Wine

Surprisingly, good wine is not easy to come by here.  My parents being the biggest wine connoisseurs I personally know were typically never satisfied with Croatia’s offering of reds and whites.  But we have to remember that we San Franciscans are lucky enough to come from one of the richest wine regions in the world, so naturally our taste for good wine is above par.  I find that most of the wines here taste vinegary, or too homemade (domaci) tasting, which is ok when you’re having a glass of it diluted with water, but no way you can down half a bottle plus.

Oh how I miss the delicious varieties of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon of the central coast and Napa, so I have been on a mini mission to find some good red wine here.  Since I am on a non existent income I can’t buy the bottles that I have been longing to try here that are over 100 kunas (20 bucks), so I stick to what I can afford, around 3-5 dollars.  Oh so sad, but can’t forget on a mission here.  After many a nights of pouring whole bottles of wine down the drain for their lack of smoothness and flavor, I finally stumbled upon a couple decent bottles of red. 

One is known as “Plavac Hvar” (translation Blue Hvar).  Hvar is an island off the central Dalmatian Coast and a very popular tourist destination for its beautiful beaches and old Mediterranean villages.  The island is known for its red wine made from a small blue grape.  It is a pretty good bottle of red for the $6 price tag.  The other is “Laguna Merlot” from Istria, a region on the North Dalmatian Coast.  It is not as complex and rich as other the merlots I am used to , but for $5 it isn’t bad.

Most recently, as in this week, I discovered a Pinot Noir from the Povardarie region of Macedonia at a great price, 17 Kunas/3 Dollars!!!  This was just too good to be true.  Knowing I was more than likely wasting my $3, I just had to try it, and good thing I did.  It’s a flavorful, light, smooth wine that goes perfectly with just about any meal.  Apparently Macedonian wine is good and cheap.  My kind of wine.  Thank you Macedonia!