Ivo Duboković is one of the most diverse winemakers in Croatia. He pioneered the white macerated (orange) winemaking on the island. Although he is most famous for his red wine labels, Medvid and Medvjedica. 

Although Ivo Duboković was born above the cellar that he now manages, it was not a given for him to go in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. Ivo studied economics and worked as a marketing professor in Zagreb for many years before he made the decision to devote his life to winemaking. Ivo’s father was known for having excellent locations of vineyards and an underutilised wine cellar, which is what ultimately led young Ivo to give it a try. Ivo strived for excellence and ultimately developed his first label, Medvid, which is now one of the cult red wines from the Croatian Plavac Mali grape variety.

When did your family (or you) start making wine?

My grandfather built this wine cellar in 1939 in order to improve the production of the wine.

However, 25 years ago I restarted the production of Duboković wines with my own labels.

How would you describe your winemaking style?  

The taste of pure terroir in the glass. 

What does Hvar mean to you?

The past and future.

Do you host wine tastings at your winery?

Yes.

What is the grape variety that you most associate yourself with?

Plavac Mali.

If you could only sell one of your wines, which one would it be and why?  

Medvid, because it is the best. 

What do you consider to be the best vintages in the past decade? 

2012 or 2017. 

Please tell us the story about the Medvid bod vineyard

The name indicates a specific micro location, Medvid bod, where the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus Monachus) used to live until 1963 in an underwater cave.

Grapes from this location are the highest quality you can get from the island of Hvar.

Ivo’s grandfather founded the small winery in Jelsa in the beginning of the 20th century while Ivo’s dad built the beautiful wine cellar located under his childhood home. Here, Ivo hosts small private wine tastings among the barrels that takes you through a journey of fruity rosé, macerated (orange) white wines to full body reds. Although Ivo runs a relatively small production, he has managed to produce a large number of labels, and he is never short on new ideas and experiments. However, despite the fact that the number of labels are rising, he has narrowed down the focus to indigenous varieties from Hvar and Dalmatia.

When Ivo restarted the production of wine he expanded the family’s vineyards on two completely different locations on the island of Hvar. One being the Medvid Bod on the steep southern slopes of the island where the grapes are exposed to double insulation, directly from the sun as well as from the reflection of the sea. The location of the vineyard results in grapes that are high in sugar which produces rich wine high in alcohol and flavour.