Exploring Croatian Wine Country

Touring wine country, leisurely visiting one vineyard after the next, can resemble an upscale pub crawl, if we’re all honest. Yes, there’s more going on with the palate and the sampler wine glasses are tiny, but if you’re focused and efficient, you can get a bit of a glow on. I make it a priority to include a stop in wine country on my travels, if the option is available to me.

Croatia may not the first place you think of when asked to name a country with a rich wine production history, but it dates back about 2,500 years ago with the arrival of ancient Greeks. Croatia has 300 wine regions, with the majority of wines produced being white.

The two primary wine-growing regions are Primorska Hrvatska (coastal) and Kontinentalna Hrvatska (continental).

If you’ve got to narrow it down to one particular wine region in Croatia, I recommend visiting Dalmatia. A charming combination of old guys making wine in their garages and upscale boutique wineries, Dalmatia has a number of microclimates and a number of wine varietals to sample.

Try Grabovac Winery in Imotski; family-run, the tour and tasting is informative and friendly. Be sure to try the Chardonnay and Cuvee. And Imotski is gaining in popularity as an outdoor adventure region, with great hiking trails, caves and the Red and Blue Lake sinkholes.