Could there be a better Hvar wine promotion story than a Master of Wine producing the 2014 vintage from the oldest Plavac Mali vineyard in the world?
Many people complain that the Croatian language is impossible to learn (and I would not disagree), but sometimes the difficulties it poses can have some rather fabulous and very unexpected results.
The story starts at Dalmacija Wine Expo in Split earlier this year. While doing battle with the six glasses of red in front of me at the excellent Masterclass of Plavac Mali, I overheard the lady next to me simultaneously translating everything into English for a lady in the corner.
It turned out that she was one of only 300 Masters of Wine in the world, and Jo Ahearne kindly agreed to an interview with me with Google News after the tasting.
During the interview, Jo joked about how difficult it was to pronounce some wine names – there ere sometimes no vowels, for Heaven’s sake! She was referring to the gorgeous Grk from Korcula, but I saw my opportunity to introduce her to the wines of Hvar by inviting her to try some Prc at the Hvar stand.
And so began a journey…
Having done her research, Jo is now on Hvar looking at wine-making opportunities. There has already been some media interest in her story, and Total Hvar Juniors were on hand to supervise the photo shoot at the Tomic winey in Jelsa the other day.
For an introduction to the Hvar wine scene, one could not do better than the magical Hvar Wine Association tasting in Vrboska last night – read more about it here.
In between the tasting, Jo found time to speak to Croatian national television about Hvar’s wines.
The more interesting story, however, took place earlier in the day…
As part of our tour of the island, I took Jo to the oldest plavac mali vineyard in the world – check out the video below for an earlier report on it, including interview with owner Sime Surjak.
“Wow, it would be cool to make wine from the vines of the oldest plavac mali vineyard in the world,” she mused.
What a cool idea! A Master of Wine making wine from the world’s oldest Plavac Mali vineyard. A great promotion of the Hvar wine story.
I contacted Sime, who spoke to his father, and they have agreed. This year’s yield will be minimal, due to diseases, he says, but the concept of bringing this idea to fruition is exciting indeed. Jo and Sime will meet to discuss – more details to follow.
