Croatia's secret sparkle

Despatches from Plešivica, and a visit to Tomislav and Martina Tomac

I’m on the road again, this time in northerly Croatia. Sometimes you can learn a lot from visiting the lesser known corners of a wine country. Visiting the Uplands gave me some valuable context for the surrounding area, and ticked off a bucket list item.

Croatia’s coastline always hogs the limelight, as much with wine as it does with tourism. Istria is the favourite child, famed for its sophisticated Italian influence - it’s right next to Trieste - and its oceans of ‘fresh’ Malvazija. Dalmatia is the Adriatic paradise, drawing in the crowds for sun, sea and island idylls. The reds tend towards rustic and hearty, but they’re an easy sell to the millions of visitors who flock to Split, Dubrovnik, Hvar or Korčula.

But take a look at the map for a second. Those two coastal regions form a tiny part of the country. Inland Slavonia and the Uplands are not only far more sizeable, they also produce a lot more wine - about 60% of the country’s total between them. Slavonia enjoys fame for its oak production and focus on Graševina, known elsewhere as Welschriesling, Riesling Italico, Laski Rizling or Olaz Rizling. But what about the Uplands?

My previous encounters with Croatian Uplands wines were mainly rather forgettable flights of fresh whites judged at Decanter World Wine Awards. But the sharp-eyed amongst you may recall that there is one natural wine icon in the region, also profiled in the first edition of my book Amber Revolution.