December 7, 2021 - The first business presentation and tasting of representative Hvar wines was held at the Cornaro Hotel in Split, called '' The Best of Hvar '', a collaboration between the Hvar Winemakers Association, the Wine Stars Evaluation Project, and the Jelsa Tourist Board.

On Friday, December 3, 2021, at 4 pm at the Cornaro Hotel in Split, the Hvar Winemakers Association organized the first business presentation and tasting of Hvar wines for representatives of the HORECA sector called The Best of Hvar. This event is designed as a continuation of good cooperation between the Hvar Winemakers Association and the Wine Star Evaluation Project which, with the support of the Jelsa Tourist Board, has been organizing a large island wine evaluation for the third year in a row. Every year the wines are getting better, and this is shown by the ratings that we monitor from year to year.

(Photo: Julio Frangen)

At the Split presentation, Bell'Iakov, Vina Carić, Hvar Hills, Vina Leše presented their young wines and new vintages "en primeur" according to the evaluation categories of the 3rd Jelsa Summer Wine Tasting by Vinske zvijezde - bogdanuše, other white wines, plavci - Luviji, Pavičić vina, Vina Svirče, Vina Tomić, Vina Ventus, Podrum Vujnović and Zlatan Otok. The winning wines of this year's evaluation were at a special exhibition place: Bogdanjuša Carić 2020, Pošip Tomić 2020, Hvar Hills Plavac mali Pharos Maxvmus 2013. The wines were accompanied by excellent Hvar extra virgin olive oils, awarded at domestic and international evaluations: Božić Uje, OPG Eva Curin, and OPG Magdalena Plenković oils of Athens.

From left to right: Joško Stella, director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board; Marija Marjan, director of the Jelsa Tourist Board; Ivana Klarić, director of Cornaro hotel; Marija Vukelić, Wine Star project manager; and Ivana Krstulović Carić, president of the Hvar Winemakers Association. (Photo: Julio Frangen)

The winemakers and business representatives were greeted by the director of Cornaro, the host hotel, Mrs. Ivana Klarić, emphasizing the satisfaction that a special event for Hvar's top winemakers is taking place in the top hotel. Mr. Joško Stella, director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, praised the initiative, reminded of previous collaborations with the Hvar Winemakers Association, including an important presentation in Rome, and expressed the wish that such events continue. The director of the Jelsa Tourist Board, Marija Marjan, presented two significant Jelsa projects involving winemakers, oil producers, and family farms - "Wine, Olive and heritage festival" and announced the framework program of the jubilee 70th Jelsa Wine Festival, which is planned for last week in August 2022, Ivana Krstulović Carić, president of the Hvar Winemakers Association, reminded that the association has been operating successfully since 2010: "When we first met, we realized that the branding of island wines is extremely important, The island of wine, from 384 BC. Kr. In conclusion, Marija Vukelić, Wine Star project manager, praised the better ratings of Hvar wines, which give winemakers better visibility and placement in our and foreign markets.

(Photo: Julio Frangen)

Representatives of the caterers were able to taste for the first time at the first joint exhibition place young bogdanuša, wines of the original white variety of the island of Hvar. In the second exhibition place were other white wines of the island of the varieties prč and pošip, and cuvée of white wines, and in a special place were plavci, new vintages on the market and some already existing and renowned. Three categories and three exhibition places gave an insight into the community of winemakers and the top quality of wine from the whole island. Winemakers and guests at The Best of Hvar event were satisfied with the way of presentation, expressing a desire to organize the Zagreb "En primeura Hvar wines".

The wines were accompanied by excellent Hvar extra virgin olive oils, awarded at domestic and international evaluations. (Photo: Julio Frangen)

The Best of Hvar 2021 is the first business event of winemakers on the island of Hvar, popular "B2B" - business to business, which provides caterers with the opportunity to (early) assess the quality of new harvests, purchase (larger quantities) in advance for next season, on favorable terms - but also a reminder of existing harvests and Hvar wines that can be found on the holiday table and under the Christmas tree.

Croatian wines and grapes are among the best in the world, and you can find more information about them in Total Croatia’s Guide to Croatian Wine HERE.

For more on lifestyle, follow TCN's dedicated page.

January 10, 2021 - Continuing our alternative look at the Croatian language through Hvar dialects, some essential vocabulary relating to Hvar wine. 

One of my favourite features over the last ten years writing about Croatia is a language series we started soon after the launch of Total Hvar way back in 2010. 

Sitting in The Office in Jelsa one quiet November lunchtime, I decided to film my friend with some typical Dalmatian greetings.

The unique phenomenon that is the Dalmatian Grunt hit the Internet and a new online start was born. The linguistic colossus that is Professor Frank John Dubokovich, Guardian of the Hvar Dialects, quickly amassed 50,000 views on YouTube, and a fascinating series of lectures followed, until they were inexplicably removed from YouTube a few years ago. 

Thankfully, I came across some of the offline originals recently and have been publishing them again.

Today's lesson focuses on the dialect words for Hvar wine. In some ways, it is a landmark lesson, since it was the first to be independently commissioned by someone else. 

The Professor's fame had spread so far that national television came calling, and they requested that we record an exclusive lesson for them about Hvar wine for a forthcoming primetime feature on tourism in Jelsa. 

The Professor was eager to please and was eager to expand his ever-expanding flock. We thought that the best place to record was at Artichoke Wine Bar and Restaurant in Jelsa, which became the first place the island to offer Hvar wine by the glass soon after it opened several years ago. 

You can check out the Professor's latest foray into the world of Hvar wine above, as well as checking out the entire feature on Jelsa, the only time in my life I have ever been recorded eating blitva.

You can catch up with The Professor's teachings on our TCN Talks YouTube channel. 

For more news from Hvar, check out the dedicated TCN section. 

September 16, 2019 - Hvar wine tourism is booming, and that message is going international. Money Week features Croatia's sunshine island in its top wine holiday ideas.

Like many things in Croatian tourism, the potential was always there, but it went largely unnoticed. 

Until - at least in this case - about a decade ago, when a passionate wine-loving local called Ante Lacman decided to start offering the first accompanied wine tours on the island of Hvar. 

An island with a 2,400-year wine tradition dating back to the Ancient Greeks, with grapes still gown on the fertile UNESCO World Heritage Site where the Greeks established their first agricultural colony and planted the vines they brought with them from the island of Paros. An island rich in indigenous grape varieties not grown elsewhere - Bogdanusa, Darnekusa, Prc, Palarusa, Kortolaska, Mekuja. An island which is home to the only Master of Wine in all Croatia - hands from London, grapes from Hvar. The personalities and winemaking styles of Hvar's winemakers are as diverse as the terroirs and mico-climates on the island. Add to that the magnificent beauty of the sunniest island in Europe, and it was only a matter of time before Lacman's concept of wine tourism on Hvar became a major hit. The latest international publication to notice last week was Money Week. 

Here is what Money Week had to say about Hvar and the Hvar wine scene.

An ancient wine scene in Croatia

“Located off the coast of mainland Croatia is the island of Hvar – and if its idyllic location in the Adriatic Sea isn’t enticing enough, the island also boasts a wine scene that pre-dates the arrival of the ancient Greeks,” says Evie Carrick on Travel + Leisure. Hvar Wine Tours offers a half-day Waves and Wine tour (€125) that combines wine tasting with swimming in the sea.

Guests can talk to winemaker Toni Bojanic, whose family has made wine on the island for 500 years. There is also a subterranean cave on the southern shore that serves as a wine cellar and can be visited. “If you want to experience the creations of Croatia’s famous winemaking pioneer, Zlatan Plenkovic, Hvar Wine Tours docks at Plenkovic Bilo Idro for four courses of wine paired with local food – think marinated prunes, smoked ham and Croatian cheeses.” Hvar’s first five-star hotel, Palace Elisabeth, has its “soft opening” this month – perfect for those “looking for a luxurious wine holiday”.

Here are the top 5 wine tours available on Hvar - plenty of exciting diversity. 

To learn more about the wonderful world of Croatian wine, check out the Total Croatia Wine in a Page guide. 

July 30, 2019 - As Hvar moves its tourism story away from the party, is a new service from Carpe Diem the biggest symbol of change in the new direction? Meet Taste Croatia, Carpe Diem style. 

A few months ago, I met and interviewed Petar Razovic, the new Hvar Town Tourist Board director, who had been in the position just over a year. I had assumed it would be just another standard interview listening to the same old stories, but there was something different about Razovic and his vision for Hvar. You can read the interview here.

He seemed determined to reset Hvar's tourism strategy away from the cheapening party destination it had become and more towards the elite destination it had been until fairly recently. With party boats jumping on the bandwagon of the infamous Yacht Week, it was sad to see the change that was occurring. Symbolic of that for many were the after beach parties at Carpe Diem, where up to 500 drunk 'sailors' would cram in for a party from 17:00 to 20:00, before being sent out to 'explore' the town, before heading out to Carpe Diem Beach at midnight to party until dawn. 

Razovic, the town authorities and Carpe Diem have been in discussions as to how better manage the situation, so that the party can exist side by side with the rest of Hvar tourism, as it had done before. The Yacht Week was moved to the Pakleni Islands and reduced to just five times a month, and security guards would oversee the orderly departure to Carpe Diem Beach at Stipanska by night, and an orderly arrival early in the morning. When I stayed in late June (admittedly not the peak season), the system was working well, as you can see from my experience of a night in Hvar Town: Hvar Town, a Changing Destination: A View from Hotel Adriana Terraces.

The oldest public theatre in Europe reopened after 20 years, the first luxury 5-star hotel on the island is due to open in a few weeks, it seemed that Hvar was really taking concrete steps to change. Rome was not built in a day, but the wheels were certainly in motion. 

And then THIS!

A new concept from Carpe Diem during the day, promoting the quality wines of the island (and, I think, also the rest of Croatia) - Taste Croatia.

Less on the daytime party, more on the gourmet quality, and a chance to learn more about the fine wines of the island and beyond. The wines will also be available for purchase - an ideal Hvar souvenir. 

Come on Thursdays and Sundays from 16:00 to 18:00 teach week for a special wine tasting event. Details for reservations in the flyer above. 

So there we are, one more step in the right direction, and an excellent platform for Hvar's excellent winemakers to impress visitors to Hvar Town. 

Perhaps now is the time to say thanks for the memories, Ultra Europe, but we need to keep working on our brand?

To learn more about the potential of Hvar as a food and wine destination, Creating Quality Gourmet Tourism in Croatia: Case Study Hvar. 

August 19, 2018 - Interest in Croatian wine is increasing, as is its nascent wine tourism industry. Five of the very best on the island of Hvar. 

June 25, 2018 - Wine tastings in the actual vineyard are actually not too common, but when you have a vineyard in a location such as this on the southern slopes of Hvar dropping into the Adriatic, why would you do tastings anywhere else? The latest addition to the Hvar wine story. 

The island of Hvar has an incredible wine story dating back 2,400 years. And increasingly, it has the wine tasting experiences to match its rich heritage. Meet the latest on February 17, 2018.

A magical evening in ancient Jelsa celebrating divine wine and cuisine

The Hvar wine story is one which is like no other.

A full day of wine and great food visiting two of Croatia’s premier wineries followed by a delightful olive grove picnic