In the 4th ctr. BC the Ancient Greeks brought the vine to the fertile plain of Stari Grad and organized the production of wine in an exemplar way. The Romans further improved their technology, and, since then, people have been planting vines in fields throughout the island. Winemaking remained the basis of Hvar's economy for centuries. In the late 19th ctr. the island had over 5750 hectares of vineyards, which is more than 19 % of its surface. This was the period of great flourishing of vine growing and winemaking on Hvar, caused by an increased demand for wines after the spread of diseases (philoxera and oidium) in vineyards across Europe.
Number of new ports was built, channels and streams were dug to stop the water from washing out the fertile soil, and, as the number of vines grew, the population of Hvar also increased by 30%. Today, vineyards cover less than 8% of that area, or, in other words, 1.6 % of the surface of island Hvar, with a constant negative trend.

Climate: The famous 19th. ctr. climatologist J. Hann referred to Hvar as the 'Adriatic Madeira', describing its mild Mediterranean climate with dry warm summers and mild rainy winters. Hvar also has a very high insolation (2730 hours a year, i.e. averagely 7.5 hours a day) that makes it suitable for vine growing. Other favourable conditions are annual distribution of precipitation and low relative air humidity in the period of grape growing and ripening, which helps prevent diseases and is crucial for the quality of grapes. We have also taken on lease a couple of excellent vineyards that owners could not cultivate any longer, and the rest of the grapes come from our regular suppliers. The island also has a water spring - a rare gift among otherwise dry Mediterranean islands.

Location: Another crucial factor for successful vine growing is the selection of variety and the appropriate terroir. Among several micro localities we can distinguish three basic ones: the southern slopes, the northern part of the island, and the 400-500 m high longitudinal ridge. Each locality has its own benefits and the varieties it suits best, so that the people now traditionally grew varieties in favourable locations.

Our vineyards

Seeing that the production of wine is in decrease in this area, whereas in countries such as Italy, France, Portugal and elsewhere throughout the world vineyards traditionally present prestige and wealth, we decided to plant our own vineyards. We have also taken on lease a couple of excellent vineyards that owners could not cultivate any longer, and the rest of the grapes come from our regular suppliers. Some of our best vineyards are located on the islands in the vicinity of town Hvar called 'Pakleni otoci', where we planted a 2 ha vineyard in cooperation with the Bracanović family that received a prestigious reward for 'the best vineyard in the year 2003'. We also own vineyards in the plain of Stari Grad (the Greek ager), in the area around Jelsa, and are currently in the process of planting a new, 10 ha vineyard, in the bay Vira, in the vicinity of town Hvar.

We use different grape varieties for our wines, predominantly Plavac Mali and Plavac Veliki as the red varieties, and Poąip, Bogdanuąa, Maraątina and Prč as the white. We also have Drnekuąica, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Kuč, Muąkat Rumeni, as well as some old indigenous varieties.