After we came down to earth from our oyster tasting at Mali Ston Bay, our driver took us to Milos Vineyards for a wine tasting. Croatia has a booming winemaking industry, and their wines are delicious, including the ubiquitous Plavac Mali. Unfortunately, most Croatian wineries only produce enough for local consumption, which includes the tourist trade; they export very little. Milos Vineyards is owned and operated by two brothers, Ivan and Josip. They were delightful, as were their wines.
Ivan Milos and his Plavac Mali grapes Our next stop was the Korta Katarina winery, perched on the edge of the Adriatic Sea in the small town of Orebic, where a four-course lunch with wine pairings awaited us. We were greeted by Ivo Cibilic, Korta Katarina's sales manager, who hosted our lunch and told us about the winery. His wines were excellent and his food was even better.
Ivo Cibilic presents Korta Katarina's Rosé 2014 Our first two courses were a smoked tuna tartare and a homemade pasta. Who serves "smoked" tuna tartare? Korta Katarina's chef does and it was outstanding. The perfectly cooked pasta was equally good.
Smoked tuna tartare
Homemade pasta Between courses, I ventured into the kitchen to see who was orchestrating our lunch, and found a single unassuming woman, juggling various pots and pans. I coaxed her out into the dining room so we could all thank her.
Our main course was veal loin with melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi. The veal was tender and flavorful; the sauce was yummy.
Veal loin with gnocchi Ivo Cibilic showed us Korta Katarina's plump Plavac Mali grapes, and then took us on a tour of the winery. We were instructed to take a glass of wine with us!
Plavac Mali grapes
When we returned to the dining room, our dessert awaited us. We didn't make it wait.
Copyright © 2016 TwoForTheTable.com |
