Croatia Wine Map: Korčula’s Indigenous Pošip Grape

Korcula – home to Pošip

By Wine & More

Only until recently, Pošip was considered an old-school white wine, if you know what we mean. Intense in flavour and aroma with high alcohol, but not in a good way – it wasn’t actually something you’d want to drink over a warm summer night in the south of Dalmatia. Luckily, things have changed for the better. But first, let’s go back to the beginning.

Pošip is a true Croatian white grape indigenous to the island of Korčula. Discovered by chance, this white grape is one of the very few that managed to resist phylloxera and still grows on its own rootstock since it was planted in sandy soils of Smokvica village.

Smokvica and Čara are the two villages considered to be the cradle of Pošip grape, and also a place where this grape gives the best results.

In the past, Pošip used to grow only on the island of Korčula, but thanks to its early ripening, today it is spread around Dalmatia – Pelješac peninsula, islands of Brač and Hvar, Pakleni islands, Korlat region and Biokovo slopes.

Pošip gives high quality grapes with high yield and, if harvested and vinified properly, results in full bodied white wine with a good balance of alcohols and acids.

This wine has intense aroma and flavor (think of dried apricots and figs), and therefore is also suitable for pasito wines. Back in 1967, Pošip was the first white wine in Croatia with a denomination of origin.

Today, Pošip wines are balanced and elegant with a specific character reflecting their native terroirs. They are excellent companions to all fish and shellfish dishes (and a great choice for the aforementioned warm summer nights).

Smokvica

Thanks to its quality potential, it is only fair that nowadays Pošip stands tall next to so-called “super grapes” such as Chardonnay, Pinots, Rieslings, etc.

Wine & More’s online shop offers quite a selection of Pošip wines. Moreover, some of them enjoy a cult status among Croatian wine connoisseurs so you get to choose between the very top examples:

Krajančić is famous for being the master of Pošip
Well-known winemaker Grgić managed to get a citrusy and fragrant Pošip,
Pošip Majstor 2013 Stina is famed for being one of the best modern interpretations of this wine
Plenković is the legendary wine family from Hvar and one of the first to produce Pošip outside Korčula.