SPONSORED GUIDE SPONSORED GUIDE

Exploring the Croatian of architecture, ideal to explore by foot. the lands of continental . Austro-Hungarian palaces, medieval Just 20 minutes from the city vineyards Uplands cottages, bell-bottomed church spires, emerge, folded into the foothills of the A Croatian odyssey While the coast beckons summer tourists, and brutalist housing blocks all populate Croatian Uplands. Field blends grown in is Croatia’s most visited winter different corners of the city, and Zagreb nests of wooden stakes mark the oldest destination. The city is renowned for its claims to have more museums per square vines, although these native varieties The diverse regions of Croatia offer plenty for wine tourists to enjoy. markets and winter skiing, but the capital metre than any other city. There’s even a aren’t why Plešivica is known as ‘Croatia’s Join Amanda Barnes as she tours the Croatian Uplands, of Croatia is not just for Christmas. museum dedicated to heartache (www. ’. Instead, it’s the cool-climate With a compelling disregard for brokenships.com). For more on Zagreb’s , and vines and in the north of the country, then head to the coast with uniformity, Zagreb has a colourful chaos dining scene, see p24. grown on the limestone-rich hillsides. Zagreb’s intellectual nourishment is ‘We’ve only been exploring our Anthony Rose as he travels south, from Istria to Below: Croatia’s colourful capital of overflowing but, as a thirsty traveller, I’m potential for traditional-method sparkling

Photograph: Davor Rostuhar, Davor Photograph: property of the Zagreb Tourist Board Zagreb is ideal to explore by foot using the capital as a gateway to discover wine in the past decade,’ explains ➢

6 | Croatia 2019 • SPONSORED GUIDE SPONSORED GUIDE • Croatia 2019 | 7 SPONSORED GUIDE

Old cellar in Iločki Podrumi, , Croatian Danube

Traditional kulen, Getting smoked and cired Where to sleep and eat there pork sausage, at in the Croatian Uplands, British Airways Sontacchi’s Slavonia and Danube fifth-generation producer Velimir Korak, of roast duck and another bottle appear, flies direct from whose sons now run the winery and its I heartily agree to my first putna. SLEEP London restaurant (see box, p9). While a decade Zagreb is a great base from which Heathrow to is only the blink of an eye for a region Tucking into Slavonia to explore the Croatian Uplands, Zagreb airport, that’s been making wine since the Middle Deeper into continental only half an hour’s drive from the which is 16km Ages, Plešivica is already considered the country, and further off the main tourist city centre. For options in Slavonia’s from Zagreb grand cru of Balkan bubbles. But beat, lies Slavonia, where villages are wine hub of , try the homely centre. Ilok is a producers are experimenting beyond the quaint, folklore is rich and life is simple. apartments at Sontacchi (www. 3.5hr drive classics with red – and even orange – The slopes of Slavonia are prime territory sontacchi-vinarija.hr), which is also from Zagreb. . for Croatia’s most planted variety, home to Kutjevo’s liveliest bar, or An amphora-aged bubbly doesn’t Graševina, and its heartland is in Kutjevo. book in at the Graševina Academy come as much of a surprise when you There’s a plethora of cellar doors to (www.akademija-grasevine.com). meet the innovative face behind it – knock on: ranging from ultra-modern charcuterie. Famed for its hospitality, taste library vintages, including the local One of the best views in the Danube Tomica Tomac (www.tomac.hr) – who, Galić (see box, p9) to the oldest – and your glass is never dry in Slavonia and speciality of Traminac. wine region of Ilok is from the along with Zdenko Šember (www. largest – cellar in town, Kutjevo (www. local tradition is rubbing off on me now. Another local delicacy is paprika fish aparthotel and restaurant of Ilocki sember.hr) is one of Croatia’s leading kutjevo.com), founded by Cistercian ‘Putna?’ I volunteer, and Kruno doesn’t stew, which I enjoy at the river-beach bar Podrumi (www.ilocki-podrumi.hr). qvevri producers. Made in traditional clay monks in 1232. The historic cellar offers hesitate in taking samples from another and terrace restaurant of Hotel Dunav pots, these structured and yet refreshing an excellent opportunity to taste old Slavonian oak barrel. (see box, right). Sitting by the riverside EAT sit wonderfully with the local vintages, from around €50. with a glass of wine, my host shares his Lunch is best enjoyed at one of the speciality, black pig. The thick forests of As night falls, I head to another cellar Delights of the Danube last Croatian word of wisdom: jaka – the many local wineries: try the brand- the Croatian Uplands are a hotspot for – and my bed for the night – Sontacchi In the upper corner of Slavonia lies the art of doing nothing. new restaurant at Korak (+385 1 game, as well as hiking and skiing. (see box, right), run by brothers Kruno Croatian Danube, where picturesque 6293 088) with a panoramic view Although it’s mid-springtime when I and Anton. ‘Slavonia is hipster now,’ says villages overlook the river and Serbian over the Croatian Uplands; the visit, the apres-ski mood is in full swing at Kruno sardonically, while serving a barrel border. The jewel in its crown is the contemporary tasting menu of Petrač winery (www.petrac.hr). It’s sample of his 2018 Superslav, a delicious medieval fortress town of Ilok, where Amanda Barnes Galić (www.galic-vina.hr) in here, as lunch rolls into dinner, that I skin-contact blend of native varieties. more than a dozen wineries take is a wine and travel Kutjevo; or the relaxed riverside learn my first Croatian colloquialism: I ask what the trademarks are of being advantage of the river’s microclimate. writer who has restaurant of Hotel Dunav putna. This term loosely translates as Slav. ‘Well, making your own meat for a Above: Tomislav Tomac making wine in The largest is Iločki Podrumi (see been based in (www.hoteldunavilok.com) in the ‘one for the road’, but in reality it equates start,’ he replies, as Anton comes in with an amphora, at Tomac winery in box, right), its 15th-century cellar South America Danube region. to imbibing for hours more. As a platter yet another plate of homemade Plešivica, Croatian Uplands Kelava Filip Map: Dimnjaković. Ivan Photographs: offering another engaging opportunity to since 2009 ➢

8 | Croatia 2019 • SPONSORED GUIDE SPONSORED GUIDE • Croatia 2019 | 9 SPONSORED GUIDE SPONSORED GUIDE

A coastal tour: Istria and , Slovenia and Austria, and its Venetian architecture and medieval castles, make Getting there Dalmatia it gastronomic melting pot for tourists. British Airways flies direct from When William Wordsworth wrote ‘Earth There’s a good concentration of konobas London Gatwick to Dubrovnik has not anything to show more fair’ than here – small local restaurants where both airport, which is 20km from the city the view from Westminster Bridge, it Croatian and Italian are spoken, and which centre and serves the southern seems more than likely that he hadn’t focus on rustic, seasonal dishes. They Dalmatian coast, Pelješac peninsula visited Croatia’s Adriatic coastline of also showcase the dry white wines of and islands of , Korčula, , Istria and Dalmatia. Malvazija Istriana, along with reds made and Brač. In my view, there is little ‘so touching from the former jug wine variety of Teran, in its majesty’ than this astonishingly its reputation now on the rise thanks to picturesque part of the world. From the the pioneering Istrian winemaker Moreno of Istria’s fine Malvazija, Gianfranco Istrian peninsula opposite Venice in the Coronica (www.coronica.eu/en). Kozlović and his wife Antonella are north, Croatia’s western coastline is a Once a vinous haven covering some planning to upgrade the Zeljko Buric- mirror image of Italy’s eastern shores, 50,000 hectares, Istria today is one-tenth designed family winery (www.kozlovic. running more than 1,000km past 1,246 of that size due to the 19th-century hr), an elongated cube of glass, iron and islands of varying shapes and sizes until it devastation of , the post-war steel located in the old wine region of Truffle dish, Meneghetti becomes wafer-thin in the southeast, decimation of the Austro-Hungarian Momjan outside Buje. Kozlović’s Moscato winery restaurant squeezed between the Adriatic and the empire’s vinous heritage and, more di Momiano is an added attraction, along Bosnia & Herzegovina border across the recently, ‘des res’ syndrome as Istrian with Istria’s famous white truffles and sea from Puglia. vineyards are converted for housing. activities such as bike riding and boating. Where to eat and drink in Istria and Dalmatia Jutting out into the Adriatic in Croatia’s To accommodate the growing On a grander scale, the seaside resort Miroslav Plišo of Meneghetti winery north, the Istrian peninsula’s proximity to numbers of tourists who come in search of Meneghetti (see box, right) near Alla Beccaccia, Valbandon cheese and lamb, with its wines. Bale in southern Istria, close to the old Dominated by a large central www.boskinac.com Roman settlement of Castrum Vallis, is fireplace, this friendly, unpretentious both a luxurious Relais & Châteaux hotel restaurant specialises in local dishes, Meneghetti, Bale and restaurant, as well as winery making including homemade pasta and Meneghetti prides itself on its modern sleek, modern wines under the slow-cooked, melt-in-the-mouth interpretation of traditional Istrian stewardship of the famous snipe. www.beccaccia.hr cuisine by chefs Danijela Pifar and consultant Walter Filiputti. Bojan Vuković. Breakfast on the terrace Bibich, Plastovo nr Šibenik is a delight. www.meneghetti.hr Island wines In addition to the shop that sells local Heading south, the coastal E65 is the wines, spirits, vinegars and olive oils, Porat, Dubrovnik route from which to check out Croatia’s Bibich offers inspired cooking from This casual waterfront restaurant and island winescape. Croatia’s biggest Alen Bibić’s wife Vesna, using local bar with a terrace serves delicious island, , is easily accessible from the produce such as sea bream and seafood and wines – and pizza to go if mainland and connected by bridge to cuttlefish, cheese-wrapped olives, you prefer to stay in your hotel room. verdant Lošinj, which is popular for its paprika, marinated prawns and a rich www.porat-dubrovnik.com high-end hotels. The island of is also beef stew. +385 91 323 5729 connected to the mainland by road and Saints Hills Restaurant, Pelješac boasts its own wine, whose blandness Boškinac, Novalja, Housed in a traditional Croatian stone fails to live up to the name of its grape On the picturesque island of Pag, building in the village of Oskorušno, variety, Zlahtina (meaning noble grape), Boškinac’s superb restaurant (a Saints Hills’ spacious, modern but the town of Vrbnik hosts a number of member of the Jeunes Restaurateurs restaurant offers impressive five- and wineries for the thirsty traveller. d’Europe group) offers local six-course tasting menus accompanied Popular with families, the island of delicacies, such as the famous Paški sir by its wines. www.saintshills.com signals the beginning of the Dalmatian coast, and further south lies the beautiful island of Pag, to be enjoyed for its ancient olive trees, its sheep’s cheese, and, for Beach, a hot destination near the town of dubokovic.hr) and Zlatan Otok (www. wine lovers, the gorgeous winery of Bol, with its excellent restaurants, hotels zlatanotok.hr). Ex-Marks & Spencer Boškinac (see box, right). Make sure to and camping facilities. For wine lovers, buyer Jo Ahearne MW is also resident visit outside the July and August tourist the excellent winery of Baković on Brač is here, making her own wine from the peaks when clubbers throng to Pag’s worth the detour (+385 91 509 5891). indigenous Pošip, Bogdanuša and Kuč Ibiza-esque Zrće Beach. Neighbouring Hvar is the Dalmatian grapes (Ahearne Wines, www. coast’s best-known island, appreciated for thewineandmore.com). Dalmatian destinations its historic city and UNESCO-protected To the west, Vis is undeveloped, If Pag is Croatia’s Ibiza, Brač’s famous archaeological sites. Hvar boasts such authentically Croatian and an isolated,

Photographs: Damir Fabijanić; Morana Popovčić. Map: Filip Kelava Zlatni Rat, close to Split, is its Bondi excellent wineries as Duboković (www. independent traveller’s paradise, ➢

10 | Croatia 2019 • SPONSORED GUIDE SPONSORED GUIDE • Croatia 2019 | 11 SPONSORED GUIDE SPONSORED GUIDE

between Ston, close to the mainland, and A starter dish at Orebić on Pelješac’s southwestern shores. The Istrian peninsula’s Boškinac restaurant The dark reds made from and winery – not to be confused with but in proximity to Italy, fact a cross between Tribidrag and Dobričič – reach their apogee in the two Slovenia and Austria appellations of and Dingač, whose powerful, rich, intense wines make make it gastronomic this area a paradise for red wine lovers. There’s a cluster of small family wineries melting pot for inland from Dingač, and among the best tourists’ to visit here are the Tolj family’s Saints Hills (see box, page 11), and Lee and Penny Anderson’s Korta Katarina (www.kortakatarina.com/winery). More recently, a juicier, modern style of Plavac Mali is emerging from the mainland region of Komarna, Rovinj, Istria overlooking the Pelješac peninsula.

Below: beautiful vistas from while further south, Korčula, with its The mainland coastal road takes you Anthony Rose is a the vineyards at Saints Hills stunning walled town and Venetian on to the Pelješac peninsula, close to widely published architecture, is home to some of Dubrovnik, one of the best growing areas and awarded wine Croatia’s best gastronomic destinations for the dark-skinned Plavac Mali. This is critic and author, and wineries, the latter including that of down to its warm, sunny Mediterranean and a regular poet-winemaker and master of the Pošip climate and the steep, terraced vineyards contributor to

Photographs: Morana Popovčić; Fotolia Popovčić; Morana Photographs: grape Luka Krajančić (see Facebook). overlooking the shimmering Adriatic Decanter

12 | Croatia 2019 • SPONSORED GUIDE SPONSORED GUIDE • Croatia 2019 | 13