Master of Wine Jo Ahearne Goes Full Circle at Dalmacija Wine Expo

Master of Wine Jo Ahearne, the first MW to make wine in Croatia, returned to the place where her Croatian adventure began - Dalmacija Wine Expo - this time delivering an outstanding presentation on her Hvar wine journey. 

This year's Dalmacija Wine Expo at Hotel Park in Split started on April 22, 2016, a chance to sample some of Croatia's finest wines, but the headline event for me was a presentation given by Master of Wine Jo Ahearne about her journey to making her own wine on the island of Hvar, a rose from the indigenous grape variety, Darnekusa.  

It was a sort of homecoming for Ahearne, whose Croatian journey began two years previously at the same wine fair, where I had the opportunity to interview her for Google News, above - you can read the interview here.  

It was quite a week for the British expert. Just days before at the Tomic winery in Jelsa, she bottled her first Croatian wine, Ahearne Rosina, which is named after her mother who would have been 89 that day.

And so to the presentation...  

Ahearne is an energetic and popular member of the Hvar community, and there are many people who are fascinated by a foreigner (and such a well-qualified one) making the decision to make wine on Hvar. The most common question above. 

The quick answer to that one perhaps were the views the village and vineyards which she has made her Hvar home, Sveta Nedjelja on the south side of Hvar, made famous by the late Zlatan Plenkovic.  

The wines presented for tasting represented a major attraction of Croatian (and Hvar) wines is in the indigenous varieties, with more than 130 all over Croatia, and the tasting showcased Hvar's rich diversity - Bogdanusa, Prc, Posip, Marastina, Darnekusa and Plavac Mali, most of which are only grown on Hvar.  

Apart from the sun, it was that rich diversity and original varieties which proved such a draw to Hvar and Croatia in general. With international wine varieties becoming increasingly globalised, this represents a real opportunity for Croatian wines to shine on the international stage.  

Postivity was a key part of Ahearne's message. In a country where foreigners ritually complain that bureaucracy is impossible and their dreams do not come close to fruition, here was a lady with a quality product and a story of a journey which was really working out, with many examples of kindness and help from locals on the way.  

And so to the whites, which were of special interest. Caric's Bogdanusa, PZ Svirce's Posip de Luxe, and Vujnovic's Prc, before things went a little orange with the Dubokovic Marastina.  

There was plenty for all to learn for the audience, which included wine experts from California and New York, and even for this correspondent who thought he knew a lot about wine on Hvar. I had not realised, for example, that the biggest white variety on Hvar was another indigenous grape called Kuc. With Teo Huljic's Mekuja sadly not available, the audience began to grasp the diversity of Hvar, with its own micro-climates, and why the island had grabbed Ahearne's interest from a wine perspective.  

Ahearne's decision to make rose was a bold one - from yet another indigenous Hvar variety called Darnekusa, which tends to grow over 400m above sea level. The 3,000 bottles she has produced are sure to sell out quickly - she already has an agent and enquiries.  

The Hvar red wine scene and its key grape variety, Plavac Mali, was investigated through the Caric J'ubov, Zlatan Grand Cru and Tomic Plavac Barrique.  

Before finishing off with Croatia's most famous dessert wine, the Tomic Hektorovich Prosek. Quite a variety for one small island, and the audience clearly enjoyed the expert guidance through the Hvar varieties.  

Ahearne's message was not confined to the quality of the wines, but also to the huge potential of Hvar wines.

A truly inspiring presentation and very good insight into the fascinating Hvar wine scene. It was also something of a TCN reunion. Ahearne, an occasional contributor for this website had four colleagues in the audience - Marion and Zdravko Podolski from California, Cliff Rames from New York and yours truly.  

Look out for the Ahearne Rosina, which will be on sale soon. 

Dalmacija Wine Expo was the first public tasting of Ahearne Rosina from the bottle, but some tank samples were available at Pink Day in Zagreb last month. Here is Jo Ahearne at that event with legendary Jelsa winemaker, Andro Tomic, whose family and team have been instrumental in making Ahearne's journey so successful.