r a f s P e o p l e
Mate Jerković
Mate Jerković comes from Runovići, a place where the vineyard and wine are more than an agricultural tradition. Although his professional path initially took a completely different direction, it was the family tradition and his love of the vineyard that in time drew him back to winemaking.
He finished secondary school of economics in Osijek, where he was building a sporting career at the same time. He played football for the cadet and junior teams of NK Osijek, and during that period sport was his primary interest. That is precisely why his life story is marked by a curious moment when, despite his father’s plans for him to continue the family tradition through a degree in agronomy, he decided to go his own way.
His father Ivan once arrived in Osijek with a car boot full of books for the entrance exam at the Faculty of Agriculture, convinced the time had come for his son to turn, after football, to the one thing there was no escaping in Runovići anyway — the vineyard.
Mate, however, had already made his decision. Without telling the family he enrolled in kinesiology, and when the entrance exam results were published he proudly told his father he had been admitted third on the list. His father’s reaction was something special — he was so delighted that he began hugging and kissing his son, which for a family from Runovići was a rare and almost historic moment.
Although his first professional choice was tied to sport and kinesiology, life brought him back to the family story of the vineyard. Today he is actively involved in the work of the Jerković Winery, where he has found his place in developing the winery, working the vineyards and tending the family tradition.
What gives his work particular value is exactly this combination of different experiences — a sporting spirit, an education in economics and a family bond with viticulture. Football taught him discipline, teamwork and persistence; economics taught him to understand business; and Runovići taught him what cannot be learned from a book — a relationship with the land, the vineyard and the family tradition.
At the Jerković Winery, Mate now helps shape a story founded on preserving indigenous varieties, above all Kujundžuša and Trnjak, while at the same time working to bring that tradition closer to the modern consumer and to new generations of wine lovers.
Tomislav Jerković
Tomislav Jerković, MSc in Agriculture, is a specialist in viticulture and oenology, with professional experience that brings together the profession, wine production, teaching and active work promoting wine culture and the local oenological heritage.
He earned his degree at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Zagreb, graduating in Viticulture and Oenology. He applies that knowledge today through practical work in the family winery, and through educating new generations of specialists.
As the oenologist of the Jerković Winery he takes an active part in every stage of production, from monitoring the vineyards and processing the grapes through to fermentation, maturation and finishing. The winery places particular emphasis on the indigenous varieties of the Imotski wine region, above all Kujundžuša and Trnjak, and on preserving the character of the terroir and the tradition through a contemporary approach to winemaking.
Besides his work in the winery, Tomislav Jerković is a teacher of vocational subjects at the Braća Radić Secondary School in Kaštel Štafilić, where he passes his professional and practical experience on to students and takes part in educating future growers, winemakers and agricultural specialists.
A special place in his professional life belongs to the Cvit razgovora association of winemakers and growers, which he has chaired for the past five years. Through the association he takes an active part in developing and organising the festival of the same name, promoting Imotski winemaking and its indigenous varieties, and connecting winemakers, specialists, hospitality professionals and wine lovers.
His professional path thus brings together knowledge, practical experience, teaching and continuous work establishing Imotski as a significant wine destination, with particular emphasis on preserving and reinterpreting the wine heritage of the Dalmatian hinterland.
