By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Few of us will ever enjoy the privilege of facing Novak Djokovic on court.

Now, we can celebrate the Wimbledon winner bringing a taste of Djokovic home.

More: Swiatek Apologizes for Uncalled Hindrance

Get ready for Happy Hour with Nole.

The Novak Djokovic Winery, a family-run enterprise, has issued its first bottles of wines.



The Djokovic Chardonnay 2020 and Djokovic Syrah 2020 were officially launched at the Wine & Pleasure wine store, Vino & Fino Magazine reports. Each bottle will retail for about $34.

The magazine says the Djokovic Chardonnay bears "precise varietal aroma, with lots of ripe fruit, melon, pear and mango. The wood is very decent and well rooted. Vibrant wine with a lot of freshness. Tropical notes are felt in the finish, along with the juiciness of ripe fruit and baked lemon. There are also creamy tones of butter, like the aroma of bread crust."

Goran Djokovic, Novak's uncle and director of the winery, told Vino & Fino running a vineyard is a bit like trying to sustain success on the pro tour: it requires managing a lot of variables.

"There are many challenges, but we try to achieve the maximum in this business, as in everything," Goran Djokovic told Vino & Fino via Google Translate. "Even Novak's racket is not perfect, but he is still the best in the world."

Djokovic isn't the only former world No. 1 to own a vineyard. Former Roland Garros champion Thomas Muster has produced his own label Tom's Wine.



The Djokovic family vineyard covers six hectares located on "one of the most attractive lands in Serbia, on red soil rich in stone, marl and lime, with large white pieces of stone," Vino & Fino reports. Three hectares are home to green grapes with three hectares hosting red grapes.

Though Djokovic starts every day drinking warm water, he has praised wine's unifying properties saying his passion for wine springs from the feeling sharing a bottle "brings people together."

When Djokovic was growing up in Serbia, his family ran a pizzeria in the mountains.

That experience not only shaped Djokovic's future gluten-free diet—the 21-time Grand Slam champion often brings his own meals to tournaments—but also inspired his passion for his family's prime sport: skiing.

"I think skiing has affected the flexibility of my ankles, my joints," Djokovic told Tennis Now in a past interview. "I know a lot of players are forbidden to ski, but I don't have that in my contract. I don't sign a contract that conditions me not to ski.

"Skiing, it kind of runs in my veins. I come from a professional skier's family. My dad used to compete. My uncle, my aunts. For us, it's kind of normal to be on the slopes. I grew up on the mountain."

The Serbian soil that has produced so many tennis champions now sprouting Djokovic's own wine.

Photo credit: Novak Djokovic Winery