Ilok: 500 Years of Winemaking

In 1953, Iločki Podrumi sent Traminac to Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. In 2023, the same wine poured at King Charles III's. It is the only Croatian wine on the official royal wine list. The cellars — founded 1450 by Nicholas of Ilok — survived Ottoman occupation, Habsburg rule, and the 1991 war. During that war, cellar master Franjo Volf moved 30,000 bottles by bicycle on back roads, built a false wall, and plastered it with gathered black mold so it would look centuries old. He's 83 and still lives in Ilok. Nobody officially thanked him.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Descend Into a Cellar That Survived Three Empires History · Price: low

   Where: Iločki Podrumi Old Cellar, Šetalište O. M. Barbarića 4, Ilok — beneath the Odescalchi Castle at the edge of the hilltop old town. Tours run daily 10:00–20:00; no reservation needed for groups under 10. The tour costs roughly €4–5 and includes a glass of Traminac and a pastry.

   What: You are walking into a cellar first dug in 1450 by Nicholas of Ilok — Croatian viceroy, King of Bosnia, one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom of Hungary. He had it hewn 100 meters into the hillside, right on top of the ruins of the Roman fortress Cuccium, where Emperor Probus had ordered his soldiers to plant vines in the 3rd century AD. The Ottomans arrived in 1526 and ruled for 162 years. The wine kept being made — because the Ottomans classified it as medicine, not alcohol. Then came the Odescalchi family in 1697, the 1940s Communist Yugoslavia, and in 1991, a shooting war. The cellar is still here. Follow the arc of the 100-meter brick vault as the temperature drops and the black mold on the walls thickens. That mold is not rot — it is deliberately preserved. You'll understand why by the end.

   How: Let the guide do the walking first, then ask them directly: "Can you show me where Franjo Volf built the false wall?" The best guides will point to the exact section. Keep your eyes on the archive bottles in glass cases — the dates on the labels run from the 1940s onwards. These exist because of one man and one bicycle.

   Backup: If the group tour feels rushed (some TripAdvisor reviews note this), pause at the archive case and read the bottle dates yourself. The cellar's visible history is there whether or not the guide lingers.

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2. 2 Find the Bottles Franjo Volf Saved With Black Mold and a Bicycle History · Free

   Where: Inside the cellar, at the archive display case near the rear of the 100-meter vault. You'll pass it during the guided tour — if you go without a guide, walk to the far end and look along the right-hand wall.

   What: In October 1991, Serbian forces were closing in on Ilok. A single cellar employee, Franjo Volf, understood what was about to happen: the Serbs knew about the cellars. When they arrived, they slashed open the great oak barrels and turned the wine into rakija. But before they arrived, Volf started riding his bicycle. Every day, via back roads to avoid notice, he moved archive bottles one by one — 30,000 bottles — stacking them in a side vestibule. Then he built a false wall. And then — this is the part that gets you — he gathered the actual black mold growing in the cellar and plastered it over the wall, so it would look like it had always been there, as old and unremarkable as everything else. The Serbs walked past it every day. They never found a single bottle. There are currently 89 bottles of the 1947 vintage left in that archive. Those are the bottles that went to Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. Franjo Volf received no medal. No official recognition. Just the bottles.

   How: Stand at the archive case and count backwards from the current year to 1947. That vintage is 78 years old. Each bottle is valued at €7,400. All still here because one man decided to act and nobody told him to. The guide may mention this story in passing — ask them to say Franjo Volf's name out loud.

   Backup: The story is documented in the cellar's own history materials and on their website. Even if the guide skips it, you now know where to look and what to ask.

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3. 3 Taste the Wine That Poured at Three Royal Coronations Wine · Price: low

   Where: The tasting room at Iločki Podrumi Old Cellar, Šetalište O. M. Barbarića 4 — after the cellar walk, you'll be seated at long wooden tables. The tasting is guided by an oenologist.

   What: In 1953, the British royal family's sommeliers ordered 11,000 bottles of 1947 Ilok Traminac for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. It became the only Croatian wine on the official royal wine list — a status it holds 70+ years later. Traminac was served at Prince William and Kate's 2011 wedding, Harry and Meghan's 2018 wedding, and King Charles III's 2023 coronation (2019 vintage). The grape arrived here in 1710 when Livio Odescalchi — nephew of Pope Innocent XI, the man whose papacy funded the liberation of Ilok from the Ottomans — brought the first Gewürztraminer vines from South Tyrol and planted them on the hilltop appellation he called Principovac (from the Latin princeps — "the first"). This is not a grape that traveled far. It went from South Tyrol to this exact hill, and it stayed.

   How: The basic tour includes a glass of Traminac (~€4-5 with the tour). For the full arc, ask specifically for the Principovac Traminac (~€15 a glass if available separately). Smell it first — you're looking for lychee, honey, and something almost candied. Then taste. This is what they poured at Westminster Abbey. The entry-level Graševina is also excellent — Croatia's most planted grape, the same variety as Welschriesling in Austria, that 50%+ of all Slavonian vineyards are planted with. Ask for both.

   Backup: If the guided tasting feels rushed, the wine shop adjacent to the tasting room carries the full range for purchase. Buy a Principovac Traminac (€15-20) and a Principovac Graševina (€12-15) to taste side by side outside on the terrace.

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4. 4 Walk the Fortress Walls Built By a King Who Also Dug the Cellar Adventure · Free

   Where: The medieval fortress walls of Ilok — start at the castle square (outside the Odescalchi Castle entrance, same complex as the wine cellar). The walk is signposted and loops around the hilltop old town. Restored 2021-2023 at a cost of €9 million (largely EU-funded). Open and free to walk.

   What: The same man who built the wine cellar in 1450 — Nicholas of Ilok, Croatian viceroy and King of Bosnia — built the walls you're standing on. He pushed them west across the hilltop plateau, creating what became the largest preserved inland fortification in Croatia. Originally 1,600 meters; 850 meters survive. The walls have towers, round semi-towers, and a circular bastion. During the Ottoman occupation (1526-1688), these walls were garrisoned by the same people who were, according to their own religious law, not supposed to be here — but classified wine as medicine so they could keep drinking what was in the cellar below. At the western bastion, stop. Look down. That wide arc of blue-green below you is the Danube. The far bank is Serbia. You are standing at the easternmost tip of Croatia, on walls that have been fought over by Romans, Ottomans, Habsburgs, Communists, and the Yugoslav army. None of them ever leveled the cellar underneath you.

   How: Walk the full loop (850 meters, about 20-25 minutes at a slow pace). Do it at golden hour if you can — the Danube and the flat Pannonian plain on the Serbian side catch the last light in a way that's difficult to describe. On the south side of the walls, the path runs through a park with a very old Ginkgo Biloba tree and remnants of an Ottoman hammam — a 16th-century Turkish bathhouse, one of the few preserved in Croatia.

   Backup: Even if parts of the walls are temporarily closed, the views from the castle square and the Odescalchi Castle terrace show you the same panorama.

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5. 5 Discover the Principovac Vineyard Where the Royal Wine Is Still Grown Wine · Price: moderate · Optional

   Where: Principovac Estate — about 1.5 km north of the Old Cellar, up the hill from Ilok center. The 1864 Odescalchi castle sits on the crest, surrounded by the original Traminac vineyards. Drive or walk up via the vineyard roads.

   What: In 1710, Livio Odescalchi planted the first Gewürztraminer vines on this hilltop, brought from South Tyrol. The appellation name comes from the Latin princeps — "the first, the prince." This is where all of the royal Traminac is grown. The Odescalchis also founded a school for vintners here, introduced domaine bottling with the family coat of arms (the first such estate-bottled wine in all of Europe), and built the summer residence you're now standing in front of. Today it's a boutique hotel-restaurant with the vineyard running to the edge of the property. Walk the vineyard roads and look south — through the vines, you can see the Danube bend and Serbia beyond. The soil under your feet is the same loess-over-limestone that has been producing wine here since the 3rd century AD. Order a Principovac Traminac at the restaurant (~€8-15 a glass depending on vintage and style) and ask to sit outside, facing the vineyard. This is the view the Odescalchi dukes had when they came for the harvest season.

   How: Principovac Restaurant serves "new age cuisine based on indigenous ingredients of the Croatian Danube and Slavonia." Pair the Traminac with whatever seasonal fish or kulen (smoked Slavonian sausage) is on the menu. If you want to go deeper: the estate produces 8 styles of Traminac — from bone-dry to ice wine. Ask the server which is currently at peak.

   Backup: If Principovac Restaurant is fully booked (it has limited seats in the castle), the Old Cellar restaurant downhill serves traditional Slavonian cuisine with the same wines. Ask for kulen paired with their Graševina.

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