In what is now coastal Croatia, wine has been made since before the time of Christ. The tradesmen who shipped & traded wine to ancient Rome from islands like Korčula were called “negotians vinarius.” A few thousand years later and things haven't changed much. Now the name of an incredibly exciting project, Negotians Vinarius is bringing some of the most regionally distinct, authentically Croatian wines to our shores.

Marko Kovač is a roaming evangelist for organic farming and low intervention winemaking who tours his native Croatia seeking out the growers who have always made these kinds of wines regardless of trend. He then bottles these wines, figures out the packaging, and then looks for partners like our friends at Danch & Granger. These are tiny production wines and if not for Marko and his team, the only way to experience them would be to drink at the dinner table of the grower in question.

In this case that grower in question is Petar Marinović on the Island of Korcula. Along with his wife and the one son who decided to stay on the island, he raises goats, makes olives, and grows and makes little bit of wine from the traditional varieties, Plavac Mali and Posip. The fact that he has never considered himself a winemaker or grower is rather surprising considering the exceptional quality of what lies in these bottles.

When Marko first tasted these wines in 2019, he was so taken by them that he offered to buy all of the 2018 in tanks as a sign of his commitment. In 2019 he worked alongside the family in the vineyard and cellar. They worked harvest together, solidified their relationship, and now we are extremely happy to be bringing in the inaugural Pošip and Plavac Mali of this joint venture.

The wines are stunning. Grown in vineyards that are teeming with life, Petar treats his vines with sulfur, copper when necessary, milk, and algae. With over 2 decades of built up immunity, he is able to grow incredibly healthy fruit even with the immense disease pressure that is endemic to Korcula. His neighbors think he's crazy working this way but because of the quality of his fruit and the deliciousness of his wines, he has started to convert some of them and he is no longer the only organic grower on the island.

These wines are as traditional as it gets but are unique expressions nonetheless. These are the kind of wines that folks rave about drinking when they come back from Croatia but can never find at home.