Croatia can sometimes be frustrating. Various traditions are set in stone harder then the Excalibur. Olive oil is a victim of one of those set in stone ways. It has been relegated to a role of complementing sea food and even the most basic variations are meet with disapproval.

However, tourism had it’s way with people in Dalmatia and tides are changing. They’ll even let you dip some nice bread in their olive oil. Score. Or Not.

In our infinite quest for different flavors, and pissing of traditionalist, we went for it and splashed olive oil on some walnut ice cream.

Western civilization will think of it as a “passe” play but for Dalmatian standards this can be as revolutionizing as the light bulb. Or Not. It’s just delicious.

And we like the look on the olive oil producers face every time we do this. Priceless.

Recipe:

– Go to nearest supermarket

– Say Hello to the cute girl/boy that’s doing cleanup on aisle 7

– Pick you favorite ice cream

– Go to gourmet department and pick a nice Mediterranean olive oil, fresh and fruity

– Invite cute girl/guy on date and dazzle them with your foodie chops

Your welcome!

p.s. you could always take one of our olive oil tours and impress your date even more 😉

Its just that time of year. Summer is over, some say fun is over, some say winter is coming and we just say what’s for dinner!? Why? Well for kicks and giggles, and then maybe because were bored, but most of all because we are hungry.

After one of our last spearfishing trips of the season it was time to revisit the art of grilling a whole fish, You know, no steaks, all of it, head, bones, eyes, hair, um wait…anyway, the whole thing is destined to burn.

So there is this place called the sea where you can dive in with a shotgun (not really, don’t try this at your home ocean) and take a fish on chest to chest, man to man, eye to eye. If you come out on top sometimes can end up with something like this.

His majesty: The Amber Jack (Croatian: Gof). Whole 2 kilos of it, score.

So if you follow these next simple steps you’ll be able to prepare a Mediterranean feast and/or burn your house down (disclamer):

1. Dive into your ocean of choice, spear a fish or two, depending on appetite

2. Find a friend that owns a winery so you can score some wine with the fish, we captured Anton from the Putalj winery

3. Hope said friend also has a grill, as our does, Anton we love you!

4. Be excited about you catch and be sure to lie to your friend about how big it is (the fish that is…)

5. With a sharp knife, cut the beasts belly and shake until organs fall out (or you could pull them with your hand, usually works better)

6. Get a fire going while sipping on some wine (disclaimer applies)

7. Put that weird thing you never knew how to use on the fire to burn off the rust, paint, mushrooms and everything else that accumulated there for years

8. Take some vineyard scissors and cut of the monsters tail (or something else handy, we just wanted to have some fun)

9. When fire settles down, slam the beast to the grill, turn on other side after a while

10. Take a rosemary branch dipped in olive oil and gently brush the fish

11. Punch whoever does that and pour olive oil from the bottle like a boss

12. Make an awkward, ugly and stereotype stock type of setting and take a picture

13. Don’t forget the wine

14. Devour

So there it is, our late farewell to the summer, and grilling lesson for the ages. Hopefully the next season of cooking classes and spearfishing tours will be as exciting as this one.

See you next summer!

Prvi Poljubac – Memories of a First Kiss

While in Dalmatia, especially on the islands, you will run into a dessert wine called Prošek. For a while its brand had been compromised by poor legislation that allowed certain companies to produce “sugar water” and call it Prošek. On the flip side Italy and the EU now have a bright idea of banning the name “Prošek”. Excellent, there is no such thing as bad publicity.

So anyway, Prošek is supposed to be a very sweet desert wine made from grape varietals such as Maraština, Bogdanuša, Prč, and Kuč. Grapes are picked then put on mats and dried in the hot Dalmatian sun (it can get silly hot sometimes). A little bit of squeezing the syrup and fun with fermentation and we have a winner.

Prošek, when done right, is a high alcohol, high sugar content miracle that you should try even if you are not a fan of the sweets (like me).

Prvi Poljubac (The First Kiss) is a half-bottle sized orgasm. Sorry blogging puritans, ill wash down my keyboard with holy water later. But it’s true, this Prošek, produced by Ivo Duboković, is loaded with aromas of caramel, coffee, dried apricots….list goes on and on…funny story, once after a bottle of Prvi Poljubac I went to a rock concert and drank a lot of hard stuff you usually drink there (hint: bikers are not fans of Beaujolais), got hammered, then woke up next morning still feeling only the aromas of Prvi Poljubac, nicest hangover ever….

Anyhow, Ivo has a gem and people better take notice. Try to book a tasting at his winery, or find a specialty shop and find this; take it home, open it on your anniversary by the fire and then you can thank me.

You’re welcome.

Medvid & Medvjedica – garage wines on steroids

You have heard about French garage winemakers. Aura of mystique and unavailability surrounds the stories of strange people hanging around their small cellars acting more like crystal meth producers than winemakers. Ok, maybe not meth producers, but let’s say Bill Gates circa 1974.

Croatia of course has a version of its own. Professor Ivo Duboković and his late father Jakov built a true wine paradise just across the street from the biggest (bankrupted) wine cooperative.

Ivo isn’t a winemaking or viticulture professor, he’s a marketing professor and that alone should turn on the red light for those who are aware of power of branding in the wine industry.

But fortunately for us wine lovers his juice tells another story. Especially the reds, oh the reds…my mouth is watering already…focus, focus, focus…ok, I’m back…

His top line of red wine, made out of grapes from the southern slopes of Hvar, on “appellation” called Medvid Bod, is something to behold.

I call them The Balrogs of Jelsa….nerd alert, Balrogs are scary looking things from Tolkien’s First Age, you know, that guy that almost kicked Gandalf’s ass…

What’s the connection? Hmm, hidden underground, powerful, able to stop in the track anybody who can fully grasp their strength…ok, enough with the geek talk…

Medvjedica is actually a name of a endangered Mediterranean seal who once enjoyed life in a cave just beneath the vineyard itself, Medvid is supposed to be a male version, for those not versed into Croatian language gymnastics.

Medvid & Medvjedica are made from Plavac Mali grapes and their main difference is oak influence. Medvid has seen some new oak, and his female counterpart soaked in some used oak.

Both wines are extremely juicy and delicious, not made for food in my opinion, you open this as a dessert and enjoy a glass with couple of special people.  Please take note that it’s a dry red wine, I just think of it as dessert because I’m not a fan of sugar, and even if I was, this would win.

Look for 2008, 2009 and eventually 2011 vintage when it gets released. 

Croatian Wine Cheat Sheet – 101 on what to look out for while drinking in Croatia

Remember book reports? Yikes, didn’t like those, so I often opted out to cut the whole process short and go play my guitar. Discovering cliff notes and cheat sheets has been one of the most important events in my life. It cleared time for reading about and doing things I actually care about. Wine is one of them, but not for everybody, people are different, and I wouldn’t take it any other way.

So, you are on vacation, want to have a nice bottle of wine but don’t want to go through the nerd stages of figuring out every single thing about something obscure as Croatian winemaking.

Good, here is a strip down of Croatian wine stuff, as simple as it can be, maybe even simpler that it should be. Regions, varietals, producers.

Dalmatia is probably place where you will end up in anyway; places like Dubrovnik, Hvar and Split are exploding as world class destinations

• Plavac Mali is the predominant red grape in Dalmatia, it’s high in alcohol and tannin, be sure to pair it with hearty dishes or you could be overwhelmed , also ask the waiters if they could recommend some Plavac from known appellations (Dingač, Postup, Ivan Dolac) because Plavac can give suspicious results when out of it comfort zone. Target Duboković, Baković, Miloš, Radović (Dingač) and Grgić.
• Zinfandel aka Crljenak aka Pribidrag as a father of Plavac Mali is now living through a second youth and can surprise with quality and price, look for Bedalov, Krolo, Mimica, Grabovac
• Pošip is a true Dalmatian white with strong alcohol (sensing a theme?), nice acidity, fruity aromas and a nice round body, but please, PLEASE stay away from jug Pošip or from drafted ones; it can be a painful experience. Producers like Grgić, Krajančić, and Korta Katarina and their labels will be representative of what Pošip is supposed to be. Try it with heavier style seafood like grilled fish.

If you barely heard for Croatia, chances are, you heard stories about Istria…the northwestern peninsula is a leader in branding and development and has made great strides in their winemaking last 10 years.

• Malvazija is the varietal that epitomizes Istria, fresh and light, aromatic and beautifully acidic it’s the perfect summer comfort, try it with shrimp or some lighter truffle dishes that people from Istria do so well. Keep an eye for Kozlović, Benvenuti, Coronica and Trapan.
• Teran is an indigenous Istrian red, no matter what Slovenian winemakers say,  in a lot of way similar to Refosco, it is a little bit lighter and more acidic than Dalmatian reds which makes it a bit more food friendly for certain Istrian styled pastas. Keep an eye for Coronica, Benvenuti

Slavonia

Croatia’s bread basket Slavonia is the home of Graševina, most widely spread white varietal in Croatia but be sure to avoid drafted or “house wine” ones. Stick with producers like Galić, Enjingi, and Krauthaker. There are also some nice Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot wines from the like of Galić and Zdjelarević.

Central region

Located around Croatian capital Zagreb, this region is on the rise as the official forth region and is getting recognition for its light indigenous whites like Škrlet or best Croatian sparklers from Tomac and Šember. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are also being grown in bunches, Burgundy lovers take notice!!

Why Croatian wine!?

Well, why not. If you are on this page/blog I guess you are in Croatia, planning to go to Croatia, or just bored to death and using Google to find the most random stuff on the planet.

Anyway, Croatian wine is a nice way to get your Croatian experience going.

However, many people are skeptical, and some for good reason. Wine culture in Croatia, especially among Croatians themselves (beer nation anyone?) is still in early stages of development, and for no good reason, winegrowing has been present for centuries (anybody heard about Greeks, maybe even Pharos?).

Also, many have traveled in the years past and tried a bunch of “house wine” (thank you cheap restaurant owners) and have built up a perception of overpriced, acidic, awful tasting whites, and chilled reds served  as part of a “cocktail” in Croatia known as Bevanda (red wine and water, yuck).

But now things are happening, winemakers have acquired enough knowledge, tourism is ready to explode, and hospitality industry is starting to realize that fine wine is not just for the French.

That takes us to a couple of good reasons for drinking Croatian wine:

• Reason  #1

It’s the birthplace of Zinfandel, yes, THAT Zinfandel, American Zinfandel, red Zinfandel or whatever people call it this side of Franzia White Zinfandel (which isn’t a real grape FYI, people have asked, I mean seriously). There is a whole history of Zinfandels travels from the slopes of mountain Kozjak just outside of Split to Italy a then to USA, but I’ll let you Google it, this isn’t a history seminar :-).  However, I’ll tell you that we can thank this guy for figuring it out which leads me to…

• Reason #2

Chateau Montelena and the whole “Judgment of Paris” thing would not happen without a Croatian guy, mentioned above who was the head winemaker of Montelena at the time and had a great impact on their Chardonnay that beat the French at their own game, but that’s not all…

• Reason #3

Heard about Grgich Hills? One of the most appreciated California wineries? No? You call yourself a wine drinker? Yes? Good, so you probably know that it has been founded and owned by Mike Grgich with his partner Austin Hills. FYI Grgich is actually Grgić and is a full blown Croatian stud (at 90 years old and counting).

• Reason #4

It made Anthony Bourdain pass out….

I have more up my sleeve but I managed to convince myself already so I’m going to open a bottle and leave blogging to somebody who actually knows how to do it…

Cheers!

This is not a wine blog…ok it is, but just technically. So why waste time writing something that is not a blog even though it technically is? Well for starters, to get you to go on one of our wine tours, just kidding, or am I….anyway, the point of this pointless effort is to guide into great wine situations, at least the ones that include Croatian wine.  So what are great wine situations? Isn’t any situation that involves wine great by default? Yes. That being said, wine drinking is an expensive sport, so who does not like an occasional value of paying for something and getting ten times more. Everybody.  It’s also a snobbish and condescending sport and who wouldn’t like to stick some cult Croatian wine under the nose of their Bordeaux and Burgundy loving wine snob friends (everybody has one, don’t lie). 

To cut the story short (really, now?) here you won’t find typical Parker style tasting notes or ratings, advertisements for already overhyped wines or anything in the  vein of classic wine writing. Our goal is to educate you on Croatian wine in a way you can actually use that knowledge.

Whether you are on vacation in Croatia and want choose a nice wine for a romantic dinner, you want to buy something and put it into cellar for 15 years or you just don’t want to be ripped off like on 69 of your past vacations where you spend a small fortune on wine and all you can remember is a few hangovers and a waiters bad haircut this is the place to be (or read).

We will try to keep it simple and interesting, and you can comment, ask, tweet, ignore, spam or call us anytime you want, especially if it is in some way connected to Croatian wine….and food….and travel, and anything that has to do with this amazing piece of land called Croatia…

Sincerely,

The Art of Wine Project