Guide to Wine Podcast: Episode 91

Croatia Wine 101: A Guide to Croatian Wine Regions & Grapes

Air Date: Wednesday, February 12th, 2025

Listen to the Podcast!

Ever wondered what it's like to sip wine from the real-life King’s Landing from Game of Thrones? 

Today, I’m diving into the world of Croatian wine. I had never really thought about Croatian wine until last year when Jennifer Kerum attended my Walla Walla retreat. Jennifer is from Croatia and runs a wine tourism business there. She came on the podcast to talk about all things Croatian wine and it was so fascinating that I knew I needed to dig deeper into this region. I recently highlighted Croatian wine in my Cork Crew and we had so much fun that I wanted to share it with you on the podcast!

This week, we’ll talk about the diverse wine regions of Croatia and I’ll share each area’s distinct climates, soils, and grape varietals. We’ll also discuss Croatia’s ancient winemaking roots and the devastating Pylloxera epidemic that has shaped Croatia's wine scene.

So, if you’re ready to explore the fascinating world of Croatian wine, from its rich history to its diverse regions and unique grape varietals, press play and listen in!

Resources:
Ep 58 - Croatian wine episode with Jennifer Kerum - https://www.corkandfizz.com/blog/guide-to-wine-podcast-episode-58
Croatia Wine Folly Map - https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/introduction-to-croatian-wines/

Episode Highlights:

• Croatian wine history
  
• Geography and main wine regions of Croatia
  
• Istria wine region - climate, grape varieties and producers
  
• Key grape varietals from Istria - White grape - Malvazija Istarka and the Teran grape
  
• Dalmatia wine region - climate, grape varietals and producers
  
• Key grape varietals from Dalmatia - Red grapes: Plavac Mali, Babić, and White grapes: Pošip, Grk, Maraština (Rukatac)
  
• Croatian Uplands - climate, grape varietals and producers
  
• Key grape varietals from Croatian Uplands - Indigenous grapes: Škrlet, Pušipel, and Kraljevina 
  
• Slavonia and Danube - climate grape varietals and producers
  
• Key grape varietals from Slavonia and Danube - Graševina (aka Welschriesling), Traminac (Gewurztraminer), Zweigelt, and Frankovka (Blaufränkisch)
  
• Where to buy Croatian wine
  

Download my Free Wine Tasting Guide!  - https://www.corkandfizz.com/free-wine-tasting-guide

Have you Joined the Cork Crew?!
The Cork Crew Tasting Club is a community of people that enjoy drinking and learning about wine. It's like a book club...but with wine! Each month I’ll select two styles of wine for us to focus on. We’ll then have a virtual tasting party to explore those wines along with a community event to learn from professionals in the wine community.

Click the link below to get a FREE pass to attend a Cork Crew event of your choosing! 
www.corkandfizz.com/freeclasspass

Connect with me:
Cork and Fizz - https://www.corkandfizz.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/corkandfizz/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/corkandfizz/
Email - [email protected]