My first Croatian wine!

As a good citizen trying to support my local economy, last month I bought a mixed case of wine from one of my local wine shops, Princeton Corkscrew. I just filtered through their wine list and picked things I'd never had before. Including Croatian wine! My coworker L. raved about them after visiting Croatia a year or so ago.

This is a 2015 Zlatan Plavac Mali, from the Zlatan winery in Dalmatia, Croatia. Plavac Mali is the most widely planted grape in Croatia, and is an offspring of zinfandel. So it kind of fits in with my zinfandel kick of late!

I've seen Croatian wine described as rustic in other places, and I agree. The wine was not as heavy-bodied as the deep dark color made me think it'd be. I get a lot of blackberry bramble on the palate, and very restrained fruit. My favorite food pairing, on the night after I first opened it, was my snack/dinner from last night of just sausage, cheese and bread. Grilled meats could work too. I was thinking about suggesting chili, but I think the tomato flavors would clash.

But while I'm in my house, it's pretty great to think I can virtually travel to other parts of the world via my glass.

Are you exploring any different wine regions while you're at home? Let me know!