July 11, 2016

MAKING WINE IN POST-COMMUNIST INDEPENDENT CROATIA

Driving down the dusty road toward the Croatian village of Konavle, Ivo Vodopi? chirped excitedly at the green sea that flooded the land. The snow-haired winemaker pointed to the the grape varietals outside the car’s windows, listing off long, elegant-sounding wines as he whizzed past the eponymous rivers of grapes. The lush vines’ tendrils stretched themselves toward the sky, basking in the hot May sun. At that moment, the small mountain village seemed like it had been stuck in the same place in time for decades.