A Day in Dingac

Before selecting Croatia as a honeymoon destination, we heard one thing - you must try the wine in Dingac!

[divider class="" ]How?

Planning a wine tour was relatively easy since there weren’t many to choose from in both Split and Dubrovnik. Most seemed to offer day trips to experience local food and wine in the city. We selected the Classic Tour with Wine Tastings while in Dubrovnik. We also picked the last day of our trip as it would take all day and we could easily go from the tour to the plane!

The Introduction

With our very small mini bus, Mario began the lovely day by making a simple introduction. Unlike other tours, Mario is very experienced! He teaches wine classes at the Wine and Spirit Trust Education and even owned a restaurant in London! Although Croatian, he spends most of time in London but loves Croatian wine!

In Dalmatia, there are two wine regions - dingac and post up. All are from the same grape called the plavic mali. Here we were thinking it was a winery! The plavic mali grape descends from the famous ‘zinfandel’ type and used throughout the world. In the coastal area where we are, Croatia mostly produces red while near Zagreb is white. There are no blends in Croatia which is great news for me!

Fun wine fact: There are seven wine types made of 100% of the same grape - pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, shiraz, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and riesling.

Oyster me crazy

After arriving in the Peljesac Peninsula, our first stop was a very small village in Mali Ston to sample oysters! We went on a family boat to hand pick the oysters from the sea. This family’s oysters grow in the sea in little baskets rather than on the sea floor. It takes almost two years for the oyster to grow!

We each received three oysters, fresh from the bay, with a lovely rose wine. The oysters were not as slimy as I remember other ones, perhaps since they were plucked fresh from the sea! Regardless, the texture is still very strange even fresh and with lemon. Enjoy mine and Mary Frances' videos of struggling to eat them! However, Mario does know what he is talking about as the oysters paired fantastically with the oysters. It really did cut down the acidity of wine.

Vina Vukas Winery

Shortly after our oyster adventure, we stopped at the nearby Vina Vukas winery. Vukas is a classic family owned winery producing 15,000 bottles a year from vines planted by their grandfathers! Had we driven, I doubt we would have noticed it as it a small sign in the midst of other local wine shops!

Beginning our wine sampling, we first tried a sparkling rose which was better than expected. Next, we had a normal everyday red called Mato. It paired very well with the mature cheese. To end our sample, we had their premium blend, Plerej Plavac Mali. The last one was Mary Frances and I’s favorite as it was very earthy and fruity.

From this shop, we purchased a two bottles and the owner was really nice and friendly! He gave us the best packaging where he wrapped the bottle in a collapsible cardboard to protect the wine. It was genius!

Madirazza

Our second winery, Madirazza, was a much bigger operation at nearly 200,000 bottles a year. The store was also very large and displayed loads of bottles. Here, we also got to sample Mario’s homemade spicy sausage. When he goes to his hometown in the north, he makes the sausage by hand using an old family recipe.

We were able to sample four wines here - one white and three reds. We first tried a Chardonnay from the post-up region, Point Pays d’Oc 2015, which wasn’t my favorite. It is very sharp and I preferred the reds. Next, we sampled a Herakles GRK 2013, an easier wine that initially opened up. My favorite ones where the Plavac Mali 2013 and Dingac 2012, which paired wonderfully with the homemade sausage.

Mario informed us that the Postup is more feminine in the wine world as it is medium bodied and not as strong. Later, Mario told us the Dingac is very full bodied, which is really funny since Mary Frances had been thinking that she preferred a medium bodied whereas she is full bodied person. In reality, I preferred the Postup to drink on its own as it isn’t as heavy, but the Dingac worked great with the sausage.

Bura - the Final Winery

For the final stop, we arrived on the outskirts of the famed dingac region. Our visit was to Bura, a winery in its 13th generation, producing around 30,000 bottles a year. We were able to chat with the owner on their break from picking grapes and sources have confirmed that 2018 will be a great year for wines! Finally, we began to taste wine and olive oil - unsurprisingly made by Mario himself!

Our first wine was a general plavic mali, Plavac Mali 2017. Nothing special, but don’t let that fool you as the flavors were fantastic! Next, we had their more premium plavic mali, Galeria 2016. Without a doubt, we could tell it was very full bodied, and very tasty! One of the unique things about the bottle is the label are drawn by one of the family members! For our third wine, we had a specialty wine made specifically by one of the rich bankers in NYC, Diamond Hill Zinfandel 2014. The wine is very nutty, but pair fantastically with the sheep cheese. Mario explained the nutty flavor comes from the new French barrel versus most wines here being used in an used barrel.

For the final selections, we tried a special sweet wine. In this family, this sweet wine is only produce during births and often given as a special gift and celebrated and drunk at special occasions (such as weddings). Despite our initial hesitation, the sweet wine, Ruza, wasn’t too bad! Mary Frances enjoyed it so much that we bought a bottle! For my favorite part, Mario brought out his own olive oil. He taught a wine class at a local hotel in exchange for their local olive produce in 2017. I enjoyed it so much I bought a bottle!

Dingac Tour

From the Buka winery, it was another 5 minutes until we were in the famous Dingac region. Famed for the intense mountain slopes, it certainly did not disappointed. Often during harvest season, workers will have to tie themselves onto trucks, trees, or anything, in order to pick the grapes! If the worker falls, they slip right into the ocean! The scenery is absolutely beautiful and completely untouched. Had we more time, I definitely would have liked to drive into these small coastal villages in this region as we would be the only tourists!

While on tour, we stopped a local restaurant, Oyster Buffet, where it has fantastic, fresh seafood! We ordered shrimp and mussels and they were so good! While we were waiting, we literally saw them go to the dock, pull a bag full of mussels, and bring it to the kitchen. The taste was amazing!

Our final stop on our dingac tour was the sleepy town of Ston. In the heydays, this salty town was the principal reason why Dubrovnik was a kingdom. Outside of the Chinese Great Wall, Ston has the longest complete wall in the world. Granted, it isn’t in great shape, but it does go up a mountain. When the cruise ships are in, I can easily see how this sleepy village transforms into a major tourist spot.

Goodbye….

After we said our goodbyes to Mario, we went to explore Old Town. Unfortunately, the skies opened up so we ‘had to go’ retreat into our favorite wine bar… D'Vino!! We were ‘so sad.’ Again, the bar staff were lovely and they were so happy that we enjoyed our wine tour today. We tried another two wines, including one of my favorite of the whole trip - a 2008 Berba Plavac Mali.

For our final meal, we went to the one of the Michelin stars. Set on a rooftop, Restaurant Dubrovnik overlooks these picturesque buildings and opens to the skies. Thankfully, it wasn’t a rainy evening! We ordered an easy broccoli soup and beef filled pastries as appetizer. Since we have done nothing but eat and drink today, we split a lovely duck breast. Ordinarily, we do not like duck but we enjoyed it! For dessert, Mary Frances thought it would be good to split an interesting cheese plate. The dessert had an interesting take on cheese, which I did not realize there could be an interesting take… We stopped eating halfway through the cheese plate…

[divider class="" ]The UnChartered 13 Summary:

Our wine tour day was fantastic! Our day in Dingac was simply amazing and well worth any visit - especially to experience the local Croatian culture and escape the city! For all the wine tastings, visit our profile at Vivino!

Top Tips:

• Wine Tour is fantastic - the price is well worth it and I cannot wait to go again!
• D’Vino is by far our favorite wine bar - dare I say - in the world?!
• Go to Dingac wine region because it is truly a unique wonder.

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