Dalmatia
Hot Mediterranean
The sun-baked Adriatic coast and islands, home of Plavac Mali and the ancestral Zinfandel, on steep limestone slopes above the sea.
Overview
About Dalmatia
Dalmatia runs down the Adriatic coast from Zadar to Dubrovnik, with its islands. Its wines are dominated by Plavac Mali, from the steep coastal slopes of the Pelješac peninsula, especially Dingač, in 1961 the first Croatian wine to be given a protected geographical origin, and Postup, as well as from the islands of Hvar and Brač.
It is also where Tribidrag, or Crljenak Kaštelanski, was found, the grape identified as the original of Zinfandel and Primitivo, and where the rare Dobričić survives on the island of Šolta.
Dalmatia is marked on the map.
Croatia
Shaded: Zadarska, Šibensko-Kninska, Splitsko-Dalmatinska, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Hot Mediterranean
Hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, with a strong sun and sea breezes that keep the vines healthy. The slopes facing the sea receive reflected light.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Thin, stony limestone soils and red terra rossa, with steep terraces held by dry-stone walls.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Miloš
Pelješac; a family estate making Plavac Mali in an organic, traditional style.
Grgić Vina
Trstenik on Pelješac; founded by Mike Grgich, who made Napa's Chateau Montelena Chardonnay of 1973.
Korta Katarina
Orebić, Pelješac; a modern estate for Plavac Mali and Pošip.
Saints Hills
Pelješac; a modern estate for Dingač and Postup Plavac Mali.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.
Dobričić
The island of Šolta is its home; small plantings remain.
Gouais Blanc
Believed ancestral homeland of the variety, grown today only in tiny quantities.
Plavac Mali
Steep coastal vineyards give dense, alcoholic, tannic reds.
Zinfandel
The grape's ancestral homeland, where it survives today as the rare variety Crljenak Kaštelanski.