Podrum Franjo Kunith Rajnski

Kreso is a familiar face to anyone involved in the natural wine world as he was one of Zev’s first reps and whose passion for all things food and wine is legendary. Winemaking is very much a tradition in the part of Croatia where Kreso comes from and the family always made a little wine for home consumption. After years of selling wine, visiting wineries, and drinking countless epic bottles, he realized just what amazing raw material he had back home. These were mostly farmer wines, with no interventions, and so the potential was laid bare.

Now he spends his time between selling wine in New York and making wine in Croatia. He sources from old vines in Plješivica and lower Styria (Slovenia) from farmers who are longtime friends of the family. Some of the grapes like Riesling and Pinot Gris are familiar, while others such as Sipalj, Stajerka, Kraljevina, Smarnica, and Plavec are much more localized to these central European terroirs. These are wines that show off the quality of these incredible and mostly unknown sites as well as Kreso’s ability as a winemaker to balance minimalist, non-interventionist winemaking without sacrificing a sense of place.

Most are co-ferments, macerated whites, or a combination of both! In other words, these are also very easy to drink.