NEAR DUBROVNIK - Croatia and Slovenia - page 554

vintners, who represent the best of what's happening here. Sasha's tours can go late into the
evening (also offers cheaper half-day tours to areas closer to Dubrovnik, www.dvino.net ,
[e-mail] ). Other Dubrovnik-based drivers also do good wine tours (which also in-
clude several other worthwhile, scenic stops), including Petar Vlaši ć (see here ).
Self-Guided Driving Tour: I've arranged this tour in the order you'll come from
the tip of Pelješac (Orebi ć , just across the channel from Kor č ula). If you're doing it from
Dubrovnik, begin by driving all the way to the village of Potomje (you can skip the section
between there and Orebi ć ) and visit the wineries on your way back (since it's a long, skinny
peninsula, you'll have to backtrack anyway). I've included a detour to some of Croatia's
finest (and largely undiscovered) vineyards, and saved the best wines for last. For a primer
before you start, see “Croatian Wine” on here .
If you're crossing from Kor č ula Island, you'll begin the tour in Orebi ć . It's basically
one main road from here back to Ston (where you'll meet up with the main coastal road to
Dubrovnik or Split), so you can't really get lost—though we will make an off-the-beaten-
path vineyard detour.
Follow the main road (toward Dubrovnik and Split) up, up, up for about 15 minutes to a
dramatic viewpoint (there's a pullout on the right with benches—watch for the giant wine
bottle)lookingbacktowardKor č ula.ThejaggedcliffstoyourleftarethePelješacPeninsula
(where we're about to drive), and the island poking out to the left is Mljet National Park.
Straight ahead is Kor č ula, and behind that, Lastovo. On a clear day, you can almost see to
Italy. This also gives you a good view of the two best wine-growing regions of Pelješac:
Belowyouandtotheright,youcanseesomevineyardsinthe Postup region;totheleft(not
quite visible from here) are the vineyards of Dinga č . Both areas are steeply angled, so they
catch a maximum amount of sun, which creates very sweet grapes that produce high-alco-
hol, very dark (actually called “black” in Croatian) wine with strong legs (or, as Croatians
call them, “tears”). The rugged, rocky limestone provides natural irrigation (since water can
flow freely through it), and the high winds here keep off bugs and other pests. It all adds up
to extremely healthy vines; because disease is rare, pesticides are not needed.
Continuingalongtheroad,you'llcrestthehillandpasstheturnoffforTrpanj(wherefer-
ries connect to the mainland); soon after, watch on the left for Peninsula Wine Bar. Oper-
ated by two local vintners, Boris and Baldo, this is a good place to learn about and try wine
from a variety of different producers (unlike the wineries later on this trip, which typically
sell only their own wines). They usually have about 30 wines available. You can sample
wine by the taste (usually free, maybe 5-25 kn for premium wines, 30-40-kn tasting flights
listed on the chalkboard), by the glass (12-60 kn each—most around 20-30 kn), and by the
bottle (40-250 kn). They also offer tastings of local olive oil and grappa (April-mid-Oct
daily 9:00-23:00, closed mid-Oct-March, tel. [phone], www.peninsula.hr ).