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Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          We visited two wine makers in the town of Jelsa on Hvar: Tomić and Duboković. While there are some similarities in the end result that you taste, the wine makers couldn't be more different. The difference really comes down to personal style.     Tomić is a bit, well, blustery. The picture at the top of this article is one of the main ones that adorns the wall in his tasting room in Jelsa and is a theme echoed throughout his wines. For instance there is a side profile of his face on his bottles. He calls his tasting room a "wine studio" for some reason. In person he has a demeanor that is hard to crack, although friends of his that we met, say that is just a first impression, so we'll give him the benefit of a doubt on that.     But, egoism aside, how do his wines stack up? Well, they're good. They weren't our favorite on the island mainly due to how light the body is. For instance, the nose on the 2006 Pošip is very pleasant with a hint of summer melon and apricot to it, but the body doesn't follow through as strongly and is much more citric. His Plavac 2006 has a very soft nose, which is very light and while it is pleasing to drink and a bit of a departure from the rest of the Plavac grown on the island, it is not all that fulfilling.     Tomić's more high-end wines like the Sveti Klement, Sveti Klement Reserve, and the Plavac Mali barrique are all tasty, yet very dry and lacking plush tones that we have come to expect in a good Plavac. The Sveti Klement will deserve another taste though as they're grown on Paklenici Otoci (The Devil's Islands) just off the coast of Hvar Grad. This is a much different growing area than the typical one on the south side of the island, so it will be interesting to see how these wines progress with time.     So, compared to Tomić, Duboković is something of the polar opposite. We would have never even found his cellar if it weren't for the owner of the pension we were staying at leading us there himself. The labels are very subtle and quite pleasing and there is a calmness to his cellar which we enjoyed.     But once again, the proof is in the vino, so how did they taste?     Their 2005 Rosé offered a sweet flowery nose. The body wasn't overly sweet and pulls out in to a decent finish. Overall, the wine could nearly pass for a good white, rather than a rosé due to this very different qualities to it that make it very pleasant for everyday drinking.     Their 2005 '2718' (Plavac Mali) had great herbs and tobacco on the nose. The body was very dry, but that pulled everything together very well. There was just a slight bit of fruit to it and a good finish that, much like the rosé and all of their wines made it wonderful drinking.          So, when you compare these two, what is the end result? We think that the wines are really quite similar. They're both good examples of what you can get out of Hvar. Given the very light textures to Tomić, we would have to say that we preferred Duboković just a bit more due to our tastes.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          We have visited many of the formerly state-owned, large cooperatives that were remnants of the Communist area until they were sold off in to private hands. Our treatment has ranged from pleasant to here's our boot and there's the door. Svirče on Hvar has changed all this, because despite the fact they are a big producer (700,000 to one million bottles a year), they were very inviting and were great people to sit and talk about the wine production on this very touristic island.     These guys are the biggest producer on Hvar and if you're a grower there and not selling your grapes to Plenković, Tomić, or Plančić, then you're most likely selling to Svirče. Even though they could let this go to their head, they don't and they know how to make some really good wines, which naturally, we had a good taste of. Actually, it was a great taste of nearly everything they produce, which we'll sum up with some of the shining examples showing that big wine making can make great wines.     Their 2005 Plavac Hvar is a light wine at 12.2% alcohol that has quite a light nose. Despite the $6 price tag, it's a nice wine that's easy to drink through to the finish. While nothing about it really rallies any cheers, it worked as a great lead in to the Plavac Barrique 2001, which is just slightly more expensive at $9, but is much more complex. There is more spice and a touch of tasty leather to the nose. The body is dry and smooth, maybe with a little smoked ham as an undertone. The overall texture is very buttery, but when it comes to the finish, the dryness comes out.     Despite the dominance of Korčula in Pošip production, the folks at Svirče make one that is grown from the grapes on Hvar. It's good with a stronger nose than standard Korčula Pošip. There is also a taste of raspberry to it, which was surprising and as it opens up more, a little bit of pear comes in to the picture.     One of the last wines we tasted was the 2003 Ivan Dolac Exclusive EKO. It's almost cruel to talk about the wine because it is amazing and because of that, intertwined with limited production, naturally almost impossible to find. It has rich oak and tobacco on the nose. Due to the amount of sun the grapes get, there is higher sugar which translates in to a body that is dry, but full of meat. There are subtle berry tones in to the finish and it is flat-out amazing.     We would like to thank the Svirče people for not only changing our perception of former cooperatives, but also sharing some outstanding wines with us.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          After an introduction to Zlatan Plenković's winery in Part 1 we will now continue with tasting notes on some of his wines.     But, what about the wines they have now? We tasted them and they are fantastic. We started with the 2006 Zavala, which is a strong white wine at 13% alcohol that we hadn't tasted before. It has a light fruit to the nose and carries a tad bit of citrus to it. Despite being 40% Pošip, it has a body that is more like Maraština, which is a much smaller part of the blend. Like any good wine, it gets more complex with more air, but retains the citrus tones out through the smooth finish.     We then moved to the Zlatan Plavac 2005 'regular'. This is the most basic version of their Plavac, although it is not the 'table wine' level and is still very much a 'high quality' wine as rated by Zagreb. When you first smell the nose, it almost has some dessert wine aromas to it and is dark and sweet. The body pulls up more smoothness with a touch of dryness that continues to hold the sweetish nose.     We finished out with their master creation, the Zlatan Plavac Grand Cru. It was the 2004 that we were given and the beauty of this wine is that it takes the regular Plavac and amplifies it by a factor of ten. It's almost hard to describe it beyond this except to say that is has wonderful berries to the body and that signature, smooth Plenković finish.     These wines were all stellar creations and from a man who started without the family background that so many other vintners have. Maybe it's this fresh start that freed him to try things differently, or maybe this would have been the case even if he was inheriting cellars born of 400 years of family history. If you ever find yourself in a position to try any of these wines, take advantage of it or buy them to enjoy today.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          An hour and a half by ferry from Split, the capital of Dalmatia, lies Hvar island. Called Pharos by the Greeks that occupied the island since the 4th century BC, Hvar is the longest of all Croatian islands, a narrow strip of land stretching for 42 miles. In the last few years it has become a popular touristic destination and is now famous for its lavender (of which we didn't actually see any), and its Plavac mali wines.     While not a household name in the United States, the wines of Zlatan Plenković have gotten extremely well known in wine circles and haven't stopped receiving international awards and recognition. Based in the little village of Sveta Nedelja on the Southeastern coast of the island, Zlatan Plenković's first release was just a few years ago in 1999 and he has only been producing since 1996. In that time, his wines have gotten to be in such high demand that they sell out of all their reds three months after bottling.     Zlatan Plenković is very unfortunately not in the best of health these days (although that isn't stopping him from enjoying life), his sons taking up the reigns of the business with great aplomb. We chatted with his younger son, Nikola who was a great host. He told us about some of the experimentation that they're doing in conjunction with the main Agronomical Institute in Zagreb where they are trying to grow Zinfandel, Primitivo, and Plavac Mali side by side in their vineyards. Why would they do this? Simply for the fact that these are grapes that are all closely related and in fact Zinfandel is the parent of the other two. So, they are curious to see how the grape will grow after a 150 year holiday in California. We were curious what they were going to do with the grapes after harvesting and testing and with a bit of prying, Nikola said that they would most likely bottle them, but he wasn't sure. So, as crazy as it sounds, there might be a Croatian Zinfandel and a Croatian Primitivo to buy at some point in the near future, although the release is most likely going to be so small that it will be hard to find anywhere.     Next, we talk about the wines of Zlatan Plenković's winery in Part 2 in our coverage of his winery.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          One of the last wineries we visited on the island of Korčula was that of Stpian Cebalo in Lumbarda. This is on the far southeast side of the island and is a place where tourists usually just go for the beaches. But it is here where Stipan has two hectares of land and is one of the few producers of the white wine, Grk. The man knows what he is doing and has a family tradition of wine making that dates back an amazing 500 years!     Grk is a well-balanced white that doesn't really push you one way or the other, but makes for pleasant drinking and is considerably different from Pošip, the other main white of Korčula. His 2005 'vrhunsko' or high quality Grk has nice fruit aromas to the top and bottom of the nose. It is a bit dry, but not terribly so and has a nice finish. Stipan does not age this in oak at all and told us that he preferred not to have the oaky aromas to the wine, which seemed to be a good plan to us in the end as they would most likely muddy things up. We also tried his Plavac which has a touch of cinnamon to the nose which makes it a bit different than the other Plavacs we've tasted previously. It is 13% alcohol and that makes it rather strong for this region, yet it has a light body to it, making for easy drinking. The finish had some sweet, dry bread textures that were also quite pleasant.     Producing 6,000 liters a year certainly doesn't make Cebalo one of the heavy-hitters of Korčula like Čara or Blato, but he is making good wines in his little spot on the island, on his terms, from just his grapes.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Two more of the smaller producers on Korčula are Bleuš and Kunjašić. They are both located around Smokvica and like many wine makers of this size, very tricky to find. You see, their cellars look just like any other house on the street and it's not until you go inside that you see a whole wine making operation spread out from behind the old doors. It also makes it impossible to just drop by for a tasting or a visit, since you need to know someone who knows someone to call them and actually meet you as was the case when we went to Bleuš. But, they will always make it worth the hunt by rewarding you with good wines and great hospitality.     Bleuš is a tricky name, since it really is the Stanojević Family that produces the wine now. Well, actually, it still is the Bleuš family (which they believe is really of French origins), but there were just two daughters to inherit the winery after their father passed away and it still is the custom for it to be the man's family name on the wine, even if it wasn't his family that originally produced it. But, this is changing as you'll see Stanojević Family on the bottle, but with a Bleuš title. A tad bit confusing, but such are the customs and the cultural changes that are slowly happening.     We tasted the 2006 Pošip from Bleuš. It had spent seven months aging in stainless steel and had light cherry aromas to the nose along with a bit of peach and apricot. Overall, there was an abundance of spring aromas blossoming out of it and it opens up quite a bit as it breaths. The body is dry with considerably lighter tones to it that pass in to the finish of the wine.     When it came time to visit Kunjašić, that proved even more difficult as we always seemed to catch him while he was out in the field and much like Bleuš, he was one of those wine growers that you had to be shown exactly where his cellar was in order to find it. Kunjašić produces a number of other wines that we were not able to taste, which in the end left us thinking to the next time we visit, because there is always a next time in Croatia. But thankfully, local pride was our friend and we were able to taste his 2005 Pošip at a restaurant in Korčula Grad. It opened up like most of the Pošips on the island, but had a bit more fruit, placing it somewhere between what Bleuš does and what Čara does.     It will be interesting to watch how both of these wineries progress, especially Bleuš, seeing as how this is their very first vintage.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          When it comes to former Communist cooperatives on Korčula that transitioned in to successful private companies, there are none bigger than Blato 1902. Named after the town that they are located in, Blato produces a massive 1,000,000 liters a year and even has the capacity to produce more. But, they don't make only wine. The produce rakija, aniseta, travarica, smokovača, rogačica, and komovica, as well as olive oil and vinegar. All told, there are about 30 wines and products that they make. Not bad for a company that was started by the local wine growers of the area in 1902.     It was a little tricky to find, being that the main building is located behind a school of all things. Once we found it, our attempts at speaking Croatian with the employees was helped up and greatly improved upon by Sanja Protić and Ante Šeparović (one of the enologists) who spoke English and gave us the history and a tasting. We tried the 2005 Korčulanka which is at 12.5% alcohol and has a light fruit to the nose. This carries in to the body makes the wine easy and pleasing to drink. While not mind-blowing, it's a pleasant wine that would go well with fish, chicken, and other light meats. Then we tried the 2005 Plavac Blato, which is 12.6% alcohol. It is also a solid wine that is very easy to drink. There is a basic Plavac Mali nose to it and a typical dry body. Much like the Korčulanka, it's a basic wine, but also a good wine for meals.     The one wine that we didn't get to try, but really wanted to was the Cetinka. It's a native varietal to Korčula, Vis, and Lastovo, so you'll only find it on the islands of Croatia. The described it as light, fresh, with a slightly acidic middle to it. Maybe we'll see it further on in our trips, or maybe just the next time we're in Croatia...

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Like most single-owner Croatian wineries, the story of Toreta on Korčula is all about a family history of wine making that stopped during Communism and is now working to produce again. In this case, the man who has taken up the helm is the very young Frano Banicević, who, at 25 has begun to run the winery that his great-grandfather built at the turn of the 20th century. Like most of the new generation in Croatia that are taking over from their parents or grandparents, they are full of ideas and ways to get their wines more well-known. One of the biggest examples of this is that fact that there are actually signs to the Toreta winery and it is quite easy to find in Smokvica. Others are a little more subtle like a gradual change in the design of the bottle labels. While seen as something of a waste by the older generations, Frano is keenly aware of how much it affects the decision of the consumer.     The one thing that really doesn't change is the commitment to producing good wines. We tried two of their vintages in the tasting room that they have in 'downtown' Smokvica. By the way, 'smokva' is the Croatian word for fig and the region was apparently covered in them prior to massive wine cultivation. There still are some being grown and if you get the chance to try a fig jam from Dalmatia, do so as they're some of the best in the world, but I deliciously digress.     Toreta's 2005 Pošip at 13.9% alcohol is aged in Slavonian Oak. It starts out with a lovely, sweet nose that has aromatic touches of honey, apple, and a bit of pear. The body is full and surprisingly heavy, in that a great bit of the nose gets lost in it, but many of the tones come through regardless, all the way to a bit of lemon on the finish.     The Toreta is a 12.5% alcohol Plavac that is only classified as 'stolno' or table wine. Frano warned me about it not being that amazing before I tasted it, but I think he really sells the wine far too short, as it is actually quite good. While not a Dingač, it still retains a few of the elements in the nose. The body drops all of this and is quite light, but the high acidity you can taste in the wine speaks to me that it would pair extremely well with most any dish.     Visiting Toreta was a very pleasing experience overall to see how the younger generation of Korčula is slowly gaining the reigns from the older generation and doing it with what appears to be relative ease.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Built in 1983, the company that is now Pošip Čara on the island of Korčula, started as one of the Yugoslavian wine making collectives. All of the grapes from the surrounding area in the town of Čara fed in to this one factory to produce the wines of which 90% were whites. There were 100 hectares of land which over time became dedicated to the production of Pošip. In standard Communist thinking, this centralized production made sense as there were plenty of areas that produced reds, so why not focus this region on just whites as they grew extremely well there? Well, the result of this today is that the region is still primarily growing only whites and while there are a few private growers in the region, the now privately owned Pošip Čara still dominates production with 300,000 bottles a year leaving their doors.     This is all done with a scant 10 people on staff, of which, one is Toni Tomić who was actually a mechanic, showing us around as he spoke the best English. But, even though he worked on the equipment that made the wine, he knew a considerable amount about the wines and the history of the company. Later we found out that he is one of the people who has been with the company since the first day they started to produce.     The most likely reason for Pošip Čara's success is that they focus on just a few wines. They have a little bit of table Plavac that they produce, but the real meat is in the Pošip. We tasted the 2006 varietal which was pleasant and much like most standard Pošip wines. There are some nice fruit aromas, but it has a bit of a Sauvignon Blanc finish to it. But, it did work as a good entry point for the Marko Polo, which is their flagship wine and what a wine it is with a honeysuckle and flowery nose that leads in a body full of strong fruits. Amazingly, neither of wines are aged in oak. They reserve that for a mere 200 liters that no matter how much we begged, we were not able to get at. We assume that they are also not available for sale as they are undoubtedly quite remarkable.     In a sharp contrast to Pošip Čara is Jedinstvo PZ which is a bit down the road outside of Smokvica. They were also a collective, but started earlier in 1954. Their privatization went much differently and they focused on producing a greater number of wines, but at a much lower rating level that ranges from wines you buy by the liter to low-end 'quality' level wines that are mostly suitable for drinking with a meal.     It is interesting to see how these two wine making companies with similar roots in such a small area have diverged so much in the tastes of wines that they produce. But, if you're a white wine lover and haven't tried Pošip yet, we highly recommend Pošip Čara.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Driving up the Pelješac peninsula from the Croatian mainland, Miloš is one of the first wineries one comes across. It is located in the little village of Ponikve just a few kilometers north of the walled town of Ston with its beautiful fortress.     Although the Miloš family has been making wine for over 100 years, like most families in the countries of the former Yugoslavia they had to sell their grapes to the state-owned cooperatives. So it was only in the beginning of the 1990's that Miloš became a private business, and is now producing about 50,000 liters of wine annually. Today Frano Miloš has managed to make the family winery into one of the most successful in the Pelješac region, and frequently receives large tour groups in their new tasting room and century-old family cellar.     Miloš produces a broad range of wines in each of the quality categories existing in Croatia (table, quality, high quality and special). Since we couldn't try them all, we decided to taste their most popular varietal, the Plavac. It was a vintage from 2004 with a 12.6% of alcohol, a nice nose with a touch of aged leather and a well-balanced body. While dry, it was very well balanced and drinkable, especially for summer.     We also tried one of their whites, Nadahnuće, which was a very good 50%-50% blend of Pošip and Maraština grapes. Both of these grapes came through surprisingly well and didn't trounce one another, making for a very complimentary blend. Although it had a somewhat light and fruity nose, it was quite a strong white.     Closing up our tasting, we tried one of their high-end whites, the Stagnum from 2004 made up of Plavac Mali grapes. While stronger than the Plavac and with an alcohol percentage of nearly 15%, it had quite a smooth finish and was very even tempered.

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