Wine Tours And Tastings
To taste some local wines from Hvar, you can join a fully guided small-group wine tour of the island. This fun and educational tour takes you to two wineries where you will be greeted by experts who will provide information about the local varieties for you to sample. Our Korula and Peljeac Wine Tasting Private Tour will take you along Peljeac rocky slopes to the town of Ston and the surrounding vineyards. After tasting their delicious wine, you continue to the island of Korula for some more nectar of the gods.
When in Korula a visit to a Grk winery is the highlight of the wine and bike tour we offer there. And dont worry, you can request an e-bike! A whole-island tour of Vis in a 4×4, learning about its military significance over millennia and culminating with a tasting at a vineyard, is a great way to get to know the islands history and wine at the same time.
View Our Other Wine Articles
Please note: All information provided by Expat in Croatia is only for the purposes of guidance. It does not constitute legal or financial advice in any form. For legal advice, you must consult with a licensed Croatian lawyer. For financial advice, you must consult with a licensed Croatian tax advisor or accountant. We can recommend one if you contact us.
Istria And Kvarner Bay
Three different types of soil and the mild microclimate make the sub-region of Istria ideal for wine growing. The green peninsula is well-known among experts and wine enthusiasts for its indigenous grape varieties: Istrian Malvasia, Teran, and Istrian Muscat.
Istrian Malvasia
Istrian malvasia is a dry, golden-yellow wine with a light green hue and a citrus aroma. It is served cooled at around 50°F. It pairs well with vegetables, pasta with cheese or cream-based sauces , white fish, and seafood.
Teran
Teran is an aromatic, slightly sour, dark ruby-red wine with purple tones. It is served at room temperature, at around 67°F. It pairs well with red meat, especially indigenous Istrian bokarin , and truffles.
Istrian Muscat
Istrian Muscat is a semi-sweet, golden-yellow wine. It is usually served as an aperitif or a dessert wine, cooled at around 50°F.
lahtina
lahtina is a high-quality autochthonous dry wine from the island of Krk in the Kvarner Bay. It also grows on the islands of Cres and Pag and in Istria. The yield is high and the wine is bright yellow, fruity, high in sugar and acidity. It is quite low in alcohol, at 11%. It works best with lamb, especially if its cooked in a peka, a circular pan with a bell-like lid.
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Where To Buy Croatian Wine
In the United States, eight Croatian wines are available to buyers, except for North Dakota, New Hampshire, and Utah, which do not have access to them. We will continue to expand our US selection and encourage our readers to suggest wines they would like to see. Check out their full wine selection here for more information.
Saint Hills Winery On Peljesac
Saint Hills winery, established by Ernest Tolj in 2006, has three vineyards in Croatia. The newest of which is found in DingaÄ on the coast on the Peljesac peninsula, southern Dalmatia. This Croatian winery uses indigenous varieties with the help of the French oenologist Michel Rolland.
The most important wines they produce are a Malvasia Istriana and Chardonnay blend, a red from Plavac Mali and Saints Hills 2008 DingaÄ, and finally, the white Nevina. The Saints Hills DingaÄ is aged in barrel for almost two years. In addition to Croatia and Serbia, their products are distributed in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Visit from 11am to 5pm, by appointment
| ph: +385 15 508 050
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How To Buy Croatian Wine At Croatia Unpacked
Head to the Croatia Unpacked website and choose the wine you want to order. You can make a selection of a case or a mixed case. There are also several mixed case options to choose from. If you are not sure what to choose you can always message Croatia Unpacked for assistance on your wine selection.
To place your order, simply email Croatia Unpacked and they will arrange for your wine order to be delivered directly to your home. Thats it, simple.
Know Your Online Options
These fall into the categories of winery, wine shop, or web-only source.
Wineries that have a web site may include a web shop where you can order online. The online selection is generally more limited than that at the winery itself. The winery web shop is still likely to offer the best price compared to other online retailers, but be sure to figure in any shipping costs if youre comparison shopping.
Some wine shops have online ordering, and most distributor wine shops will deliver orders of 12 bottles or more in town, even if they dont have an online shop. Delivery is usually the next day, and local delivery may be free above a certain total.
Finally, the best-known web-only source for wine in Croatia is Wine & more, which is based in Zagreb and offers more than 600 Croatian wines and wine bundles. Shipping within Croatia is fast and reasonably priced, and their customer service is excellent.
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Notes About Croatian Wine
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Best Croatian Wine: 5 Grapes That Wine Lovers Must Try In Croatia
Guide To What’s Inside
Co-written by Matthew From Exotic Wine Travel & SJ Begonja
Many people have never heard of Croatian wine before stepping foot in the country. A question we often get is, How long has Croatia been making wine?
The answer is about 4,000 years.
Cultivation and winemaking in Croatia began with the Illyrians, followed by the Greeks. In fact, Croatia has the oldest continuously planted vineyard in the world. The Stari Grad Plain on the Hvar island has been planted with wine grapes for 24 centuries and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.
Croatia was part of Yugoslavia until 1991. During Yugoslavias socialist era, farmers were forced to sell their grapes to large, state-owned cooperative wineries where quantity was placed above quality.
The government also discouraged people from setting up their own wineries. Soon after Croatia gained independence, many growers started making and bottling wine under private labels and continue to do so today.
Croatia is home to at least 130 native grape varieties.
Around 40 of those are currently being made into wine and sold commercially. Many of these grapes have unique qualities that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Wine in Croatia is easily found, but here are five wine grapes that are we recommend every wine lover to seek out!
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Shipping Croatian Wine Home To Usa Worthwhile
Is it possible to ship a few bottles of the Plavac Mali red wine home to the USA? Is it worthwhile, esp. since many of the Croatian wines are not available in the USA?
Is this best to do at the winery or specialty liquor stores that might provide this service?
Cheapest from Zagreb, split, or Dubrovnik?
Thanks?
You can do some general searches on Shipping wine to assess your situation, but there are a few pitfalls:
It’d be prohibitively expensive to ship. Just bring a styro shipper of whatever size you want and bring it home full. Alternatively, there are inflatable bottle cushions or just wrap it w clothes in your suitcase.
Supermarkets: The Bigger The Better
Supermarkets are in the tough position of catering to everyone: residents and tourists, boozers and gourmets. Most of them seem to hold a wishy-washy middle ground, offering no thrills to anyone.
Supermarkets do carry the biggest brands at some of the best prices due to volume discounts. But if youre looking for something out of the ordinary, your best bet is a supersize store usually in a mall or on the outskirts of town. The largest stores have the largest selection, and the stock doesnt sit around too long.
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Kutjevo Ros 2019 Vintages#: 18377
Buy at LCBO or Croatia Unpacked
This Premium Rosé has a delicate orange-pink hue colour that was achieved by skin contact for more than 20 hours giving it a salmon colour.
The Rosé is a blend of Pinot Noir and Zweigel varieties. It has refreshing fruit aromas and flavours of rose, fresh strawberries, and raspberries, and I also got some stone fruit. I am also getting some cotton candy flavours on the finish. It is a refreshing rosé with well-composed acidity that is low in sugar 5g/L with 12% alcohol.
The Best Source Is The Winery
This is true for a number of reasons. First, wine bought from the vinarija is the freshest and the cheapest. But one hidden advantage is, believe it or not, selection.
Wineries often sell only their biggest-production wines to shops and supermarkets. The cool and interesting stuff, often made in tiny amounts, is sold only at the winery and to a few, select restaurants. Buying at the winery gives you access to the limited-edition or experimental bottles if these are for sale. The selection isnt broad, but its deep!
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The Dalmatian Dog Babic 2016 Vintages#: 18810
Available at the LCBO and Croatia Unpacked
Babi is a native Croatian red wine grape common to the Northern Dalmatia region. Typically grown in and around the towns of ibenik and Primoten, it can also be found on some Croatian islands such as Korula
This 100% organic Babic red wine is ruby in color with aromas of Maraska sour cherry and aromatic herbs. The taste is fruity with a vibrant and fresh medium body.
Available at the LCBO and Croatia Unpacked
Testaments organic vineyards are located in the Northern Dalmatia region near the medieval town of ibenik. The famous native grape grown in this region is Babi This blue-skinned wine grape variety is indigenous to Croatias Dalmatian coast.
On the palate, I got flavours of berries, chocolate, slight oak, tobacco, and chocolate flavours. This full-bodied wine is smooth on the finish.
Croatian Wines In New York City Hudin
- https://www.hudin.com/croatian-wines-in-new-york-city/
- Today and tomorrow are big days for the wines from Croatia. It all starts off with the Croatian Grand Portfolio Tasting which is endeavoring to introduce those in the New York food and beverage scene to every imaginable Croatian wine thats imported in to the US from 25 producers such as: Zlatan Plenkovi, Bibich, Tomi, Grgi, Saints Hills, Matoevi, Dinga, and many, many others.
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Croatia Doesnt Really Export Their Wine
The countrys rocky soil is especially conducive to wine production, but harvests are small, so the country barely exports its wines. And while Croatian winemaking has a long history going back to Greek and Roman times, a combination of wars and Phylloxera significantly reduced the number of vineyards in the countrys four main regions . This means there isnt enough leftover wine to export once the countrys bars, restaurants, and supermarkets have stocked their shelves.
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We, here in Croatia dont harvest a surplus of wine. Limited amounts are produced and we love our wine. We want to share it with the world, but theres barely enough for us here inside the country, especially with the recent influx of tourists, explained the bartender at Razonoda, a wine bar in Dubrovnik. There, I sampled some varieties from the nearby Peljesac Peninsula in Dalmatia, one of the most revered Croatian wine regions.
Posip Merga Victa 2018 Lcbo#: 770537
Order at the LCBO or Croatia Unpacked
This Poip wine from the Dalmatian region of Croatia on the island of Korula, is a crisp white wine, light yellow in color with citrus and green apple on the nose. It is a full-bodied wine dominated by fresh aromas of citrus fruits, stone fruits, floral aromas, and Mediterranean herbs.
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Gift Shops: For Emergencies Only
Gift shops are a little different from wine shops because they dont sell wine exclusively. This means the person who works there is probably not a wine specialist.
Another important distinction: the selection is targeted to tourists. Expect icon wines like Dinga or other giftable bottles like dessert wine. Also, expect convenience pricingup to twice the price of the same bottle at the winery.
Introduction To Croatian Wines
Youve most likely already had a wine that originated in Croatia, you just dont know it! In 1994, grape geneticist, Dr. Carol Meredith, discovered that Zinfandel is identical to Croatias Tribidrag . Tribidrag also happens to be the parent grape of Croatias most popular red wine, Plavac Mali. So, if you love Zinfandel, you already love Plavac Mali! Lets find out more about Croatian wines.
Four major wine regions span from Croatias mountainous coastline to its continental inland.
The country of Croatia is situated just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. Its no wonder that Croatia has the perfect climate for making wine and olive oil. Ever since the city of Dubrovnik was selected as the filming location for the fictional city of Kings Landing in Game of Thrones, travelers and digital nomads have been flocking to this seaside country known for its rugged beauty and uniqueness.
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Where To Buy Croatian Wine In Usa
In the United States, eight Croatian wines are available to buyers, except for North Dakota, New Hampshire, and Utah, which do not have access to them. We will continue to expand our US selection and encourage our readers to suggest wines they would like to see. Check out their full wine selection here for more information.
Key Croatian Wine Regions
In total the country has 66 designated appellations with the most famous wine regions found in Dalmatia and on the Croatian islands producing the best wine in Croatia. Important regions here include the islands of Hvar, Korcula and Brac as well as the Peljesac Peninsula. Istria in the northwest of Croatia is heavily influenced by its Italian heritage and has steep, hilly vineyards planted on terra rossa soils near the sea. There are also some inland regions like the Croatian Uplands, Slavonia and the Danube area where the climate is cooler and more continental.
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Beware Of Light And Heat
Even the most basic wine has storage requirements. When those are not met, you risk exchanging money for spoiled wine. And many supermarkets and nonspecialized shops are unaware of the dangers of light and heat on wine.
Ultraviolet light from sunlight reacts with substances in the wine and produces sulfur compounds that smell oniony or cabbagey. If a shop sells wine from a sunny window, it is more likely to be selling spoiled wine.
Wine in clear glass bottles can spoil in as little as 3 hours of direct sunlight. Wine in green bottles is 50% safer, and amber or brown bottles are virtually light-safe. But heat is a danger in any type of container.
Wine stocked right beneath the heater in the supermarket, in that sunny window, or shipped in an unrefrigerated truck in hot weather all these are in danger of being cooked.
Cooked wine tastes like baked fruit instead of fresh fruit and may also be oxidized. Watch where wine is stored in winter, and consider saving big online purchases for a cool month.
For more on Croatian wine, check out Cheers Croatia Magazine. Its free!
Croatian Wines In The Usa
Good news for Croatian wine lovers and wine geeks residing in the USA. The Wine & More, Croatias leading wine webshop, has just unveiled a mighty new limp. Adding to their EU-wide shipping, The Wine & More has succeeded in making Croatian wines more accessible by introducing US home delivery. As a start, eight Croatian wines are available to US buyers in all Continental US states except North Dakota, New Hampshire, and Utah. The webshop will continue to expand the US selection and encourage readers to suggest which wines theyd like to see in the store.
Read the full article here
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Central And Southern Dalmatia
There are several grape varieties indigenous to central and southern Dalmatia, but the most popular ones are Plavac Mali and Poip. Another praiseworthy grape, although not indigenous to Croatia, is Dubrovnik malvasia.
Plavac Mali
Plavac Mali is the most planted and esteemed variety. It grows facing the sea, in the sparse soil on steep slopes of the Peljeac peninsula, on the islands of Bra and Hvar, and in the Konavle municipality, southeast of Dubrovnik. The flavorsome, dark red wine from this grape is high in sugar, alcohol, and tannins, and pairs best with tuna, beef, and game. It goes perfectly with paticada, a traditional Dalmatian dish made with veal, dry plums, tomatoes, herbs and spices, and served with gnocchi.
Poip
Poip is an indigenous variety of white wine from the island of Korula. The vineyards are located in the rugged central part of the island that no machinery can reach. The dry, golden-yellow wine is best combined with fish and shellfish, but also pairs well with cheese and cured meat. The wine aged in oak barrels goes well with the octopus, which is traditionally made in a peka.
Grk
Dubrovnik Malvasia
Vugava
