Written by: Velimir Cindrić Photos: Damil Kalogjera
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It is 1944 and the Croatian island of Vis is home to a British air force base, while World War II is raging all around it. Although the Italian occupation has ended, this small island in the middle of the Adriatic Sea is still surrounded by British destroyers and gunboats, German warships and submarines, magnetic mines, and aircraft. One cannot go fishing; breakfast is reduced to some mangold, lunch to barnacles and sea urchins, and dinner to potatoes. As winter approaches, there are fewer and fewer options for food. The mainland is far away, and the people of Vis are running low on food supplies…
Be that as it may, these people have always had something else to fall back on since the reign of Dionysius I of Syracuse. You see, when the ancient Greeks founded the polis Issa in the area of Velo polje on Vis in 397 BC, they planted the first vines in our region. Hence the inhabitants of Vis have grown vines both in times of peace and times of war, producing such splendid wine which even Agatharchides of Cnidus praised as the best he had ever tasted all the way back in the 2nd century BC.
Centuries later, in the aforementioned year of 1944, nonna Franka and nonno Jura of Vis poured their Plavac into bottles and set out to meet the British soldiers from England, Scotland and Wales, young men from a distant Atlantic island who were guarding a secret allied air base on Vis and yearned for the pleasures of better, peaceful days.
Nonna Franka and nonno Jure thus forged an alliance of their own with the soldiers from the British Isles, exchanging wine for food, i.e. Plavac for dry military rations. A bottle of wine was worth a can of luncheon meat, a couple of candies in shiny wrappers, a bag of cocoa, or a packet of dry biscuits. Both sides drove a hard bargain, but nonno Jure was the most skilled negotiator. Back on the battlefields of World War I, in the Carpathian Mountains and Galicia, he had mastered the ever useful art of negotiating and had picked up a few foreign words. Thanks to this transaction, the cocoa ended up in goat milk. This exotic powder was the first form of chocolate that nonna Franka’s children had ever tasted. And the troops – young men from Manchester, Leicester, Uist, Cardiff and the like – exhausted out by the war and surrounded by carnage, finally had a chance to take a break from all that horror.
Plavac mali from the sandy terrains of Milna, Vošćice, Ljubišće and Tihobraće polje took the edge off, assuaged the fears and reminded the soldiers of all things nice and good, of what they were fighting for. It was a victory over hunger and despair. A huge victory on a small island in the middle of the Adriatic. It seems like an intriguing plot and a potential script, but for Marko Vojković, it is a very real family experience.
– That is our family history. After arriving to Vis in the middle of the 17th century, our ancestors started cultivating vineyards and producing wine, which was passed down through generations. My father was the first in the family to not follow in the footsteps of his ancestors, and he committed his life to another area of expertise. I too studied electrical engineering and strayed from our vine roots, but over time, I realised that it’s a valuable family tradition that I wanted to preserve and improve it as much as I could, together with my cousin. That’s how we ended up opening the Vislander winery. We tapped into our family heritage, then expanded on it by modernising existing practices. You know, in this day and age, if your winery is not up to speed, it’s not possible to ensure high quality of wine that the market demands, so we had to invest in a new manufacturing facility. We started small and built up gradually. In 2018, we switched from conventional wine cellars to a modern winery. By the way, the old house with the wine cellar dates from the second half of the 17th century and represents a sort of symbol of the family winemaking tradition, of which we are particularly proud – 52-year-old Vojković describes how he and his cousin Damir Radica, the owner and director of the Vislander winery, started the business.
Pride is a well-founded driving force behind these endeavours. The hosts themselves emphasise that their wine tells the original story of the hard times on the island of Vis and the monetary worth of Plavac, which the locals used to exchange for food. On the other hand, it is worth noting that the continued respect for history and terroir is what distinguishes the Vislander winery from the competition, as the vinery’s tagline “Wine for life” suggests.
The winery’s work is guided by three main principles: authenticity (the wine conveys first-hand experience of the past, when Plavac was a means of survival for the people of Vis), simplicity (wine that calls for good company, food, and drink) and value (fervent dedication to each grape, because Plavac wine symbolises the family’s life since it was the one thing they could count on in difficult times).
Vislander’s wines are sourced from the previously mentioned vineyards of Milna, Voščice, Ljubišće and Tihobraće, as well as the most recent vineyard in Dračevo polje, all of which are blessed with a Mediterranean climate with less than 700 mm of precipitation per year and more than 2,700 hours of sunshine. The vineyards are cultivated traditionally, without the use of mineral fertilizers or synthetic pesticides, and with the utmost regard for the sustainable life of the soil, vines, and animals.
– The main vineyards for producing Plavac are a family heirloom with the most favourable conditions for growing that variety on the entire island, particularly Tihobraće polje and Milna, as well as Ljubišće and Voščice. We started there and bought more land later on, so now we cultivate about 30 hectares of vineyards and have eight full-time employees, with a significant increase in seasonal workforce, of course – explains Marko.
The Vislander winery’s product line has grown gradually over time. They started with the traditional Plavac wine, of course, which they further diversified into four ranges by using the single vineyard approach according to the localities of certain varieties. Following that, they launched two editions of Plavac rosé – light-bodied and full-bodied – and then added Vugava, an autochthonous island white wine and, according to the hosts, unquestionably one of the most potent high-quality white grape varieties.
They make wines of that variety in two ranges – classique and antique, the latter of which is more conventional, stronger, and more full-bodied than the former, which is fresher and lighter. Finally, they really poured it on with the new sparkling wine and established a distillery with a range of rakija, limoncello and gin sorts, all of which they are quite proud of.
– The significant differences in wines of the same variety but from different locations influenced our decision to produce all Plavac ranges using the single vineyard approach, and I believe that we hit the nail on the head, at least according to customer feedback. You see, all our wines are of high quality, but there’s subtle diversity brought about by attention to micro-location – Vojković clarifies.
Thus, Plavac mali made from grapes from the Milna vineyard (Nona Franka label) has a dark ruby colour with a purple tinge, distinctive fruity aromas of Plavac mali and a characteristic scent evocative of black currants and prunes, with notes of Mediterranean herbs.
It pairs exceptionally well with traditional meals from Vis, such as the baked bread pie filled with salty fish, fish, pasta and bean stew, grilled lamb, tuna or greater amberjack, skewered sardines, game dishes (pheasant and rabbit), lamb under the bell, pašticada (stewed beef dish), as well as with Drniš prosciutto and mature Pag cheese.
Although it has the same aroma and pairs well with the same dishes, Plavac mali made from grapes sourced from the Tihobraće polje vineyard (Dida Jure label) is distinguished by a dark ruby colour with a purple-brown hue and a rich tannic structure. Additionally, it has a long, harmonious finish, characteristic of the variety, with a slightly smoky, spicy note on the palate.
The Ljubišće vineyard, on the other hand, produces Plavac mali (Dida Bartol label). This particular wine has an entrancing bouquet that combines the refined delicate notes of forest fruits and herbs with a hint of leather and smoke after a stage in wooden barrels. Its flavour is lively and delicious, topped by a seductive, slightly harsh tasting.
It goes perfectly with the baked bread pie filled with salty fish (viška pogača), sardine brodetto with rice, fried fish, pasta with tomato sauce, skewered sardines, pašticada with gnocchi, goatmeat and lamb under the bell, escargot brodetto, grilled shrimp, prosciutto and mature sheep and goat cheeses with almonds and pistachio.
The medium-bodied Plavac mali made from grapes from the Voščice vineyard (Dida Andrija label) is also a good match for these dishes, but it is set apart from the others in the range by its delicate ruby colour, perky fruity aroma, and a strong cherry flavour on top, as well as notes of dry leaves and a refreshing tang with a velvety tannic finish and smoky hints.
In addition to being a breeding ground for Plavac mali, the Milna vineyard also provides the grapes for rosé (Nona Jelica label). This wine is adorned with an intensely vivid red-gold colour that entices you to taste it, and its scent is brimming with rosehip, cranberry and raspberry. With each sip you take, you can feel playful acids that give an interesting balance to this full-blooded southern rosé. It is a complex wine that will stick on your palate and in your mind, and it pairs wonderfully with fish soups, pouched fish, seafood risotto, raw sea urchins and barnacles, octopus salad with potatoes, crab brodetto, escargot brodetto, frittata with wild asparagus and prosciutto, and semi-ripened sheep and goat cheeses with fresh figs and grapes.
The vineyards at Dračevo polje (Nona Jelenka label) produce Bugava and sparkling wine. Bugava or, traditionally, viška vugava is an indigenous white wine characteristic of the island of Vis. It basked in its intoxicating glory throughout many a century, but it almost vanished into obscurity with the more recent times. This stunning wine indeed deserves full attention, which it duly receives at Vislander, and everyone who tastes this wine quickly realises its potential.
Its colour is sunny yellow with a golden hue, and its scent is extremely complex, brimming with aromas of stone fruit such as peach and ripe apricot, which transcend into a slightly smoky note of Mediterranean herbs and thyme. This wine is perfect in combination with fried and poached fish, seafood risotto, raw sea urchins and barnacles, broad beans and artichokes, octopus salad with potatoes, brodettos, gregadas (simple fish and potato stew), orzo (barley) stew with cuttlefish, frittata with wild asparagus and prosciutto, as well as semi-ripened sheep and goat cheeses with fresh figs and grapes.
Last but not least, there is sparkling wine – in white and rosé editions – whose basic variety is Kuc (Trbljan white), which produces fresh, lighter wines with more pronounced acids – truly an ideal base for sparkling wines.
– Sparkling wines are growing more popular by the day, even here in Dalmatia. A large number of winemakers are still experimenting with their production, because there is no tradition of producing such wines in these areas. We decided on sparkling wine because we had one Kuc vineyard that does not fit into the production of high-quality wines but it is a perfect basic variety for sparkling wine due to its lower alcohol content and more pronounced acidity. By adding a bit of Vugava for white sparkling wine or Plavac for rosé, we created our two varieties: Komiža and Vis sparkling wines.
In 2019, shortly following the relocation to the new manufacturing facility, a distillery was added to the Vislander winery. In a way, this represents a continuation of the island’s tradition of producing grape-based rakija.
– We’ve decided on travarica, for which we harvest and cold press the island aromatic herbs ourselves, lozovača aged in barrique barrels, rogačica, for which we macerate carob in lozovača, then orahovac, made from green walnuts and also macerated in lozovača, and limoncello made from lemon wedges found at Komiža.
We also make several varieties of gin. Even though this drink is not a traditional drink on Vis, we make it to commemorate the British Empire’s brief rule of Vis at the beginning of the 19th century. We have refined the classic London Dry Sir William Host, named after the commander of the British fleet in the Battle of Lissa in 1811, into two more versions that further connect the gin to Vis, namely Issa Citrus Gin, with the addition of Vis lemon wedges and bitter orange, and 24 Carob Gold Gin, with the addition of carob – Marko explains.
The winery also has a tasting room for all Vislander products and offers a selection of suitable foods based exclusively on items from the family vegetable garden, as well as sardines and anchovies – the mouth-watering landmarks of the island of Vis, along with wine.
So, if you ever find yourself on this island, check out what “wine for life” truly means.
