{"id":818,"date":"2016-09-05T20:37:39","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T19:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=818"},"modified":"2016-09-11T16:06:27","modified_gmt":"2016-09-11T15:06:27","slug":"split-decision-advintage-wine-holiday-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/split-decision-advintage-wine-holiday-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Split Decision; AdVintage Wine Holiday 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer has come and gone, at least as far as I’m concerned now that my yearly wine holiday\u00a0with AdVintage Wine<\/a> is over.<\/p>\n

For 2016 it was Croatia’s Dalmatian coastline as\u00a0the destination, with a hotel base in Seget Donji<\/a> (just east of Trogir and Split). Of course we had the usual free days where we were normal tourists,\u00a0but for the sake of this site it is all about the wine!<\/p>\n

Croatia (Hrvatska) has a long wine history dating back to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, and is the ancestral home of Zinfandel, plus\u00a0a host of barely pronounceable local varieties. Unfortunately it’s not always easy to get hold of its wines in the Northeast, apart from occasional bottles on the shelves\u00a0of Marks & Spencer or via online retailers such as Pacta Connect<\/a> and Croatian Fine Wines<\/a> (Carruthers and Kent<\/a> have been known to stock some as well, although not right now).<\/p>\n

As such it’s\u00a0been over 5 years since I had a bottle of Croatian wine at home, so\u00a0it was with no real knowledge or expectations that I tasted my way through the wines poured for us\u00a0during the\u00a0\u00a0organised tastings and winery visits that covered\u00a04 local areas within this central part of the\u00a0Primorska Hrvatska (coastal Croatia) wine region.<\/p>\n

1. Ka\u0161tela<\/strong> (expanded post here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The slopes\u00a0at the bottom of\u00a0the Mali Kozjak mountainside are the ancestral home of Crljenak Ka\u0161telanski – aka Zinfandel\/Primitivo – and both producers we visited are known for their work in resurrecting the grape more often associated with the U.S. and Italy.<\/p>\n

\"Putalj<\/a>

Putalj tasting<\/p><\/div>\n

A\u00a0morning visit was to\u00a0Putalji<\/a> in Ka\u0161tel Su\u0107urac, with\u00a0winemaker Anton Kova\u010d in his newly built vineyard tasting area. Under\u00a0glorious sunshine, accompanied by cheese and olive oil, we tasted ros\u00e9 and reds under glorious sunshine overlooking\u00a0Split and the Adriatic below.<\/p>\n

The 2014 Plavac Mali was good enough to become the dinner table red on several nights over the week, while the 2014 Crljenak Ka\u0161telanski was even better (so it came home with me!).<\/p>\n

\"Bedalov<\/a>

Bedalov Lunch<\/p><\/div>\n

Then to\u00a0Vina Bedalov<\/a> in\u00a0Ka\u0161tel Kambelovac, where winemaker Jak\u0161a Bedalov \u00a0and his family served us lunch and presented some of their wines. Local grilled vegetables, cheese and Croatian prosciutto (pr\u0161ut) went perfectly with white, \u00a0ros\u00e9 and reds all from local varieties.<\/p>\n

Grapes tasted:
\nWhite<\/strong>: Mara\u0161tina.
\nRed<\/strong>: Crljenak Ka\u0161telanski (Zinfandel), Plavac Mali, Dobri\u010di\u0107.<\/p>\n

2. Imotski<\/strong>\u00a0(expanded post here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Imotski area is inland close to the\u00a0border with Bosnia Herzegovina and we first visted\u00a0Podrumi \u0160imunovi\u0107<\/a>,\u00a0 where we were proffered morning Grappa (flavoured rocket-fuel by another name) whilst being serenaded by a guitar-wielding singer, before having the delightful Ella give us a description of the several wines we we tasting, comprising both local and international varieties.<\/p>\n

Then to lunch at Vina Grabovac<\/a>\u00a0and their new tasting room in the valley, which – for\u00a0me at least – was the visit of the week, with\u00a0Milan Grabovac showing us around the winemaking facilities and enthusiastically answering our questions on the winery, grapes and wines. Good wines helped a delicious meal go down, and\u00a0some great wines resulted in me splitting a case to be shipped back to the UK!<\/p>\n

\"Grabovac<\/a>

Grabovac Vineyards<\/p><\/div>\n

Grapes tasted:
\nWhite<\/strong>: Kujund\u017eu\u0161a, Chardonnay, \u017dilavka, Po\u0161ip, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Sivi (Gris).
\nRed<\/strong>: Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon,\u00a0Vranac,\u00a0Trnjak<\/p>\n

3. Primo\u0161ten<\/strong><\/p>\n

The coastal town of Primo\u0161ten was built on an island now connected to the mainland by a causeway.<\/p>\n

\"Primosten<\/a>

Primosten town<\/p><\/div>\n

Part of the Sjeverna Dalmacija (Northen Dalmatia) wine region, it’s\u00a0Bucavac Veliki vineyards are a designated Unesco World Heritage site<\/a>\u00a0planted with the red\u00a0Babi\u0107 variety.<\/p>\n

Due to harvest time and logistical issues we had lunch and a mixed tasting inside the town at Konobo\u00a0Joso, an old winery now converted into a bar and restaurant.
\nHere we tried wines from several grapes and areas:
\n– Lemony Krauthaker 2015\u00a0Gra\u0161evina<\/strong> (Welschriesling) from Slavonia
\n– Rustic family made\u00a0Babi\u0107<\/strong> from Primo\u0161ten Hill; somewhat aggressive acidity and a touch of Brett
\n– Gracin 2008\u00a0Babi\u0107<\/strong>; mushroom and balsamic flavours
\n– Gracin 2010 Babi\u0107<\/strong>; volatile and a touch Bretty, but quite pleasant in a rustic Rhone style
\n– Kontra<\/strong>, a blend of Babi\u0107 (from Gracin, Primo\u0161ten) &\u00a0Dinga\u010d (Plavac Mali from\u00a0Kirid\u017eija, Pelje\u0161ac); Dark, spicy and volatile with roasted flavours.
\n– Gracin 2010 Pro\u0161ek<\/strong>, the famous Croatian sweet wine made from dried grapes (this one including red grapes) giving flavours of boozy raisin, alcohol infused cherries \u00a0and caramelised Tart Tatin.<\/p>\n

\"Bucavac<\/a>

Bucavac Veliki vineyards<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Gracin<\/a>

Gracin Babic<\/p><\/div>\n

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Grapes tasted:
\nWhite<\/strong>: Gra\u0161evina.
\nRed<\/strong>: Babi\u0107, Plavac Mali<\/p>\n

4. Plastovo, Skradin<\/strong> (expanded post here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Skradin is inland close to the hills, lakes and rivers of the Krka National Park\u00a0which\u00a0gives it a different microclimate to the coastal vineyards. The small village of Plastovo is home to the Sladi\u0107 winery<\/a>, and Ante Sladi\u0107 presented\u00a02\u00a0whites and 2 reds from local varieties along with cheese, pr\u0161ut and other snacks before finishing with some potent liqueurs.<\/p>\n

Sitting\u00a0outside\u00a0under the shade eating and drinking (sorry…tasting) made this feel the most\u00a0intimate of the visits\u00a0all week, but whether that was Ante and his hospitality or the fact that it was the last full day among friends is difficult to say.<\/p>\n

\"Sladic<\/a>

Sladic tasting<\/p><\/div>\n

Grapes tasted:
\nWhite<\/strong>: Debit, Mara\u0161tina.
\nRed<\/strong>: Plavina,\u00a0Lasina<\/p>\n

As always the time\u00a0passed far too quickly, but I have the memories (aided by multiple notes and pictures!) of fantastic weather and good wines – several bottles of which made it home with me (not including the Grabovac air-drop expected soon)!<\/p>\n

\"Croatian<\/a>

Croatian bottle recovery!<\/p><\/div>\n

I also had the rather enjoyable company of the\u00a0other holidaymakers on the AdVintage tour group; friends old and new who I hope to see\u00a0again soon with a glass of wine in hand.<\/p>\n

Special thanks go to Lee & Ian for\u00a0sharing the wine buying\/drinking, Lee again for our tourist\u00a0expeditions;\u00a0Lorraine, Linda and Janet for dinner conversations and, of course,\u00a0Suzanne and Bill for organising yet another wonderful holiday.<\/p>\n

Slainte<\/em>, or as they say in Croatia, \u017divjeli!<\/em>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer has come and gone, at least as far as I’m concerned now that my yearly wine holiday\u00a0with AdVintage Wine is over. For 2016 it was Croatia’s Dalmatian coastline as\u00a0the destination, with a hotel base in Seget Donji (just east … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,23,43],"tags":[65,160],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":902,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions\/902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}