Bounce Magazine October 2018

OCTOBER 2018 OCTOBER | ISSUE 2018 #72 | ISSUE | FOOD #72 & DRINK
The wines of
Croatia
Croatia with its boundary close to Italy and Bosnia etc has been making
wine for millennia. Wine is popular in Croatia and is often consumed with
meals. Most is white but there are some notable reds and roses.
strict rules protecting the vineyards.
In the 5th Century the Ottoman Turks imposed
strict anti- alcohol laws but managed to continue
making wine.
BY ‘WINE BUFF’ FRED FISHER
Like much of Eastern Europe, wine was made
here well before the Romans and previous
inhabitants like the Illyrians, living during the
Bronze Age and Iron Age, grew grape vines.
Some Dalmatian Islands dating back to Ancient
Greek times made wine 2500 years ago. Greek
settlers arrived in the 5th century BC.
Under the Roman Empire production grew
leading to exports to other parts of Europe.
Over the years production expanded and by 1214
quality control came about by the addition of
In the 18th Century Croatia came under the
control of the Habsburg Empire where wine
flourished during the 19th and 20th Centuries.
Phylloxera struck in 1874 but luckily Croatia was
not so affected and their exports expanded.
At the beginning of the 20th Century however
Croatia succumbed to the bug. Many expert
Croatian winemakers then fled to the New World,
much to their benefit.
With the creation of Yugoslavia and communist
rule, private vineyards were discouraged and
large co-operatives established. This led to
quantity rather than quality. Croatia is now
independent and creating very fine wine again.
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