I would like to start my blog with the recent short visit to the town Bol, on the Island of Brač, situated on the South coast of Croatia. Besides being a gastro-explorer, I am a big history and culture nerd. Visiting a winery with a history of a great local impact was just what my gut and mind needed.
Stina (Cro. stone) Winery has its origins back in 1901 as an association of the local winemakers who after a huge immigration wave due to Plasmopara‘s disasterous effect on the vines and grapes, saw benefit in organizing together and sharing the final produce of their labor – wine.
The Winemakers’ Association dates back to 1901 but it was only in 1903 that the building was finalized and opened its doors. It has been agreed back then that the floor above the winery can only be occupied by primary school and its students, as it is to this day.
The winery is equiped with barrique barrels and concrete tanks for wine storing. The poduction is as close to the traditional winemaking procedure as possible, taking into consideration the hygienic standards of the European Union which require modern machines in certain steps of production.
Wines are made from white and red grapes which are ready for harvest at different times. White grapes, being more delicate, grow in the inland of the island where they are protected from the harsh wind and salt, and extreme temperature differences. Red grapes grow on the steep southern slopes of the island, around Murvica. Due to the terrain these grow on, all the harvesting is done by hand, often by climing on hands and knees.
Stina Winery offers among production and sale of high quality wines a guided wine tasting tour. Tasting menu varies depending on your preferences – red, white wines or combination of both. I went with two kinds of Pošip (white wine), and two kinds of Plavac Mali (red wine). The menu is accompanied with locally produced proscuitto, cheese, olives, and olive oil.
Pošip grapes are harvested in the ealy morning, carefully selected, to avoid premature fermentation and evaporation. The prevailing aroma in Pošip Majstor is crispness of an apple accompanied by a whiff of saltiness of the sea. Forest fruit and ripe cherries dominate the flavor of Plavac Mali Majstor with resolved tannins.
Another specialty is the Stina Prošek, a traditional Dalmatian dessert wine. It is produced in the traditional manner from sun-dried grapes, harvested late in the season when grapes are overripe giving the characteristic sweetness and fruitiness of Prošek. It is made from both Plavac mali (red grapes) and Pošip (white grapes). Like with the other wines, the labor in the vineyard is done by hand, and due to the fact that red and white grapes do not ripe in the same period, these are kept separately for 6 months which are only then mixed together and kept in the barrels for another 2 years. Stina Prošek is creamy, deep ruby red, sweet, with prevailing aroma of dried plums.
