Proložac donji is a village near Imotski, and Imotski is a town in inland part of Dalmatia, close to the known tourist centres such as Makarska and Brela and the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Proložac donji is also a home of one of the largest wineries in the region, Grabovac winery. Wine has been made in the Imotski region since the ancient times, but rarely is it possible to say with certainty that a family has made wine for over 200 years from the same vineyards.
And that’s exactly what Grabovac family can say, since they have a document from 1812, given to them by the French rulers (it was the Napoleon times), confirming the quality of their wine. In 1990s the family has started to make wine professionally, and have since planted many new vines, reduced the yield per vine, built the modern cellar with all the modern technologies needed to make the best possible wine from the grapes they grow on the slopes on the north-western part of the Imotski field, on the best positions in the region.
These days they bottle five wines: Modro jezero and Modro jezero barrique red wines, pinot grigio and kujundžuša white wines and Crveno jezero rose wine. The sixth and seventh wines they make are the pride and joy of Ante Grabovac, the winery owner, since he was the first winemaker making sparkling wine in the inland Dalmatia region, and now they make both the white and the rose sparkling wines. Modro jezero red wines are blends of several varieties: less known indigenous variety trnjak, merlot, vranac and cabernet sauvignon. Their pinot grigio vineyards were the first vineyards of that variety in southern Croatia, and have shown that excellent wine can be made from this variety there. Kujundžuša is an indigenous white wine for the Imotski region, and Grabovac is one of the people on the forefront of the revitalisation of the variety. Crveno jezero, the rose wine, is made from the same varieties as Modro jezero, but using the technique of removing after a few hours of the maceration.
The brut sparkling wine Grabovac is made from the pinot grigio, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc grapes, using the classic method. It can be served either as an aperitif, or along with fruit and fruit-based desserts. The other sparkling wine, Grabovac Brut Rose is also made from the same composition of varieties as the red and the rose wine, also using the classic method.
In addition to visiting the winery in Proložac donji, you can taste and buy Grabovac wines in their wine bar in Makarska, and at their wine spot in Dubrovnik.
