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Articles about 'Croatia'
After many long hours of trying to find information on Croatian wines I've finally come across Svijet u Čaši the web site of a magazine published in Zagreb. It's in Croatian only which is why I have started to learn a little Croatian. The name means "The World in a Shot" or shall we say "The World in a Glass". I hope I am not making too much a fool of myself with this translation.
Anyhow, the web site has tasting notes, a detailed map of Croatian wine regions, and a buying guide. The latter does not mean much here in the US other than some indications as to who is hot, excuse me, Who is Who of Croatian wine making. If you are interested to taste the real thing and not just look at the virtuality of top Croatian wines you should look at our excellent selection of Graševina, Frankovka, Dingac, Postup, etc, definitely one of the very best in the U.S. of A.
I started a subscription to the paper edition and will keep you abreast as to what I can learn from it. For now, go to the web site and brush up on your Croatian.
Large Production at Dubrovački Podrumi
Posted 06 06 2007 by miquel 0 Comments
Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe.
The Konavle region is at the most southern point of Croatia, even further south than Dubrovnik, bordering Montenegro. Historically, it was the region that produced all of the food for what was the Ragusan Republic and is present-day Dubrovnik. These days, the fields are covered with a great many grapevines and a lot of that feeds in to Dubrovački Podrumi, which is a very large wine producer in Gruda, a small town at the southern end of Konavle.
Upon first glance, the building is anything but welcoming. The concrete construction that echoes the "aesthetic" of Socialist construction is menacing. There is no business name out front and we had to look for the tell-tale signs of new bottles on palettes to know we were in the right place. With some rather awkward Croatian, we talked to a worker who was leaving for lunch and were guided around to the other side of the building where they've built a very pleasant tasting room, but without any signs pointing you there. Upon entering, we could see why the signs were scarce, since it was very apparent that they were set up for large tour buses to come through on scheduled trips. Only two people on a wine tasting quest were something of an anomaly. Regardless, they were very hospitable, found someone in the office who had the best English, and took us in for a tasting.
Dubrovački Podrumi produces a wide range of wines and they let us taste several of them. We first started with their basic table wines. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was a light wine at 12.3% alcohol that had subtle fruit tones and licorice flavors that kicked back in to a smooth finish. The 2004 Plavac at 12.5% alcohol was very dry, but had a light, delicate nose that was surprising given the quality level of the wine. These were both below six euros a bottle, so it's easy to see how they're regarded as basic, everyday wines given the price.
Our host then pulled out two of their higher-cost wines that started at 22 euros a bottle. The 2004 Trajectum was very good. The nose had a bit of rose to it which made the body difficult to describe, despite it being made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. A little bit of berry, a touch of mint, and a slight earthiness are the words that came to mind for this wine. Very tasty, but it would be a big departure for the normal Cab drinker, although some might really enjoy that.
The other wine we tasted of this level was the 2004 Merlotina. Straight out of the bottle, it was phenomenal. The nose had great plums tones to it as well as an aroma that, for lack of a better word should be described as delicate cake. Through the body, you could almost taste the earthy stones from which the vines grow. It is comprised of 100% Merlot and is at least on a par if not higher quality than most Merlots we've had in California.
Dubrovački Podrumi produces a wide range of wines and they let us taste several of them. We first started with their basic table wines. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was a light wine at 12.3% alcohol that had subtle fruit tones and licorice flavors that kicked back in to a smooth finish. The 2004 Plavac at 12.5% alcohol was very dry, but had a light, delicate nose that was surprising given the quality level of the wine. These were both below six euros a bottle, so it's easy to see how they're regarded as basic, everyday wines given the price.
Our host then pulled out two of their higher-cost wines that started at 22 euros a bottle. The 2004 Trajectum was very good. The nose had a bit of rose to it which made the body difficult to describe, despite it being made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. A little bit of berry, a touch of mint, and a slight earthiness are the words that came to mind for this wine. Very tasty, but it would be a big departure for the normal Cab drinker, although some might really enjoy that.
The other wine we tasted of this level was the 2004 Merlotina. Straight out of the bottle, it was phenomenal. The nose had great plums tones to it as well as an aroma that, for lack of a better word should be described as delicate cake. Through the body, you could almost taste the earthy stones from which the vines grow. It is comprised of 100% Merlot and is at least on a par if not higher quality than most Merlots we've had in California.
Croatian White Wines Getting Great Press
Posted 09 22 2004 by frank 0 Comments
Matt Markovich writes in the San Francisco Bay Guardian the wine column Bottle Rockets (yes, that's what they call it!). This week he is reporting on a recent trip to Dubrovnik in Croatia. Clearly, Matt had a great time sampling a number of Plavac Mali red wines. This is the ancestor of the Californian Zinfandel which in turn is the reason Matt entitles his article Original Zin.
But his real love is for a particular Croatian white wine, the Pošip Čara made on Korcula Island where the famous world traveler Marco Polo was born. Matt sings the praises of this wine:
Despite tasting around, we found ourselves ordering Posip Cara (poe-ship charrah) again and again. The experience of taking sips and gulps of chilled Cara in the hot sun was like taking a slurping, juicy bite from a perfect green apple. Always smooth, never too tart, and free of any alcohol bite or bitterness, it made me curse the fact that it's apparently unavailable in the States.
Do we have good news for him and all other lovers of this fine Croatian wine. You can buy it in the US! We do have it in stock and a number of restaurants carry it on their wine list. So get in touch with us and we'll get a few bottles of the Pošip Čara to you, pronto!
And since we are at it, let's also quote the newest edition of the illustrious UK wine magazine Decanter reporting from "the world's best wine competition":
"Thank goodness for the Croatian whites, which sang of their roots and pierced the tastebuds; great wine making and not just a happy origin."
What more is there for us to say than: the same is very true for the Croatian red wines.
Despite tasting around, we found ourselves ordering Posip Cara (poe-ship charrah) again and again. The experience of taking sips and gulps of chilled Cara in the hot sun was like taking a slurping, juicy bite from a perfect green apple. Always smooth, never too tart, and free of any alcohol bite or bitterness, it made me curse the fact that it's apparently unavailable in the States.
Do we have good news for him and all other lovers of this fine Croatian wine. You can buy it in the US! We do have it in stock and a number of restaurants carry it on their wine list. So get in touch with us and we'll get a few bottles of the Pošip Čara to you, pronto!
And since we are at it, let's also quote the newest edition of the illustrious UK wine magazine Decanter reporting from "the world's best wine competition":
"Thank goodness for the Croatian whites, which sang of their roots and pierced the tastebuds; great wine making and not just a happy origin."
What more is there for us to say than: the same is very true for the Croatian red wines.
Svijet u Čaši
Posted 08 19 2004 by frank 0 CommentsAfter many long hours of trying to find information on Croatian wines I've finally come across Svijet u Čaši the web site of a magazine published in Zagreb. It's in Croatian only which is why I have started to learn a little Croatian. The name means "The World in a Shot" or shall we say "The World in a Glass". I hope I am not making too much a fool of myself with this translation.
Anyhow, the web site has tasting notes, a detailed map of Croatian wine regions, and a buying guide. The latter does not mean much here in the US other than some indications as to who is hot, excuse me, Who is Who of Croatian wine making. If you are interested to taste the real thing and not just look at the virtuality of top Croatian wines you should look at our excellent selection of Graševina, Frankovka, Dingac, Postup, etc, definitely one of the very best in the U.S. of A.
I started a subscription to the paper edition and will keep you abreast as to what I can learn from it. For now, go to the web site and brush up on your Croatian.
Tags: croatia svijet u casi
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