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Patrimonio estate: A successful IPARD story

“We have 5 wine labels, namely 3 white wines and 2 red wines, including Malvasia, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Vranac and Cabernet. You can find our wines in about 20 restaurants in Cetinje, Budva, Podgorica and other paces. We are very satisfied, as we were dedicated and invested lots of passion, effort and knowledge,” he explains.The expansion of production was made possible thanks to the support of the state and the European Union through the IPARD programme, which provides pre-accession financial assistance for rural development. After their successful application for IPARD funding, the Patrimonio estate built a new facility that houses the winery. Making use of measures 1 and 3 of the IPARD programme, they planted a new vineyard and acquired modern equipment for wine production and storage.“Through these measures, we have received a total of €270,000 in grants. When you receive funding to start your business and you don’t have to pay back half of it – that’s a fantastic thing and an additional motivation for a person to embark on such an investment,” says Radosav.

In the vicinity of Lake Skadar, up the Bobija hill in the municipality of Cetinje, lies the Patrimonio estate. The large countryside property is dominated by a young vineyard, planted in place of an old one just a few months ago. Next to it are a family house and a new modern wine production facility. Radosav Brnović, the owner of the estate, welcomed us.

“This is my father’s land. I was born and raised here. I learned to prune grapevines before I could read,” Radosav says with pride.

They started selling their first wine in 2004, when they registered as an agricultural holding. They story was taken to the next level last year, when they managed to produce a significantly larger amount of wine, having processed 45 tons of grapes.

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