"Staying in the countryside is a good part of my life, now of course more than ever primarily because of the project to which I have dedicated myself", begins the story of our interlocutor Miško Leković, recalling the old pictures of the village where many more people lived than today, and it was and many more children whose play made those long-ago summers unforgettable.That's why he points out the fact that life in the village is different now for both him and his children.
Leković currently spends most of the year in Godinje, one of the most beautiful villages in Crmnica, in the Skadar Lake National Park, which is only 5 kilometers from Virpazar. In the historic part of the village, which was protected as a cultural asset of Montenegro four years ago, right next to the walls of the former Balšić manor, there is the Leković family house, where the Garnet winery is now registered.
Miško tells us, they decided on this name, wanting to make alive the legend that is retold in Crmnica, related to a girl who was carrying a jug of wine and tripped and fell and spilled the precious liquid on the ground. The earth returned such a gift with precious stones of dark red color called garnet. And precisely in memory of this legend, the Leković family decided to name their wine Garnet, which is the English word for garnet. In addition, notes Leković, this name is excellent for promotion and easier approach to their numerous clients, especially foreign ones.
For our host Miško, it is the greatest privilege to be surrounded by nature, but it seems to him that with urbanization, which is an inevitable process, unfortunately, natural areas are being irretrievably lost, and they are getting even more concrete, noise and crowds. According to him, the natural environment is slowly becoming a luxury, and we in Montenegro may not see this as well as the foreigners who visit his winery and talk about what it's like to live in multimillion-dollar cities.
"And that's exactly why their vacation is an escape from that," says Leković.
Building on the above, he says:
"This brings us to another very important benefit of this family business of ours, which is to be surrounded by people with good intentions. After ten years of doing this business, we always agree that all the guests from the first to the last were just like that, benevolent, open to new things experience, grateful for the welcome and happy that they found us. There are a large number of them with whom we still communicate through social networks, or who recommend us to their friends. And precisely because of the feeling of our guests that they came to visit their friends, and the desire that that the experience does not end, our tastings often last much longer than planned. Even more often it happens that we lose the feeling that we are working at that moment, but for us it represents an atmosphere of socializing".
As each part of the year has its own natural rhythm, the level of obligations also changes in Leković's work. Intensive work is from spring to autumn, while the winter period allows them to rest and devote themselves to each other. In spite of the fast rhythm, the obligations are arranged at a pace that they can predict and plan, so that they manage to keep up with the obligations that they always have in abundance at the winery. Early morning hours are always reserved for staying in the vineyard, while from noon they open the doors of the winery and prepare tastings for guests.
However, as Miško Leković points out, the biggest obstacle to the development of the Montenegrin countryside, in general, is weak infrastructure. This problem, of course, does not bypass Godinje either. However, he points out that they are encouraged by the announcements they receive from various addresses that the village will gain importance on Montenegro's path to the EU, so there will be more and more investments that will make it easier to get to the village, as well as stay in it.
In addition, he admits that Godinje is fortunate in its geographical position, which is located not far from Podgorica and Bar, and is in the heart of the Skadar Lake National Park. This makes their daily organization a lot easier, as well as tourists getting to their winery, because people from the city increasingly want to stay in the countryside, and people from the countryside, usually for very practical reasons, also have to stay in the city. This creates an unbreakable bond, but also an infinite potential for the development of the entire country.
This family compensates for the current shortcomings of life in the countryside by being constantly on the Godinje-Podgorica route.
"And whether at some point we will decide to move our lives completely, and throughout the whole year, to Godinje is a question that we currently do not have an answer to, because it depends on numerous factors," said Leković honestly.
"Nevertheless, I think it is encouraging that we decided to spend a large part of our time, even before retirement, in the countryside, and we are not the only ones in this. Our winery is a frequent gathering place for many friends who are very happy to come to Godinje and share with us the passion we have for we are working", concludes our interlocutor with satisfaction, noting that he can best see how important the village is for man through his children.
Watching the children who grow up in the countryside for a good part of the time, it became clear to the Lekovićs that it is the environment that arouses their curiosity and imagination in the first place, distracts them from computers and games, and they are convinced that this whole package makes them better people.
"Nowadays, life in the city is full of haste and obligations, and in all of this, family and family relationships suffer the most. Life in the countryside has a different rhythm that allows us to return to those true values, and yet does not prevent us from developing our personality and our work. That is our greatest privilege," our host Miško Leković happily finishes the story about his life in the countryside.
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