Wine is the oldest industry on Fruška Gora. Around 280 AD the emperor Probus, born in nearby Sirmium (today’s Sremska Mitrovica), is said to have ordered his legionaries to plant vines on these slopes — among the first vineyards permitted outside Italy. Monasteries kept the tradition through the Middle Ages, and by the 18th and 19th centuries Karlovci wines were shipped up the Danube to Vienna and beyond.
The setting explains why: gentle south- and north-facing slopes, loess and marl soils, the mirror of the Danube and long, dry autumns. Whites dominate — Graševina (Welschriesling), Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Traminer and local crossings such as Neoplanta, Sila and Župljanka — alongside light reds from Portugieser and Frankovka, the red crossing Probus, and the aromatic speciality bermet.
Top things to do: Fruška Gora Wine Route
Start in Sremski Karlovci
The densest cluster of cellars is in Sremski Karlovci: small family producers, most of whom make bermet to their own secret recipe. You can walk between several tastings in an afternoon.
Visit the Irig wineries
Irig, on the southern slope, calls itself a town of wine. Kovačević is one of Serbia’s best-known wineries, with a restaurant among the vines; Mačkov Podrum is another local name with a tasting room in town, and Deurić near Mala Remeta has a striking modern cellar with wide views. Reserve tastings in advance.
Follow the Danube villages
On the north side, the road from Beočin through Banoštor, Čerević and Neštin runs between river and vineyards. Banoštor in particular has a row of small wineries, and the sunsets over the Danube are part of the pour.
Go west to Erdevik
At the quiet western end, the Erdevik winery works from a cellar dug in 1826 and makes some of the region’s most ambitious reds. Combine it with Privina Glava monastery and the vineyards around Šid.
Time your trip to a festival
September is harvest month: Pudarski dani in Irig honours the vineyard watchmen of old, and the Karlovci grape harvest festival follows in late September or early October. In late autumn young Portugieser is released as the season’s first wine.
How to get to Fruška Gora Wine Route
- With a driver: Serbia’s drink-driving limit is low (0.02%), so a tasting day needs a designated driver, a taxi or a tour. Several day trips include one or two cellars.
- By car: Irig is 25 km from Novi Sad over Iriški Venac; Banoštor is 25 km west along the Danube; Erdevik is about 60 km.
- By bus: Sremski Karlovci and Irig are both reachable by bus from Novi Sad; the smaller villages are not practical without wheels.
Insider tips
- Most wineries are small family businesses: tastings are by appointment, often with cheese, kulen sausage and bread, and frequently paid in cash.
- Ask for the local grapes — Graševina, Neoplanta, Probus, Portugieser — rather than the international ones.
- Bermet, lime-blossom honey and a kuglof make the classic trio of edible souvenirs.
- If you fly, pack bottles in hold luggage; wineries will usually wrap them.
Best tours & tickets: Fruška Gora Wine Route
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Fruška Gora Wine Route:
Day trip from €95 From Belgrade: Novi Sad & Fruška Gora + Wine Tasting
The day trip that actually goes up into the hills rather than skirting them: the national park, a monastery stop, the baroque streets of Sremski Karlovci and a proper tasting, before Novi Sad. Slightly longer, and reviewers say it is worth the extra hour.
- Drive through Fruška Gora National Park
- Sremski Karlovci and a tasting of local wines
- Novi Sad and Petrovaradin Fortress
Small-group day trip from €100 Full-Day Wine & Honey Tour: Novi Sad and Sremski Karlovci
A small-group day that leans into flavour: Karlovci’s beekeeping tradition and its cellars come first, with honey and wine tastings, then Petrovaradin and Novi Sad. A good pick if lime-blossom honey and bermet are your idea of sightseeing.
- Wine and honey tasting in Sremski Karlovci
- Stories and legends of the old town
- Novi Sad and Petrovaradin
Small-group day trip from €89 From Belgrade: Novi Sad, Fruška Gora, Winery & Krušedol Monastery
A small-group day with a perfect score so far, built around Krušedol — the most important monastery on the mountain — plus a winery and the fortress. The best single tour if you want one monastery done properly without giving up Novi Sad.
- Frescoes and royal tombs at Krušedol Monastery
- Bermet tasting at a winery
- Petrovaradin Fortress and Novi Sad
Small-group day trip from €59 Novi Sad & Sremski Karlovci Day Tour with Wine Tasting
A tighter six-hour version of the classic loop at the lowest price of the day trips listed here, in a small group. You see the same headline sights and are back in Belgrade by mid-afternoon.
- Streets and squares of Novi Sad
- Petrovaradin Fortress
- Bermet tasting in Sremski Karlovci
