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Sviličić and Roki's, a Taste of Vis Locals
Posted 07 26 2007 by miquel 1 Comment
Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe
Inside the tasting room of Roki's.
The wineries of Sviličić and Roki's are two of the many small producers on Vis along the Wine Route. 
Ivo Sviličić and wine.They are working to grow their production capacity without stunting the quality of their wines. Obviously this is not an easy goal, but they both have long family traditions on the island that should give them a foundation for making this possible.
Starting 10 years ago, Sviličić has been producing from two of his own hectares. Out of this, he produces 10,000 liters a year, of which 70% is white. We first tried his white, the 2006 Vugava. It has a good deal of fruit to the nose. The body sparkles a bit more than other Vugavas that we tried and there is a delicious touch of apple in the body. The finish pulls out very smoothly. From there, we tried his 2006 Plavac. It is a much more dry version of the wine than we're used to. You can even smell the dryness in the nose, as well as some good berry aromas. The finish comes out well enough, but the wine overall is probably best for real Plavac aficionados.
A bit down the road is Roki's, which is a winery and restaurant combination. We talked to the owner's wife, Valerie who is an expat from Australia that has lived on Vis with her Croatian husband since 1976. The house where they are making their wine is about 100 years old and the family has been producing wine at varying levels this entire time. They produce from their own four hectares of wine as well as buy grapes from their neighbors.
They make several different wines including a Plavac, a table level red, and Vugava. We only tasted the white Vugava 2006 and found it to have a light, quiet, fruity nose. The body had some rather enjoyable honey tones to it and it all cleaned up in to a crisp finish.
These two wine makers are indicative of many on the island of Vis. After decades of geographic and military isolation, they are all starting to grow and produce more. You can taste it in a flight of different years that they're having to understand their land again after the vines declined for years. With large-scale planting of Plavac Mali and other grapes on the island, they will undoubtedly be producing some signature reds in the years to come.
Inside the tasting room of Roki's.
Ivo Sviličić and wine.
Comments:
10 10 2009 Springfield Cricket ClubFor the second successive year the internationally famous Springfield Cricket Club from Chelmsford in Essex visited Oliver Roki's renowned vinyards on Vis in the late summer of 2009 - this was 25 years since their first international tour. Springfield played two scintillating games on the Vis cricket ground (surrounded by the vines and the old Second World War runway markers), then enjoyed Oliver Roki's legendary hospitality. Oliver is not only a great local wine grower but also the Vis team's dynamic wicket keeper, one of their attacking batsmen, a wonderful host and an all-round "good egg". His hospitality is legendary and his aprés-cricket meals are something for us all to remember forever with great affection. We recommend anyone going to Vis or intending to stay near Split to venture to his vineyard. Four units of wisdom - 1) If you are driving, beware of the giant drop from the road into Roki's vineyard driveway; - 2) Stop for a meal because they are great; - 3) Be there when Springfield Cricket Club are playing on one of their international tours, and - 4) Do sample and enjoy Roki's wines. And Finally ... Thanks to Russell Jones for arranging Springfield's visit, thanks to Oliver Roki for his wines and hospitality (again), and thanks to Springfield's John Macrae for again bringing numerous zany aprés-cricket games for us all to enjoy. Viva Roki wines.