“Drinking wine is like drinking history.”
– Jeff Porter, Sip Trip
Croatia has been growing wine grapes and making wine for at least 24 centuries, since the Greeks brought wine to the Dalmatian Islands. On the Adriatic island of Hvar, there is a cultural landscape designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site – Stari Grad Plain. It was first colonized by Ionian Greeks from Paros in the 4 th century BC. This fertile plain has remained intact as an organized geometric agricultural grid, separated by ancient stone walls, within which was and is still farmed as grapes and olives.
Croatia is home to 130 different and unique varieties of wine grapes, 40 of which are now commercially available. Many of those cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
There are four distinct wine regions in Croatia:
- Istria & Kvarner
- Dalmatia
- Croatian Uplands
- Slavonia & Danube
Croatian Wine Trails will begin with Istria and Dalmatia – regions easily reached and commonly explored by tourists and travelers.
