He was known to have said, "I await Varazdin wine like the Jews await the Messiah!"
Although widely believed among Tesla enthusiasts that he had a love for women and wine, his biographies do not mention his yearning for the wine from Varazdin sent by his cousin Pajo (or Paul Mandic in Austro-Hungarian army records). He was willing to wait for months to receive packages of the wine he cherished.
Tesla did not visit Varazdin by accident but discovered the quality of the region's wine through experimentation. After trying various American, French, Italian, Dalmatian, and other wines, Tesla was finally introduced to the wines from Varazdin sent by his beloved cousin Pajo.
It is unclear what type of grape the wine was, but it's possible that Tesla's taste buds were suited to the local ostrich grape. A letter from Tesla to his uncle, a colonel in the Austro-Hungarian army, dated April 13, 1894, sheds light on Tesla's wine bottle dilemmas. In the letter, he writes:
"Dear Uncle, I received your two letters but couldn't respond immediately due to a large workload. I'll respond quickly with a few lines. There's still no wine, and as you mentioned, all the bottles, both yours and uncle Trivun's, had to be broken. Don't send me Dalmatian wine in a barrel, I've already tried it, and it doesn't work. The only option would be to send Hungarian wine in bottles."
Tesla signed the letter with the words "Warasdin," "Hungary," "Europe." In another letter to his main wine supplier, uncle Paja Mandić, in 1893, Tesla wrote:
"My health is good; the worst thing is the lack of good wines here in America. I would be happy to pay for small bottles, as large bottles are inconvenient for me as I only drink a little. Quality over quantity!"
Tesla had run out of wine and needed a new shipment as soon as possible.
Varazdin Wine Region
The wines of Varazdin and their Croatian origin were mistakenly labeled as "Hungarian" due to a lack of fact-checking by scribes. However, Nikola Tesla, the famous inventor, was already familiar with some aspects of the wine region in 1890, as seen from partially preserved letters between Tesla and his relatives. For instance, Tesla's sister Marica Kosanovic wrote in a letter that the Varazdin Spas were the best in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy:
"I am much better now, having spent almost three weeks here. The fever has left me almost completely, and I have fully recovered. The spas are a few hours away from Zagreb and is said to be the best in the monarchy. I am waiting to hear from you, knowing you must have discovered something new again. Uncle Pajo (Mandic) is visiting me here because Varazdin is only two hours away. I hope for his arrival every day, and also uncle Petar because he is also heading to Varazdin spas now."
Marica writes to her brother about the success of their family members in curing fever, rheumatism, and other illnesses at the Varazdin Spas, allowing him to focus on his inventive work without worries.
Nikola Tesla's Visit to Varazdin
During his second trip to Europe in 1892, Nikola Tesla made his only visit to Varazdin after also visiting his hometown of Lika. In April that year, he arrived in Gospic to be with his sick mother, Georgina (known as Đuka) Tesla. After her passing on April 16, a mourning Tesla wrote to his uncle Paja to inform him of his planned arrival in Varazdin, his first trip to Europe since leaving the USA in 1889.
"Dear uncle, I don't need to tell you that I am extremely sad, but I console myself as much as I can. I had predicted this sad event for a long time, but the blow was still heavy. I always hoped my mother would live for a long time because she was strong, while my and uncle's success strengthened her a lot. I was very sorry we couldn't meet two years ago when I passed through Slavonia with that intention."
Tesla then arranged to meet with his uncle Paja in Zagreb and arrived in Varazdin on May 25, 1892. During his two-day stay in Varazdin, he was a guest of the Mandic family and had the opportunity to taste local delicacies and wine. Given his curiosity, especially of a technical nature, he was probably taken aback by the fact that Varazdin still did not have electric public lighting at that time. But he could also enjoy local delicacies and sip good Varazdin wines by the light of a kerosene lamp. Before leaving for Budapest, Nikola Tesla took a souvenir photo in Varazdin.
It used to take 90 days for bottles of wine sent from Varazdin to reach Nikola Tesla in New York
After returning to the US, he frequently requested more wine from Varazdin to quench his thirst for inspiration. However, the shipment of wine did not arrive in time, causing Tesla to express his disappointment in a letter to his uncle.
"Dear uncle, it has not been possible for me to reply to your letter, which I received several days ago; so even now, I only have a few lessons, which I use to set a good example for my uncle; and with that, I want to take revenge for the advice you once gave me and you didn't know how to follow. This is VERITAS, but it is not "IN VINO," because on the contrary, your wine, which as Jews expect the Messiah, has not yet arrived..."
Nikola Tesla despaired in his letter over the bad fate that befell him because the shipment of Varazdin wine, from which he seems to have drawn additional inspiration for his inventions, did not arrive in New York.