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dreams / WINE Work of

dreams / WINE Work of Art. The winegrowers on the island of Brač are excellent at producing wine with a magnificent aroma. Photos: Stina Vino 46

WINES WITH LOTS OF SUN On the island of Brač vines grow on stepped terraces the slopes of which drop steeply to the sea. The wines have long since found their place in the hearts of wine lovers. WORDS PETER MOSER The island of Brač is famous for its white limestone from Pučišća which was already used by the Romans for the construction of Diocletian’s palace in Spalato (Split), and which still today characterises the face of the island’s towns. Summer holiday makers know the largest island of Central Dalmatia thanks to a legendary horn shaped gravel beach, the Golden Horn (Zlatni Rat), and wine lovers will in the future increasingly enjoy wines from Brač. In 1903 the last winegrowers from the vine island of Brač who survived the phylloxera catastrophe founded the first winegrowers’ cooperative in Dalmatia and built the stone winery (Stina) directly on the harbour pier at Bol. In 2009 Jako Andabak moved into the venerable building and the typical white stone was also the inspiration for the distinctive natural white label that adorns the bottles today. The well-known Croatian design studio Bruketa & Žinić has already received several national and international awards for this creation. The assortment of red wines ranges from the Bogondon cuvée of Plavac Mali, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah grapes, with the main variety being Plavac Mali. Stina Plavac Mali Stipančić is the top wine of the winery. Only in top vintages does the Stina winery make a Plavac Mali wine called Remek Djelo which translated means masterpiece. Stina. The world-famous white stone from Brač inspired the label. The wines are now highly prized. ZINFANDEL IN CROATIAN A specialty of the winery is the red Stina Tribidrag, aged for one year in 20 percent new and 80 percent used barriques. Tribidrag is the local name for the internationally known grape variety Zinfandel. After long and exciting research and matching, it has been found that the grape variety originated from Croatia, specifically Dalmatia, and is identical to Primitivo in Italy and Zinfandel in California. The best white wines are produced by the mineral variety Pošip, and the Stina Pošip with the additional designation Majstor is one of the most outstanding varietal representatives of the country. The rare white grape variety Vugava is said to originate from the island of Vis, but recent research has linked it directly to the island of Brač. Its aroma is often reminiscent of Viognier, and at Vino Stina it is refined in steel tanks into a light-footed food wine. A visit to the winery is a wonderful experience, and when there one should not miss tasting a glass of Prošek with a direct view of the azure sea. It is perhaps the best of its kind in the whole country. When Saša Senjković ended his active football career with the well-known club Hajduk Split, he and his wife Magdalena, or Megi, decided to revive the winemaking tradition that his great-grandfather Ambroz, alias Bosso, had once started on Brač. Saša had taken over 4000 vines from his mother, and step by step he has expanded the stock, adding international varieties such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon to the island’s classic Plavac Mali. The neat family winery is located in the village of Dračevica, not far from Supetar, in a lovingly restored stone house where the tasting room also awaits interested wine lovers. Available for tasting are Pošip Sentiment, the delicately floral Rosé Spoza, the Plavac Mali called Broćko Rić and the barrique variant “Bosso” dedicated to the great-grandfather. With a little luck there may also be a glass of the great Dita cuvée, a dialect term for family heirloom, composed of grapes from the old Plavac vines and some Cabernet and Syrah from five small plots. It is a wine that like the Stina Remek Djelo is only available in the best vintages. > 47