, berem grožđe' (I Pick, I Pick Grapes) program departs from the festival area on Saturday morning. Look for the Posjeti Ilok (Visit Ilok) association sign-up booth — usually near the main square on Friday evening or Saturday morning.

   What: The program name means 'I Pick, I Pick Grapes' in Croatian — a children's song that every person in Slavonia knows from infancy. On the second morning of the festival, you join locals in the actual vineyards and pick grapes exactly as it has been done here since Roman Emperor Probus ordered his soldiers to plant these hillsides in the 3rd century AD. The day starts with an outdoor breakfast (wine included, naturally), moves into guided hand-picking in the rows, and ends with traditional grape stomping and must-making. This is not a tourist performance — these are the actual working vines. The juice you stomp could end up in a wine sold at a future festival.

   How: Sign up with Posjeti Ilok at the festival — look for their booth by Friday evening of the festival weekend. Morning start (typically 8:00-9:00am). Wear clothes you don't mind staining permanently purple. The outdoor breakfast is provided. The grape picking is free or near-free (confirm at sign-up booth).

   Backup: Even without the organized program, walk the Upper Town (Gornji Grad) route past the fortress walls toward the vineyard road — you'll find harvest workers in September and most will wave you in to watch.

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5. 5 Watch Serbia From the Fortress Where Crusaders Once Stood Adventure · Free

   Where: The medieval fortress walls of Ilok — specifically the western bastion and the cross at the southern wall. From the Odescalchi Castle, follow the park path west toward the bastion. The total circuit is part of the city's largest fortified complex in continental Croatia: 1,350 meters of walls.

   What: You are standing on the largest medieval fortification in inland Croatia, built by King Nikola Iločki in the 15th century — the same man who dug the original wine cellar beneath you in 1450. From the western bastion, the Danube bends away in both directions and on the far bank, the flat Vojvodina plain stretches into Serbia. On a clear September evening at the festival, you can see the lights of Novi Sad, 30 kilometers away. This fortress has watched Ottoman armies march through, Habsburg armies march back, and in 1991, Serbian tanks. It is still standing. The vineyards are still producing. Below you somewhere, 30,000 bottles are aging behind a mold-covered wall.

   How: Free to walk at any time. The festival's Sunset&Wine lounge zone is set up against these walls during the event — wine cocktails, loungers, the old city walls at your back and Serbia across the water. Arrive at 7:00pm for golden hour. The castle museum (inside the Odescalchi building) is open Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, admission ~€2-4.

   Backup: The promenade (Šetalište) below the castle hill also runs along the Danube and gives a ground-level view of the river and the Serbian shore — a different, quieter perspective.

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