March Lehigh Valley Chapter Virtual Tasting
Showcasing Wines of Illyria
Friday, March 12, 2021, at 5 PM
Host: Jan Thomas
with Indira Bayer, Founder, Exec Director of Wines of Illyria
Register for event at LVAWS.ORG
Please join us for a tasting of wonderful Illyrian wines. This tasting will be a Zoom Event conducted by Indira Bayer, Founder and Executive Director - Wines of Illyria. She will be presenting information regarding the history and current production of Illyrian wines. Members will have the opportunity to sample wines that provide a nice cross section of the style, tastes and character from this region.
These wines are available at the following PA Wine & Spirits Stores.
- Crest Plaza- 1516 N. Cedar Crest Blvd., Allentown - 610-530-2123
- Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, 3060 Center Valley Parkway - 610-871-4304
- Northampton Crossings – 3718 Easton-Nazareth Hwy., Easton - 610-258-8597
Members may select any wine(s) from the list below for this tasting based on availability at the store. Vintage is not critical. It is the grape and history of the wine that Indira will discuss.
Illyrian Wines that will be discussed:
- Zilavka Premium Quality Dry White Wine - #80596,77606 or 82109 - $17.99
- Blatina Native Variety from Ancient Illyria - #76038 or 99327- $16.99
- Plavac Mali - #76040 - $16.99
- Vranac Native Variety from Ancient Illyria - #76042 - $16.99
- Stone Cuvee White Wine - #76041 - $15.99
- Teuta - #77607 - $39.99
- Liburna - #76039 - $36.99
- Carski Blatina Emporia - #77220 - $15.19
Introduction to Indira Bayer
Indira, originally from the former Yugoslavia, immigrated to the United States in 1996. Since becoming a US citizen, she worked seven years as an Assistant Vice President and other roles of Bank of America's Small Business Banking, six years as an Assistance Coordinator and other roles with the US Department of State in the Balkans, and a year as an Adjunct Lecturer of Accounting at the American University in Bosnia and Hercegovina.
In January, 2015, Indira founded Wines of Illyria, a wine import company in Austria, dedicated to bringing wines from the former Yugoslavia to European Union consumers. Her goal was to create jobs for unemployed youth in Bosnia-Herzegovina and stop the brain drain, one of the biggest issues the country was facing at that time. In addition, Indira wanted to create a positive image of Bosnia-Herzegovina and add it to the list of world's well known wine producing countries, as the long history of wine making warrants it. In March 2016, she expanded the business to the US. Indira continues work with both large and small wineries throughout the Balkan Peninsula sourcing and bringing to consumers premium quality wines made of native varieties. As the Brand Ambassador of Wines of Illyria, Indira participates in wine shows, in all the states where her wines are present, and organizes wine tastings to educate sales staff and consumers on over 2000-year long tradition of wine making in the land once known as Ancient Illyria.
