We slept in a bit and caught up on news and email, eating breakfast on our balcony, heading down at 11:30 for our trip to Pelješac. The day was more or less a wine touring day, ending in Ston to walk the Ston walls, and then returning to Gradac for a special dinner.

Pelješac is a large peninsula that connects to the mainland at Ston (about an hour south of Gradac) and is one of the primary wine grape growing regions in Croatia due to the ideal soil and climate.

First stop was down island to the Grgić winery in Trstenik. Grgić Vina was established in 1996 by legendary Napa Valley winemaker, Croatian-born Miljenko “Mike” Grgić, his daughter, Violet Grgić and his nephew Ivo Jeramaz. When he came to the US in 1958 (after fleeing Yugoslavia through Germany and then Canada) Mike worked for Mondavi, and then Château Montelena. Mike is notable for being the winemaker behind the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that bested several white Burgundy wines in the 1976 wine tasting event that became known as the Judgement of Paris. Eventually he opened his own vineyard in Napa, the highly regarded Grgich Hills. Dedicated to the art of winemaking and in view of the new political reality in Croatia, Mike decided to start the winery in his native Croatia to produce the finest wines from native Dalmatian grapes. The winery was devastated by a fire in 2015, but they are back in production now.

Then Mirena contacted a friend in Drače and we met up in a new winery, Edivo Vina, whose hook is storing their bottles of wine in the sea in sealed bottles and in sealed amphoras. We had some of their basic wine with cheese and prosciutto.

We were back to the room about 11 PM and collapsed into bed.

Grgić Vina
Edivo Vina
Pelješac-vino