This week, Ideal Wine Company wants to draw your attention to a relatively small, yet picturesque part of the world with a burgeoning wine industry: Dalmatia.
Anything I need to know in particular?
Whilst perhaps not one of the most well-known of wine producing regions in the world, Croatia is the 30th largest wine producing nation in the world, and most of this comes from Dalmatia.
Red wine is more prominently produced in the South of Dalmatia. Slightly confusingly, red wine is known as crno vino (meaning ‘black wine’) across the former Yugoslavia. However, Croatia produces more white wine than red, making it easier for English speaking wine-enthusiasts and holidaymakers to avoid confusion when ordering a glass of belo vino.
It is not uncommon for residents of Croatia and neighbouring countries to add still or sparking water to dilute their wines during the summer. This is a practice that many tourists will no doubt have experienced during their stay in the Balkan nation.
What puts Dalmatian wine on the map?
Sparkling water aside, the Dalmatian Wine Expo has been running annually for the past four years. The most recent festival was host to 150 producers of wine and has continued to go from strength to strength since its inception. It may also be unsurprising to hear that Mike Grgic, the most famous name in the world of Californian wine, originally wine hails from this part of the world.
As ardent wine enthusiasts will be able to tell you, Mike was the unlikely winner of the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting with his 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. This event sent shockwaves and can be considered to be a turning point in modern perceptions of wine. Mike managed to single-handedly change the long-held view that only French soil could produce the world’s most sought-after wine.
What makes Balkan wine unique?
Mike’s heroics aside, for all of Dalmatia’s wine producing prowess, it is far from the only major wine-producing player in the region. With its fertile plains, the province of Vojvodina in neighbouring Serbia has long being a major cultivator of wine. The Roman Emperor Probus was known as the “father” of wine production in this beautiful and historic part of the world.
The warm, sunny climate is ideal for the cultivation of rich and fruity white wines made from a variety of locally produced grapes. Now your attention has been drawn, take the time to check out the Balkans to find out more about its rich wine tradition.
