Our appearances at fairs in Paris, Düsseldorf, Verona and London finally confirmed that we are on the right path. We had very successful presentations at all of them and found excellent partners from many different countries with which we began to create a successful and long-term collaboration. Our attendance of at least two of the most important wine fairs has become an annual activity.
On the initiative of the Slovenian wine connoisseur Tomaž Sršen, we took part in the presentation of wines in Genoa. The wines convinced many of the visitors. Among the visitors was also Mr Vittorio Zoppi who offered to collaborate with us. Soon we had concluded a representation agreement for the American and Italian market.
Jancis Robinson tasted our wines and wrote about them on her website. Apart from the good reviews and descriptions of the wines, she also included a lengthy article by Angela Muir on her experience in Slovenia and our vineyards, our work and the creation of Verus. Her publication and good critique in such an important media constitutes an excellent reference for anyone. We felt it was a great acknowledgement and encouragement for our work to come. www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/verus-furmint-2007-stajerska-slovenia
A friend of Mrs Angela Muir, Mr Mark Hughes from The Real Wine Company in London, came to visit us in Ormož and was fascinated by our landscape and wines. Before leaving, we agreed to work together and therefore succeeded in penetrating the toughest of wine markets.
The registration of both trademarks was published in the gazette of the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Slovenia, Newsletter No. 1/2008 dated 29.02.2008. With this, the registration valid in Slovenia, which is the basis for registering the trademarks in other countries.
Cellaring in the new cellar was exciting and we were full of expectations for the birth of the Verus wine. Danilo’s expertise and meticulous work is a guarantee for exceptional wine. Together with friends and colleagues who came to visit us, we made sure that this was true at every stage in the wine-making process. At the beginning of December we bottled the first Sauvignon and Yellow Muscat. The very same day Danilo’s sister bought the first bottle of wine. Rajko had been busy working in sales the whole time. In addition to the numerous restaurants that were quickly convinced by the quality of our wine, we sent the first shipment of wine to Slovenia’s top wine distributor, Koželj d.o.o., on December 12th, 2007.
We cultivated the grapes in our family vineyards. A part had been bought from friends and relatives who trusted us and believed in our approach and worked according to our guidelines the entire year. The 2007 vintage was a good one.
We had been looking for a suitable place for quite some time. The solution appeared after a chance encounter with Voljč Andrej, Božidar’s school friend and successful businessman who had bought an abandoned bakery in Ormož. As he did not need it for himself at the time, he offered to lease the building to us. Over the summer we cleaned the place and, in the autumn, we transformed it into a wine cellar. We already had some of the equipment from before, and we bought the rest using our savings and a bank loan. Everything was now ready for the harvest of 2007.
The company was officially founded on June 6th, 2007 when we signed the articles of association at a notary in Ormož.