When traveling internationally I often find myself in the market aisles trying to make heads or tails of the offerings they have available. Such was the case last week in Cavtat where I came across a few rosés. Given I was on the shores of the Adriatic and seafood was on the mind this of course had appeal. In checking the labels I found one from the local southern Dalmatian region of Konavle which I had earlier read about. I had scanned the nearby mountain side and wondered how they could make wines from grape exposed to so much sun. Only later did I learn that a mere 20km or south of Dubrovnik a small sets of hills rise near the sea creating a small valley that traces down towards the border with Montenegro.
The rose mentioned above was made out of kadarun, an autochthonous varietal from Konavle which as least one believes could make a nice, light summer red which is something Croatia currently lacks (Editor’s note: though the recent rosé of Plavac Mali I had from Vinarija Bartulovic is a nice substitute). This is just a sampling from my very enjoyable conversation with Ivo Ivaniš which also covered natural wine (really just turning the clock back to what Ivo’s grandfather did), his career as a wine taster and the best use of oak (and from which country) in the wine making process .
That wine, which I bought by the way, was made by Dubrovacki Podrumi. One of the 8 or 9 wineries that call this region home. Dubrovacki Podrumi was originally founded in 1876 but despite its history it is going through somewhat of a rebirth. For many years, under Communist rule, the winery was controlled by the government where the focus was on quantity not quality. This was followed by the destruction levied by the Homeland War in the early 1990’s. It wasn’t until 2002 that the winery was again privatized. When Ivo’s brother became a shareholder in the newly privatized Dubrovacki Podrumi he returned to Croatia from the Netherlands where he had lived for the past 16 years.
And with that the pendulum swung to quality not quantity. Ivo was brought on as a consultant, along with Jan van Lissum, for the top label of wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Plavac Mali produced from 40 year old vines. Each of these wines sees a combination of Croatian, Hungarian and French oak (new and used). After spending time in the barrel it usually finishes aging in stainless steel or large casks prior to bottling. I had a chance to taste each and came away impressed. The Cabernet (Trajectum) is soft and smooth, the Plavac Mali has juicy, dark fruits with lasting, smooth tannins and the Merlot (Merlotina) is one anybody who claims not to the like the grape should be made to try. I am generally not a fan (and wasn’t swayed just because Ivo’s twitter handle is @merlotina) but was stunned by the depth, the fruit. In a word “opulent”. Looking forward to spending some more time with this one as I left the winery with a bottle in hand.
And while the top end impressed, the standard offerings held up nicely especially given their $5-$7 price point in local markets. In addition to the rosé I had a chance to taste the Malvasija Dubrovacka (fuller bodied than those from Istria) and Crljenak Kaštelanski (one of the parents of Zinfandel). And this level of quality has been true of nearly all of the wines I’ve tasted over the last two weeks. Stateside they are more likely to run you $10-$15 but consider giving one a try. Better yet visit the Dubrovnik area (it’s stunning!) and be sure to take a break from the beaches and history to taste some vino!
How about you? Have you tried Croatian wine? If so what’s your favorite? Any tips to share?
Today I was lucky enough to attend the Riesling & Co World Tour 2012 when they made their pit stop in San Francisco. The folks at 
Now onto the best part; new discoveries. And boy oh boy did I find a great one today in the likes of 
– photo by 
On arrival, our first stop was 
As we roamed about looking for his plot it became clear that there was two ways to cultivate this land. It all depends on how far you want to separate the vines. 
Looking to get just a bit more yield from the vineyards? Ouch, you have some manual labor on your hands. Make it too narrow to get any power machinery between the rows and you are riding a sled (see picture on the left). This sled has a tow cable that is attached to a tractor on top of the hill. Sit on the sled and the crank starts to pull the tow cable in and the plowing begins. Want it a bit easier? Spread it a bit wider. Ahh, automated bliss. Instead of a sled, think snowmobile. A nice easy ride up the hill. On the flip side, the narrower the rows the more grapes you can get from a parcel. Take your pick, I’m tempted to side with taking a lower yield and making the labor a little easier. Does that make me lazy? Per 
That aside, we continued the search for the family plot. A 40×25 piece of paradise. As we roamed about I learned that in return for letting Staffelter Hof tend to the land and pick the grapes he received some discounted wines… not a bad deal. Wonder if I can get someone to come tend the vines in my backyard, any takers? While walking about I noticed a few things. The first that struck me was the drainage/sewage system that was in place to handle runoff from the storms that make their way to the area. I failed to capture a picture that shows these tiered, liked the vineyards, quickly escorting the water to the river giving it minimal opportunity to run over the land. As you can see from the above slideshow, the terroir here is largely rock and these rains would quickly wipe away whatever nutrients are present. The second thing I noticed was the size of the parcels. No mammoth estates here. Just small parcels of land side by side. Perhaps owned by the same winery, perhaps not. Very neat, except for the difficulty it created in tracking down the one we were in search of. That said, eventually, as you can see from the picture (me left and my brother-in-law Christoph right) we did track it down. Needless to say, I know what to get Christoph come next Christmas!
Are return to the winery was more successful than our initial visit as we were able to find the wife of the winemaker, Gundi (middle), who welcomed us and gave us a tour of the facility and sat us down to so some tasting. The first wine was the 2007 Alte Reben Riesling Spätlese trocken , translates to roughly “old vines”, which retails for £12. An excellent wine, nice fruit on the front of the palate with minerally finish that gave me flashbacks to handfuls of rocks in my hands as we stood in the vineyard. The second wine was the 2006 Barrique Rotweincuvee, a blend of three German reds. The winery has this to say; “The varieties Spätburgunder, Frühburgunder and Regent come together in our cuvée “Drei Farben Rot”; a dry red with fruity aromas. Be prepared for a wonderful suprise.” It retails for £14 and is produced in extremely small quantities, approximately 500 bottles per year. 
The Saturday following our arrival the caretaker, Mattina (pictured with yet to be mentioned dinner), offered to meet us down at the local weekly market to help us pick out some good food. Fortunately for us she wasn’t all that impressed with what was on offer and decided to bring us a homemade Greek meal for dinner that evening. What a stroke of fortune that found our way to her. She was a tremendous help throughout our stay in Nafplio, especially when she took my wife to the local medical facilities when her ear infections were near dehabilitating. Thanks again Matina!