March 17, 2023 - Last year, one of the most influential wine magazines in the USA, Wine Enthusiast, rated the Croatian wine Ernest Tolj Dingač of the Saints Hills winery with a high 97 points, but this year's 99 out of 100 points put it at the very top of the world, joining the elite club.

As Punkufer writes, this recognition for this Croatian wine is all the greater because it is a local variety, Plavac Mali, which is increasingly recognized and appreciated globally. Small yields, great steepness, triple insolation (from the sun, sea, and stone), pure manual processing, and, along with limestone and red earth, an abundance of quartz are just some of the specifics of the unique terroir to which this wine owes its qualities. Special efforts are invested in the production as well. After the manual selection of the grapes, fermentation in barrique is followed by two years in oak barrels so that the tannins would further round out and soften. Then comes aging in special dark glass bottles decorated with the winery's motifs.

Ernest Tolj Dingač 2019 is a limited series of humanitarian wines, and the Saints Hills winery donates all the money from the sales to children in need. It was founded in 2006, and the vineyards in Dalmatia and Istria are named after the children of the owners Ivana and Ernest Tolj.

Adding to them the prefix of saints, the vineyard of St. Lucia in the Dingač region, the vineyard of St. Ante in western Istria, and St. Roko in Komarna are actual proof that this family shapes the gifts of the land in the best possible way - providing true wine lovers with unique tastes.

"Our hearts are full that every year, through our Saints Hills for Kids foundation, we can help those who need help the most. With great enthusiasm, we pick every grape of Plavac Mali to become humanitarian wine ET Dingač. A limited series of only a few hundred bottles are available to wine lovers every year with the same noble mission: to make the world a better place," said Ivana and Ernest Tolj, owners of the Saints Hills winery, and add:

"Just as we try to be an example to our children and help them on their life paths, we want to do the same for those children who do not have adequate care, protection, and love. That is why every drop of Ernest Tolj Dingač is woven with the greatest emotion every human needs - from the youngest to the oldest."

On the Saints Hills winery website, 99 of the total 800 bottles of Ernest Tolj Dingač 2019 are available for sale, and delivery is expected in June. All proceeds from this top Croatian wine are intended for the most vulnerable groups through the Saints Hills for Kids Foundation, just as in previous years.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

January 20, 2021 - Dingač wine will be served at the Joe Biden Inauguration on Wednesday, which is a huge opportunity for the Pelješac wine region and the whole of Croatia.

The inauguration of the new US president Joe Biden on Wednesday will attract people from all over the world - and in addition to the list of distinguished guests, two Croatian wines will have their place in the spotlight. 

Namely, T.portal writes that the first protected Croatian wine - Dingač - will be found on the tables of Biden's inauguration, as well as Zinfandel. 

Plavac Mali is the most important native grape variety in Croatia, and the best Plavac is produced in the localities of Dingač and Postup on the Pelješac peninsula, on the south side of the island of Hvar, and in the good positions of the Brač and Vis vineyards. 

"Dingač had a good reputation before the 15th century and was sold at higher prices than all other wines in the market. It is a premium dry red wine, protected by the Geneva Convention in 1961 and the first Croatian wine protected by law. More than 90 percent of Plavac is produced on Pelješac. The fact that it will be served at Biden's inauguration is a great promotion for the wine itself and the whole of Croatia," says Slobodan Rosić, secretary of the Plavac Mali association from Pelješac.

"I think this is an opportunity for the whole of Croatia, as it is great to have a bottle of wine from Croatia on the tables of the inauguration. The producer is not important either, but Pelješac, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, and Croatia. I think that we winemakers, as well as all our counties and chambers, should start a good wine campaign to place Dingač on the world map; that is a good way," says Rosić.

He adds that such an opportunity should definitely be used because of the coronavirus pandemic, which drastically slowed down sales:

"Because of the coronavirus pandemic, we can't even offer a day of open wines. We have large stocks of unsold wine in warehouses, and we expect restaurants and cafes to open every day. The wine will not be distilled, it will age for a year without income, but it is difficult for winemakers, as they have been without income for a year," he concluded.

Dragan Kovačević, vice-president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for Agriculture and Tourism, believes that the selection of Croatian wines for Biden's inauguration is the culmination of many years of trends in their successful export and promotion in the American market.

"Our exports are growing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent per year, and according to data for the first ten months of 2020, it reached 860 thousand dollars or remained at the levels of 2019 despite the business crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, which hurt all business segments, especially the wine sector, as it is highly dependent on promotional and social events and tourism trends," explained Kovačević. He added that in the USA, which is the fifth most important market for the export of Croatian wines, mostly top bottled wines (over 80 percent of exports) are sent at a high average price compared to other countries Croatia exports.

For example, in the first 10 months of 2020, the average export price of Croatian wines in the United States was 6.84 euro per liter, while in 2019, it was 6.89 euro per liter. Due to the specific distribution method, wine exported from Croatia for $12 for a bottle reaches $35 to $40 on the shelf of an American wine shop, or from $60 to $80 in restaurants.

"Wine for a country like Croatia, which achieves almost a fifth of its GDP through tourism and the multiplier effects of tourism, and is visited annually by over 20 million tourists, is potentially an important export product. Along with gastronomy, wine plays an increasingly important role in the tourist offer and branding of Croatia as an eno-gastro destination," said Kovačević, adding that we must emphasize our advantages, which are over 120 indigenous grape varieties and a mosaic of four wine-growing and wine regions with all varietal and positional specifics, which should be the backbone of marketing.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September 18, 2020 – Six items of Croatian protected produce are among the 100 European items to go on sale in China

Six items of Croatian protected produce are among the 100 European items to go on sale in China. In a reciprocal deal, 100 Chinese products will also be recognised and recommended on the European market.

Dalmatian prosciutto © TZ Vrgorac

Baranja kulen, Dalmatian prosciutto, Drniš prosciutto, Lika potatoes, Dingač wine and Neretva mandarins are the premium six Croatian protected produce chosen to be among the European 100. All of the Croatian protected produce is already recognised at a national and at an EU-level and designated its status based on its unique place of origin.

Dingač wine © Silverije

Neretva Mandarins

The European products will be specially marked and receive special privileges when they go on sale in China. Alongside the Croatian protected produce, other items on the European list are French champagne, Greek feta cheese, Italian Parma prosciutto, Italian mozzarella, Irish whiskey and Portuguese port. On the Chinese list of products are distinct varieties of rice, bean and vegetable products, some of which will already be popular with Europeans who eat or cook Chinese cuisine.

Drniš prosciutto © Tourist Board of Drniš

The full list of Croatian produce protected at an EU-level currently includes Istrian olive oil, Dalmatian prosciutto, Pag cheese, Lika lamb, Poljički Soparnik, Zagorje turkey, Korčula olive oil, Istrian prosciutto, Sour cabbage from Ogulin, Neretva mandarins, Slavonian honey, Drniš prosciutto, Cres olive oil, Pag salt, Baranja kulen, Bjelovarski kvargl, Varaždin cabbage, Pag lamb, Šolta olive oil, Meso 'z tiblice, Zagorje mlinci, Krk prosciutto, Lika potatoes, Slavonian kulen, Krk olive oil.

Baranja kulen, featured within a traditional Slavonian platter © Romulić & Stojčić

Lika Potatoes

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The bankruptcy procedure of the agricultural cooperative Dingač in Potomje on Pelješac peninsula in southern Dalmatia may be the most unusual in Croatia