Teran

Teran is the Croatian name of a dark grape of the Istrian and Karst hills, which is called Refošk in Slovenia and Terrano in Italy's Carso. Microsatellite studies found that Slovenian Refošk of the Karst and most Istrian Teran share one genotype, so the two can be treated as synonyms. How they relate to Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, the Friulian grape, is less clear: some samples matched it and others looked like clonal variants. Where the grape began is not settled, and the names are best not treated as interchangeable on a label.

It has a reputation for high acidity and, historically, rustic tannins and green acidity. Lower yields, later picking and ageing in neutral oak have produced deeply coloured, medium- to full-bodied wines with dark berry, red fruit and wild herb flavours and fresher, more balanced structure. It is planted high on the slopes, above the fog, on the limestone, clay and iron-rich terra rossa that gives the peninsula its red soil.