Agathai tihai in Greek means good luck, and these are the first words of the psephism, a stone-carved document that, among other things, describes how the land around present-day Lumbarda was divided on Korčula in the 3rd century BC. Each man received a smaller piece of the best quality land and a larger piece of the lower quality, according to the book Lumbajarski grk (Grk from Lumbarda), dedicated to a grape variety that is small in terms of the area planted, but large in terms of the wines it produces. The Greeks arrived on Korčula from Issa, or Vis, so the Grk variety, at first glance, could be named after them. However, since at that time they did not call themselves Greeks but Hellenes, this theory falls flat. It is more likely that they named it after the pleasantly bitter almond taste of the wine.
There aren't many grapes from Grk. The entire Lumbardsko polje has an area of 40 hectares, and Grk, according to data from the Agricultural Payments Agency, was planted on a little over 15 hectares in 2013. Smaller family wineries in Slavonia or the Danube region have that many vineyards. On Korčula, eight wineries produce about 40,000 liters of bottles per year from that area. However, it is increasingly being planted in Dalmatia, and even neighboring Herzegovina. Throughout history, Grk wines have been highly valued, and they still are, as shown by an amusing story about how some winemakers sell it.
I would like to buy a case or two of Grk, a tourist in a good mood, slightly intoxicated after tasting, will say. Most winemakers would immediately jump to prepare a box for the customer, but not those ones from Lumbarda. Six bottles, or even 12? They will respond in surprise with a counter-question and add that it is impossible: they sell each private customer a maximum of two bottles. That is not a small amount, because four vines of Greek need to be harvested for each bottle, and with some other varieties it is common for one vine to make wine for two bottles from one vine. Grk gives little in quantity, but it makes up for in quality. Their wines have quite a lot of alcohol, often up to 14 percent, high extract and the acidity is usually around six grams per liter. That is a lot for wines from southern Croatia.
The acidity in wines from Grk is due to the clusters in which normally large ripe berries are mixed with small seedless ones. These smaller ones accumulate normal sugar content during ripening, but also retain more acid, which ensures freshness in the wine. Grk wines are appreciated in gastronomy. Fresh ones can be excellent with raw fish or seafood, dishes with a more intense flavor such as oysters or fish carpaccio, but also with wild sea bass baked in salt. A year older, they are suitable for fattier fish, such as larger toothfish or sea bream, and two- or three-year-old specimens can also be paired with Adriatic squid. If the wine was aged on a fine lees, it would suit rooster's or even lamb meet.
Photos: Ivana Pranjić/Cork Croatia
Cover photo: Julio Frangen