This summer passed too quickly (like all of them do) but I did my best to spend as much time as possible with dear people and friends. And to enjoy some great wines, of course!
I usually look for something I don’t have a chance to try too often and, although I am not a knowledgeable wine drinker, I like to enjoy different wines and always trying to pair them with some good food. So don’t expect any serious review from this post but merely an introduction that will, hopefully, make you pick up a bottle or two of something new.
I am not good in picking up on all those tastes wine critics usually find in wines – I still “taste” wines looking for shapes and forms they “write” in my mouth.
Here is just a short list of some of the wines I found interesting.
This Dubrovačka Malvasija was a pleasant surprise! One of Croatian wines with the best story and marketing potential, as it was the wine of Dubrovnik nobility. It was great with pasta and seafood. I still wonder what the ancient records say about Pošip if this was the favorite wine of the time…
Another pleasant surprise! At about 40 kn (or less than 6 E) this is a great summer wine (at least for me). Coming from a local vineyard of Figurica in Smilčić near Zadar, it is something I will be looking for quite soon. Maraština is quite rare on shelves ( I am not even sure if there are any other producers) in this time of Malvazija, Pošip, Graševina… Goes quite well with lamb chops!
Now this was an interesting find! A friend of mine brought an interesting chardonnay produced by the Agronomy University of Zagreb. I was not too thrilled by this wine but it went ok with grilled meat.
And this is one of my favorite wines this summer! Really a great wine that went nicely with almost everything we had 🙂 But also quite light and simply perfect for sipping on its own on hot summer nights!
Now this is something you cannot get in stores in Croatia! This is a special Plavac made for British market at a very low price. And that makes it a great value! Of course, don’t expect a spectacular wine but for someone who is trying to get a low cost introduction to Croatian wines, this would be a fairly good option.
So this concludes it.
Missing WONDERFUL Carić Bogdanjuša I loved very much but did not have a photo for this post… Hopefully I will get to their wine cellar this winter…
Follow us on Facebook!
Mmm… Gušti su gušti!!!
By all means, do visit the Caric family, if you can. Ivana and Ivo are simply fantastic people. Other than that, their range of wines is among the best being made anywhere along Croatia’s coast these days. The whites are beautiful and pure as driven snow. Don’t know if you’ve had their Cesarica already? If not, you might want to look into that one too, if you’re after good Marastina-based wines (blended here with some Kuc/Trbljan). The Rose’ Marino is probably Croatia’s most intriguing, terroir-driven rose’, and the crowning glory of Ploski Plovac (the blue label, to be sure) is overall my favourite expression of the Hvarske Plazhe area…
@ buonsangue – thank you! This adds another spot for my upcoming Hvar visit 🙂
You’re more than welcome. Thank you for this nice, enthusiastic blog and keep up the good work!
Thx buonsangue!
I have been reading your blog for the past few days and learned a lot! Great writing style as well!
This is simply a must read for everyone following the Croatian wine scene (in Croatian: http://buonsangue.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/na-cvoru-crne-smrce/)
If you have any advice on what to offer to my clients and tourists (in general) coming to Croatia, feel free to contact me at info@secretdalmatia.com as I am always looking to improve the offer and the awareness of our wine and food scene. We have been quite successful in promoting wine tours and had many clients from Dubrovnik to Istria but still A LOT of work in promoting “new” destinations and new wine cellars.
What a pleasure to read this blog! A great introduction for us to sample some of the best Croatian wines on our upcoming vacation!!
Thx Pooja!
Make sure you try malvazija from Istria, plavac and pošip when in Dalmatia and even graševina and merlot from inner Croatia.
Thanks for the kind words!
As for the rest, it works the other way around as well: if at some point you have something you think I might be able to help out with, don’t hesitate to get in touch. (It does seem that you’re doing an excellent job already, though.)