Greek colonists from Syracuse founded the city of Issa on the island of Vis in the 4th century BCE, planting some of the Adriatic’s first documented vineyards.

A 2001 genetic study traced California’s Zinfandel back to Crljenak Kaštelanski, a nearly extinct Croatian vine — confirming Dalmatia as the ancestral home of one of the world’s best-known red grapes.

Wine Today

Croatia has around 200 grape cultivars on its official national list, roughly 60 of them indigenous, though only about 40 are actually used in commercial wine production. The country’s continental north — Slavonia, the Danube, Zagorje — and its coastal south — Istria, Dalmatia and the islands — share almost nothing varietally, effectively functioning as two different wine countries.

Croatia’s biggest moment on the world stage came in 2002, when genetic testing proved that the nearly extinct indigenous Crljenak Kaštelanski was identical to California’s Zinfandel; at the time, only nine vines of it were known to survive, at Kaštela near Split.

Native grapes

Red

• Plavac Mali [A] — The most famous Croatian red, indigenous to central and southern Dalmatia, with the best wines from Pelješac, the south side of Hvar and parts of Brač and Vis. Unusually, the wine often carries a place name rather than the variety name — sold as Dingač or Postup, after parts of the Pelješac peninsula. High in alcohol and tannin, with dried fig, carob, black cherry and Mediterranean scrub. The steep coastal sites are brutal to farm and the wines can be enormous; the best have real precision. Its parents are Crljenak Kaštelanski (Tribidrag) and Dobričić, native to the island of Šolta.
• Crljenak Kaštelanski (Tribidrag / Pribidrag) [B] — Zinfandel, Primitivo and Crljenak are one variety. Rescued from near-extinction after 2001 and replanted steadily since. In Croatia it tends to be made in a fresher, more structured style than the Californian idiom, though the alcohol is still substantial. A genuine curiosity purchase for anyone who knows Zinfandel.
• Babić [B] — Primošten and the Šibenik coast, famously grown in dry-stone-walled plots carved into bare karst. Deep colour, firm tannin, sour cherry and a savoury, stony bite. More structured and less alcoholic than Plavac Mali.
• Teran [B] — Istria, and shared with Slovenia and Italy’s Friuli, where it is Terrano/Refosco-related. Very high acidity, deep purple colour, and an iron-and-blood character that comes partly from the red terra rossa soils. Divisive and worth trying.
• Trnjak [B] — The Dalmatian hinterland and Herzegovina. Recovered relatively recently and now one of the more talked-about Croatian revivals: deep colour, ripe dark fruit, fine tannin and better balance than many southern reds.
• Plavina [C] — Widespread in Dalmatia and historically one of the most planted reds there. Light colour and tannin, low acidity, simple red fruit. Mostly a blending grape used to soften Babić and Plavac Mali.
• Dobričić [C] — The island of Šolta. Deeply coloured and tannic, historically shipped to reinforce weaker wines — which is how it came to parent Plavac Mali. A small comeback is under way with a few varietal bottlings.
• Lasina [C] — Northern Dalmatia. Pale, high-acid, low-tannin; used for rosé and light reds, and as a blending partner.
• Drnekuša (Darnekuša) [C] — Hvar. Light, herbal, savoury. Very small plantings, mostly on the island.
• Vranac [C] — Southern Dalmatia near the Montenegrin border. Same grape as the Montenegrin flagship; small acreage here.
• Frankovka, Portugizac, Zweigelt [A–B, not native] — Continental Croatia. Central European varieties, well made but imports.

White

• Graševina [A] — The most common variety in the country at roughly 4,500 ha, about 23% of total vineyard area. The same grape as Welschriesling, Olaszrizling and Laški Rizling, so not native in the strict sense — but Croatian producers make the strongest case for it, and it is treated as naturalised. Styles run from delicate and refreshing in West Slavonia through opulent and mineral in Central Slavonia to full-bodied wines from the Danube region, plus dried-berry predicate wines and ice wines that age for decades. Green apple with a gently bitter finish is the signature. Kutjevo is the reference zone.
• Malvazija Istarska [A] (also Orange) — Istria’s flagship and a distinct variety within the sprawling Malvasia family. Made in two main styles: light and fruity, or with extended skin contact and oak ageing. The fresh version gives acacia, green apple and a bitter-almond finish; the macerated version turns amber, tannic and nutty. A third traditional style uses old acacia-wood barrels. Widely exported.
• Pošip [A] — From Čara and Smokvica on the island of Korčula, now planted across Dalmatia. Fuller-bodied than most Croatian whites, with stone fruit, citrus peel, dried herbs and moderate acidity. Made both as a fresh early-drinking wine and in richer lees-aged versions that reward several years. Probably the most exciting Croatian white for export.
• Grk [B] — Grown in the sandy topsoil around Lumbarda on Korčula, where the sand allowed it to survive the phylloxera outbreak. The name means “Greek,” but genetic studies have found no connection to Greek varieties or to Italian Greco; it is confirmed native to Croatia and a close relative of Tribidrag. Its complication is botanical: the flowers are female-only, so it must be interplanted with a pollinator, usually Plavac Mali. High acidity, saline character and a distinctive bitter-almond finish. Tiny production.
• Žlahtina [B] (also Sparkling) — Vrbnik on the island of Krk. Light, low in alcohol, fresh and easy, with pear and citrus. Enormously popular locally; some sparkling versions.
• Maraština (Rukatac) [B] — Widespread in Dalmatia. Not strictly native — it is the same variety as Malvasia Bianca Lunga — but very long established. Medium-bodied, with white peach and a nutty edge; low acidity means it needs cool sites.
• Debit [B–C] — The Dalmatian hinterland around Šibenik and Skradin. Light, neutral to lightly citrus, high-yielding. Best examples come from old vines on karst.
• Vugava [B–C] — The island of Vis. Richer and more aromatic than most Dalmatian whites, with apricot and honey and low-to-moderate acidity. Sometimes linked speculatively to Viognier; the connection is not established.
• Bogdanuša [B–C] — Hvar. The name derives from “God’s grape,” reportedly from its use in church feasts. Light, floral, fresh, with moderate acidity. Almost entirely island consumption.
• Škrlet [B–C] — Moslavina, in continental Croatia. Light-bodied and floral with citrus and a low alcohol level. Named for the freckling on the ripe berries.
• Kujundžuša [C] — Imotski, on the Herzegovina border. High-yielding, simple, neutral. Overwhelmingly local.
• Kraljevina [C] — Zelina and the Prigorje hills near Zagreb. Very light, high acid, low alcohol; historically the everyday wine of the region.
• Pušipel (Moslavac) [C] — Međimurje in the far north. The same variety as Hungary’s Furmint, so a regional rather than exclusive native.
• Malvasija Dubrovačka, Muškat Momjanski, Zlatarica, Gegić, Prč [C–D] — The tail of Croatia’s white germplasm. Malvasija Dubrovačka (Dubrovnik) and Muškat Momjanski (Istria) have small commercial production; Gegić survives on Pag, Zlatarica around Vrgorac, Prč on Hvar. Expect these only on their home ground, if at all.

Orange & Skin-Contact

• Malvazija Istarska [A] — Istria’s flagship and a distinct variety within the sprawling Malvasia family. Made in two main styles: light and fruity, or with extended skin contact and oak ageing. The fresh version gives acacia, green apple and a bitter-almond finish; the macerated version turns amber, tannic and nutty. A third traditional style uses old acacia-wood barrels. Widely exported.

Sparkling

• Žlahtina [B] — Vrbnik on the island of Krk. Light, low in alcohol, fresh and easy, with pear and citrus. Enormously popular locally; some sparkling versions.

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