Winemaking on the island of Hvar - organic and natural by default
The island of Hvar, Croatia, the sunniest island in Europe.
Winemaking on the island of Hvar, Croatia dates back 2500 years and has been an integral part of everyday life ever since Greek settlers first set foot on the now UNESCO protected Stari Grad plain. The winemakers on the island take immense pride in the careful growing of grapes in the best locations, some of which get as many as 2718 sunshine hours per year.
Medvid bod, owned by winemaker Ivo Duboković on the Southside of the island of Hvar gets as many as 2718 sunshine hours per year.
The winemaking itself is a craftsmanship that has been refined as a result of incredible passion, and not to mention patience, through generations. Everything from growing, to carefully selecting grapes to fermentation is a delicate process that's allowed to run its course without additives or shortcuts. Many of our winemakers are still doing most of the work by hand to ensure the ultimate quality of the wines and excellence in all parts of the process. Something I've personally had the pleasure to experience and take part in on several occasions.
An old wine press outside of the Duboković winery in Jelsa on the island of Hvar.
To let the wine develop and speak for itself without too much interference is something that's deeply ingrained in the culture of the island and its amazing winemakers as a result of their search for excellence. It's safe to say that Hvar winemaking is natural by nature. However, although most of the winemaking on the island is organic by nature, there are also certified organic wines from Hvar. One of them is Tomić Illyricum, 2016 which is a blend of the native grape variety Plavac Mali as well as Cabernet Sauvignon. For this wine, Tomić uses only the grapes from select vineyards located at the best positions on the southern side of the island of Hvar where the soil is dry, rocky limestone. The extreme conditions of the steep and sunny slopes on the Southern side of Hvar (Ivan Dolac, Sv. Nedjelja, Jagodna) impose the organic approach as the only choice.
The island of Hvar has a rocky landscape and hillsides with an infinite variety of microclimates.
You can read more about the exceptional winemakers of Hvarwine and their winemaking styles under their respective featured pages; Andro Tomić, Ivo Duboković, Jo Ahearne (MW), Juraj Vujnović and Tonči Marijan.
I hope that you enjoy the wines as much as I do, and if you need recommendations we're happy to help. Contact us on Messenger!
All the best,
Sara