Zin-fully Subtle: Croatia’s Plavac Wine
November 18, 2009 by Katie
Filed under Destinations, Travel + Wine, Video, Wine & Vineyards
Did you know your California Zinfandel wine is a descendant of Croatia’s Plavac Mali wine (pronounced ‘plahvaht mahlee’)?
Someday, tourists won’t only be flocking to Croatia for its speedo-clad Mediterranean beaches, but because they’ll want a taste of the Dalmatian Coast’s good life- the Plavac wine. However, until Croatian wineries get their international marketing act together, you can still be one of the special few in the know about this curious wine.
About Plavac Wine:
When you taste Plavac, don’t expect to be zipped and peppered as you typically are with the average full-bodied Zinfandel. This wine is much more medium-bodied. The dry Plavac is fruity smelling with slight hints of blueberry as well as bell peppers. It has that je ne sais quoi Mediterranean flair most wines from coastal Greece and Turkey possess. Be prepared for olive press and fig notes to ever so subtly greet your taste buds and casually welcome you to Croatia, the land of Plavac wine.
Check out Travel Plus Wine’s trip and Plavac video review from Dubrovnik, Croatia:
Thank you for the nice post about Plavac Mali wine from Dalmatia, Croatia. Indeed this red wine is delicious and traditional to the area; it often shows distinct “terroir” – notes of black olive, fig and limestone minerality, in addition to the core ripe black fuits (blackberry, blueberry) and spice character.
You compared Plavac to Zinfandel: interestingly enough, Plavac Mali is actually the offspring of the original Zinfandel (traced back to Croaria via DNA profiling) – a grape called Crljenak Kastelanski, which has historic roots in the southern coastal areas of Croatia. The first single-varietal Crljenak is about to arrive for the first time ever on the US market – so watch for it!
There are many other great wines from Croatia too, from both the coastal region (bordering the Adriatic Sea) and the continental region (bordering Hungary and Slovenia). Other exellent varieties to look for include: Malvazija, Grasevina, Posip, Debit, Vugava & Marastina (whites), as well as Babic and teran (reds).
As they say in Croatia: “Zhivili!” (cheers).
Cliff Rames
http://www.Wines of Croatia.com
http://www.Facebook.com/winesofcroatia
http://www.Twitter.com/winesofcroatia
Nice review…and the Croatian wineries are slowly getting their international marketing act together!
There are a few importers of Croatian wines in the USA:
http://www.oenocentric.com – based in NY
http://www.bluedanubewine.com – based in CA
http://www.emptyglasswine.com – based in AZ
Croatia is home to a plethora of native varietals besides Plavac Mali, including Babich, Lasin, Plavina, Debit, Posip, Zlahtina, to name a few, and Croatians in the north are quite good at making wines from regional natives, such as Grasevina (aka Welschriesling).
Zivjeli!
We here at Pourtal Wine Bar in Santa Monica, California have put together a Wine tasting tour featuring some classic Zinfandels and their Couzins – Primitivo, and Plavac Mali for the Jan 15 – Feb 15. What do these grapes have in common? Well, it depends on whom you ask. Some say California Zinfandel came from the Croatian grape, Plavac Mali, stopping by Italy, where they call it Primitivo. Some say all three grapes are different and completely unrelated. We, at Pourtal, think the grapes certainly look similar and some wines taste similar, but we’ll let you be the judge. Come to Pourtal from January 15 – February 15 to taste all three grapes from Ridge “Lytton Springs”, Turley Zinfandel, Four Vines “Maverick”, Dinjac “Plavac Mali”, Vigneti Reale “Primitivo”, Dashe “Tood Brothers Ranch” Zinfandel….and more!