Jo Ahearne is an academically trained winemaker and a Master of Wine. She is currently producing Croatian wine under her namesake winery on the island of Hvar in South Dalmatia. In this interview, she sheds some light on the Croatian wine industry and what it’s like to make wine in Croatia.

You can find Jo Ahearne wines at wineandmore.com

JO AHEARNE, AN EDUCATED GUEST

• Jo, thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Let’s start off by getting to know you, as a wine lover, a little better. Do you have an epiphany wine?

Wine wasn’t a huge part of my life growing up. We [my family] did have wine occasionally, but it was only as I got a bit older, also when wine became more accessible in the UK with supermarkets selling it, that it was more of a thing. I suppose my ‘come to Jesus’ moment was during a holiday in France with my parents, sister, aunt, uncle, and my cousins. My dad and uncle decided to treat themselves to a half-bottle of Pommard, but since they were surrounded by seven women who were having none of that ‘not sharing’ lark, we all ended up with a sip each!

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“It [Plavac Mali] is a grape that you can get that Nebbiolo-esque perfume and refined tannin backbone, but make it another way and it will have the burly Amarone or Barossa Valley richness.”

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• A Pommard sounds like a fine way to start the journey. How has your preference in wine evolved over time?

I think in wine, like in many areas in life, there can sometimes be an obsession with the ‘next new thing’, and we can forget what made us love something in the first place. But I do think your palate is your palate. I’m a bit of an acid freak with white wines, and I don’t think that has changed. But with red, I was more of a Bordeaux girl to start, and that has definitely changed.

I remember the first ‘serious’ bottle of Australian wine I bought when I started working at Oddbins: it was a Charles Melton’s Shiraz. It cost £8; but considering I was earning £2.50 an hour, it was a huge purchase for me. The ripeness of the fruit and the seductive tannins were a revelation for me. The weird thing was that years later, Charlie gave me my first vintage job, which started me on the path to becoming a winemaker. 10 years in Australia made my palate more New Worldy.

Coming back to Europe, I worked a lot in Italy and enjoyed bolder southern reds but really fell in love with Piedmont and Nebbiolo; I started to ignore those lovely bold Australian flavors. This was what made me want to make Plavac Mali. It is a grape that you can get that Nebbiolo-esque perfume and refined tannin backbone, but make it another way and it will have the burly Amarone or Barossa Valley richness. So I’ve started to embrace the richness once more.

• What makes Hvar so special?

Ah! I could go on forever. When I decided that I’d make my own wine in Croatia, I looked at what was considered the ‘grand cru’ sites, and the south side of Hvar was one of them. In a country that is ridiculously beautiful, Hvar is even more beautiful. When I travel to another region, I think about how lovely it is, and then I come back ‘home’ and realize that Hvar is on another level.

A view of Hvar, Croatia. © August Dominus, CC BY-SA 4.0

• We agree. Hvar is a stunning-looking place with great food, great wine, and fantastic people. What are the challenges of being a foreigner making wine in Croatia?

I think they are the same challenges that you would have anywhere else. As a Londoner, I am always going to be an outsider making wine in Croatia. The Croatian language is hard, but so many people speak great English here. The main challenge is probably just finding out who sells what, like the capsules, bottles, and corks. I still can’t find someone who is able to print the cartons I want for my wine. I know it sounds daft, but I can’t find a likable bottle that is the same for the standard, magnum, and jeroboam formats. Another challenge is finding growers who understand yield and quality. I tend to let the vineyards do the quality control for me; good sites can control the excess vegetation and excess yield naturally.

• Tell us about the Dalmatian grape varieties, especially the ones you work with.

I started with Plavac Mali, which is related to Zinfandel (known in Croatia as Crljenak Kaštelanski and Tribidrag) and has that same part-raisin flavor profile. This comes not from a desire for extended ‘hang time’ but because it ripens unevenly. So a proportion of the fruit has to be raisined for the rest of the berries to have a chance at ripening. Vineyard selection is paramount because there are some places, even on the south side of Hvar, where the tannins never get ripe and the acidity is too low and pH too high. However, if you get it right, Plavac Mali can produce such fine tannins that imbue even the biggest wine with elegance.

Then I found the Darnekuša for my rosé, which is the opposite of Plavac Mali. It never ripens to more than about 11.5% potential alcohol and has very little color. But it has concentration, structure, and fantastic acidity.

I found some great Pošip this vintage. I think it’s akin to Pinot Bianco with a twist of Viognier. And then I work with Bogdanuša and Kuć as well, which can be quite neutral.

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“Wine production isn’t cheap here, so the prices of Croatian wine come as a surprise to a lot of people. When I tell my friends in Spain how much Plavac Mali and Darnekuša cost, they get a heart attack.”

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A vineyard on the island of Hvar.

• We’re big fans of both your Plavac Mali and Darnekuša. Please share with us more about your wines.

I choose the Plavac Mali based on vineyards and scientific analyses. The fruit has to have concentration and freshness to start. Then if the tannins are ripe and the pH is low enough, I will buy the fruit. I have a cutoff point of pH 3.7 in the vineyard, and many of the parcels I buy have much lower pH than that. I’ve seen fruit that has another month till it’s ripe and already at pH 3.8. Making wine from grapes with a pH over four is not fun.

For Pošip, I pick at three different sugar levels to get the flavors of lime and lemon, then peach and melon, and finally tropical guava and pineapple.

For Bogdanuša and Kuć, I ferment them on skins to get more flavors from these neutral varieties and also some refreshing phenolics. It’s mostly about texture for me; so for the whites, I do a lot of bâttonage. I spend hours removing stalks and seeds from the red wines to get rid of green tannins. Everything is fermented in open-tops. Pushing the cap down is done by hand for gentle extraction and to make sure the wine is getting enough oxygen.

Jo Ahearne Rosina, a rosé made from Croatia’s indigenous variety called Darnekuša.

• Are there any Croatian wines that have really caught your eye?

The wine that inspired me to make my own Plavac Mali was Miloš Stagnum, with its perfume and refined tannic tension. The Tomić Caplar is a perfect combination of international and indigenous varieties. I adore La Sin, the Lasina from Bibich, which is known as the ‘Dalmatian Pinot Noir’ because of its amazing silky texture. Vina Cattunar from Istria is doing some interesting things with soil types; its Malvazija, which I tasted at the Vinart Grand Tasting in Zagreb, had this amazing white pepper spice and fabulous texture. There are some great Sauvignon Blancs coming out of Slavonia. But to be honest, I need to spend a few months traveling around and visiting more wineries.

• What are the cultural obstacles you face in Dalmatia?

No more than in any other places where you are an outsider. The Dalmatians are famous for being quite stubborn, but so can I!

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“The notion that Eastern Europe equals cheap wine is a hard one to work against.”

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• Is Croatian wine ready for the international stage? What are the obstacles that the Croatian wine industry might face moving forward?

There is a thirst – excuse the pun – for exploring different regions and grape varieties, and that’s more widespread than just among us wine geeks. Five years ago, people were less adventurous. This plays nicely into the hands of the Croatian wine industry with its wealth of indigenous varieties.

Wine production isn’t cheap here, so the prices of Croatian wine come as a surprise to a lot of people. When I tell my friends in Spain how much Plavac Mali and Darnekuša cost, they get a heart attack. The notion that Eastern Europe equals cheap wine is a hard one to work against. There are no large vineyard holdings to make ‘entry point’ wine; with the demise of the co-operative system, there isn’t the focus on that end of the market as you’d find in France, Spain, and Italy.

For me, one of the biggest obstacles is that the majority of tourists who visit Croatia sample wine in konobas. The quality of the wine in those places is varied, to say the least. It is also totally unregulated. When I first visited Croatia in 2003, I stopped drinking wine after the second day.

I now know that the wine I was drinking in the local restaurants was made from the owner’s or family’s grapes and in the garage. Economically, I understand why they would encourage you to drink their ‘homemade’ wine. I thought the use of that word was a quaint translation, but it’s quite literal. If you are selling this wine for 80 Kuna (~USD 11.50) a liter with no costs accumulated from bottling, label, cork, or carton, that is the equivalent to an ex-cellar price for some Premier Cru Chablis or even Brunello.

Often, this wine is kept in a hot place, and it gets oxidized, volatile, mousey, and sometimes all three at once! Sometimes it’s nice, but other times, the tourists think this is what Croatian wine is all about. And they will go back home and never ask their local wine shops for Croatian wine because, based on their experiences, Croatian wine is okay at best.

We need to work on getting the tourists to take home the message that Croatian wine is great, and also spend time in export markets pouring wines and talking to potential customers. The lack of a ‘Wines of Croatia’ association holds the country back. For example, each year at Prowein, there is a large stand full of Macedonian wine. The wineries do not pay the huge cost of that stand on their own, as they have government support. There is a stand for Slovenia, Greece, Moldova, Bulgaria, but Croatia is absent and therefore absent from the minds of the international buyers who are searching for new things.

Thank you so much for your insights, Jo. We look forward to enjoying more Ahearne Vino!

The finest selection of

Croatian wines

available at:

Shipping is available EU-wide and to the UK.

Check out Croatian Wines Available in the USA.

************

    Do you want to try Croatian wines?    

If you’re looking to savor the exquisite flavor of Croatian wines, look no further than wineandmore.com. With an abundance of options from different winemakers, it’s easy to find exactly what your palate desires. Not sure which bottle is best for you? Try out one of their curated wine cases and discover the perfect vintage for any occasion!

************

Want to learn more about wine?

Are you ready to discover the wonderful world of wines? Come join us at wineandmore.com and let’s explore the incredible selection of delicious wines together! We can’t wait to share our passion for wine with you!

You May Also Enjoy

• 10 Plavac Mali Wines To Try (Besides Dingač And Postup)
• Nenad Trifunović: Connecting Taste with Heart
• Understanding Croatian Wine with Cliff Rames

Varietal wines made from the native grapes of Hvar island, Croatia:

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are unsolicited and have not been paid for in any way by governmental bodies, enterprises, or individuals. We do not sell editorial content as that would destroy the legitimacy of our reviews and the trust between Exotic Wine Travel and its readers. On occasion, we extend the option of purchasing the wines we review or/and the products we spotlight. Some of these product links are set up through affiliate programs, which means Exotic Wine Travel gets referral credits if you choose to purchase these items via the links we provide.

The post Trendsetter: Jo Ahearne MW, Winemaker appeared first on Wine Travel.

Six months after our first trip through Croatia, we were back in the country. This time, we attended the Zagreb VINOcom—the largest Croatian wine show held annually at the end of November, at the Esplanade Hotel in downtown Zagreb. Over 200 Croatian wine producers were present, along with many culinary stalls featuring cured meats, smoked fish, and other local food specialties. The conference was a great opportunity to taste the Croatian wines that we missed on our first foray into the country.

There are around 1,600 registered commercial producers in Croatia—mostly made up of small family wineries spread throughout the country. As such, it can be difficult to procure certain wines. Outside the capital city Zagreb, the few wine shops scattered throughout the country offer predominantly regional wines. If you are at a wine shop in southern Dalmatia, don’t expect to find Istrian wine. Domestic consumption is high; Croatians drink over 44 liters of wine per person per year. At this rate, it can be difficult for the local producers to keep up with the locals as well as the 10 million annual tourists they receive. Great Croatian wines get scooped up quickly.

Thankfully, the wines that we really wanted to try were all present at the event. Here are some highlights of Zagreb VINOcom.

Quest for Babić Solved

Plavac Mali is the star among the red varieties of the Dalmatian coast, but Babić has the potential to make excellent wine. There is not a large amount of Babić available, and only a handful of producers are making wine from it. Good examples of Babić are produced by Vinoplod, Piližota, Birin, Zlatan Otok, and Gracin.

The most esteemed producer of Babić is Dr Leo Gracin. Our previous attempt at tasting Dr Leo’s wines was futile. In May, while driving down the Dalmatian coast, we made a special trip to the premier Babić vineyard known as Bucavac (Booh-sah-vahts). You can take a look at the Bucavac vineyard in the short video below; be warned that Matt completely butchers the name of the vineyard…

We stopped by Gracin Winery in Šibenik after seeing the Bucavac vineyard. After a two-hour wait at the door of the winery, no one answered. Counting it as a loss, we moved on and accepted defeat. It really bothered us that we didn’t get a chance to taste the wine.

At the Zagreb VINOcom, we were thrilled to see the Gracin Babić available for tasting. After sampling the wine, we walked away thoroughly impressed.

• Gracin Babić 2013

Find Gracin wines at wineandmore.com 

This wine has good integration of oak and fruit. The flavors are dominated by notes of rubber, sweet cherry, forest berry, and dried plum. The palate has a nice texture and earthy undertone. Fans of rustic Central Italian wines will love this. We think that the Gracin Babić can fool people into believing that it’s a Chianti Classico Riserva. The wine shares similar wild flavors that Plavac Mali gives, but it has much softer tannins than Plavac Mali. This is an excellent wine and worth the hype.

Grk, Grk, Grk!

Grk is a mysterious, rare grape originating from a small village on the island of Korčula. There are only a handful of producers making wine from Grk. The wines sell out quickly; producers can run out of stock by the beginning of August each year.

As a varietal wine, Grk tastes like Loire’s Muscadet but with a fuller body and tropical fruit flavors that Chardonnay can give. All of this is wrapped in a mineral-rich mouthfeel. It is a completely unique white wine.

The variety recently received some international hype last summer: Bono, the lead singer of the band U2, posted an Instagram photo of himself enjoying Croatian white wine; allegedly, he was enjoying a glass of Grk.

We are fans of the rich, fuller bodied, and mineral-driven Grk from Bire Winery. Frano Bire is the owner and his name is synonymous with Grk. Bire was at the show so we were able to re-taste his Grk, which—as always—didn’t disappoint. We also got a chance to try Grk from a different producer that impressed us.

• Zure Grk Bartul 2015 

An elegant and complex wine with notes of white flower, sand, and rock at first. There are layers of pineapple, peach and fruity freshness underneath the earthiness, but you really have to search for it. This is more of a thinking white wine. There is a lot going on here. 

Zure Grk Bartul | €25.99 |  Shop Here

Croatian Cult Wine

If there is a grape that defines Croatian reds, it is Plavac Mali. The definitive location for Plavac Mali is the area of Dingač. If there is a legendary wine from Dingač, it is Bura.

Croatians are very proud of Plavac Mali, which is the offspring of two local grapes, Crljenak Kaštalenski (also called Tribidrag and commonly known as Zinfandel) and Dobričić. This variety makes wines that are dense, tannic, and high in alcohol. We have tasted some great wines made from Plavac Mali, as well as some appalling ones. The most known Plavac Mali appellation is Dingač, which boasts some of the most impressive vineyard sites that we’ve seen.

In the spring of 2016, we made our way through South Dalmatia and met with many different Plavac Mali producers. We got a chance to taste the wines of many iconic Plavac Mali producers, but Bura eluded us. Bura produces just over 2,000 bottles of Dingač per year, and the wines are extremely difficult to get. The wines are made with minimal intervention and according to what the soil and climate offer in the year. In some years, Bura can be an off-dry wine and in others completely dry—as we were informed by renowned Croatian wine critic, Saša Špiranec.

• Bura Dingač 2014 

Find Bura-Mrgudić wines at wineandmore.com

Would this wine live up to the hype? It did and more so. This may be the finest Croatian wine we’ve tasted. The Bura Dingač is a fantastic interpretation of Plavac Mali with an inviting nose of floral perfume, bubblegum, and cherry. The palate is evolved and rich with predominantly cherry flavor. There is a spike of flavor intensity and acidity before the end-palate. The wine is tannic but countered by intense flavor and nice acidity. This is a masterpiece. Now if only it was easier to get your hands on it.

Jo Ahearne

We heard so many stories about a Master of Wine producing her own wine on the island of Hvar in Dalmatia. The island of Hvar is beautiful and has a long history of winemaking. Hvar is an easy place for someone to fall in love with, especially a Master of Wine. There are already a number of solid producers on Hvar including Zlatan Otok, Duboković and Tomić.

We did not get a chance to try Jo Ahearne‘s wines during our previous stop in Hvar and were glad that both Jo and her wines were present at the show. We got a first-hand account of how she fell in love with Hvar and her winemaking journey. We also tasted her rosé made from the grape Darnekuša, which is indigenous to Hvar. She also makes a beautiful Plavac Mali that has not been released yet. Both of these wines show a lot of promise.

• Ahearne Rosina Rosé 2015

Find Ahearne wines at wineandmore.com

This is an interesting rosé made from the local variety Darnekuša. It has an intense cherry flavor as opposed to strawberry or strawberry cream that you normally find in most fresh rosé wines. A bolder and more serious rosé; this is meant to be more than just a summer quaffer.  It is textured in the mouth and balanced without any residual sugar.

• Ahearne Plavac Mali 2014

Find Ahearne wines at Wine&more.

An impressive Plavac Mali with smooth flavors. The wine manages to keep the wild characteristics of Plavac Mali while appealing to international palates. It is a very perfumed wine, with cherry and earth flavors and a touch of barnyard. This is an elegant Plavac Mali. The tannins are smooth, which makes it drinkable even if it is still young. 

The Grand Cro Room

The Grand Cro is an association of premium wine estates in Croatia. The current members are Bibich, Meneghetti, Dubokovic, Saints Hills, Boškinac, and Baković. All of these wine estates are in the coastal region, either Dalmatia or Istria. During our last trip in May, we got a chance to visit and/or taste wines from all of these producers except Baković.

At Zagreb VINOcom, there was a special room dedicated to just these estates. On the second day of the show, all six wineries opened large format bottles of their archive wines. The room was crowded and the thirsty lines were long but we managed to get a taste from each estate. All of the wines were excellent but two wines stood out.

Boškinac owner and winemaker Boris Šuljić pouring a double-magnum bottle of his Red Cuvée.

• Boškinac 2007 

Find Boškinac wines at wineandmore.com

The first time we heard about Boškinac winery was on an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. In the episode, a top Croatian chef claimed that the Boškinac Red Cuvée is considered to be Croatia’s top red wine. On our previous journey, we purchased and tasted a 2012 vintage. While that vintage made for a very good drinking experience, the 2007 is something special.

This is a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged two years in French and American oak. Amazing flavors of pencil lead, dried plum, dried cherry, and earth. The wine is rich and medium bodied with a long end palate and tangy acidity.

• Baković Plavac Murvica 2006 

We were very happy with the Baković 2015 Pošip but it was his top red that impressed us the most.

Baković is the newest member to the Grand Cro. This wine is made of Plavac Mali with a little Syrah, and a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon added to it. A great wine with flavors of sour cherry, flower, herb, earth, and spice. The wine still has a lot of life ahead of it as the fruit, acidity, and fine-grained tannins are all still there and accounted for. This is drinking very well but will get even better with age.

Slovenian Winery: Verus

In the corner of one room was a humble display of wines from Slovenia, all sporting screw-cap enclosures. We were drawn in by the kind-looking man pouring the wines. All of the wines showed great purity of fruit and real tension on the palate.

Verus winery is fairly new but has already drawn high praise from famous wine writers like Oz Clarke, Jancis Robinson and Steven Spurrier, and also Decanter Magazine. We tasted their Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. All the wines were well made and excellent, but one stood out above the rest.

• Verus Šipon 2016 

Made from 100% Furmint which is known as Šipon in Slovenia. This wine is full of oil, gas, smoke, with tart Asian pear flavors. It is extremely rich in the mouth. We love this full-bodied white wine.

The finest selection of

wines available at:

Shipping is available EU-wide and to the UK.

Check out Wines Available in the USA.

************

    Do you want to try Croatian wines?    

If you’re looking to savor the exquisite flavor of Croatian wines, look no further than wineandmore.com. With an abundance of options from different winemakers, it’s easy to find exactly what your palate desires. Not sure which bottle is best for you? Try out one of their curated wine cases and discover the perfect vintage for any occasion!

************

Want to learn more about wine?

Are you ready to discover the wonderful world of wines? Come join us at wineandmore.com and let’s explore the incredible selection of delicious wines together! We can’t wait to share our passion for wine with you!

Credit: Featured image at the top of the article is taken from the Zagreb VINOcom Facebook page.

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are unsolicited and have not been paid for in any way by governmental bodies, enterprises, or individuals. We do not sell editorial content as that would destroy the legitimacy of our reviews and the trust between Exotic Wine Travel and its readers. On occasion, we extend the option of purchasing the wines we review or/and the products we spotlight. Some of these product links are set up through affiliate programs, which means Exotic Wine Travel gets referral credits if you choose to purchase these items via the links we provide.

The post Zagreb VINOcom: Gems from Croatia’s Largest Wine Show appeared first on Wine Travel.