This part of the eastern Mediterranean is slowly becoming famous for their wines. Fellow cruiser George had mentioned a winery up in the hills behind Herceg Novi, but we never got around to exploring it when we were anchored there. I happened to google it and was able to make a reservation for the next day, as the weather looked fabulous and we had a car at our disposal.
The winery was founded by locals who lived abroad in London and developed a taste for old world wines. They came home, bought the land, and planted old world grapes, just enough to provide wine for friends and family. The land was particularly well suited – on the side of a hill with plenty of sun (records in the local museum showed that vineyards had existed there since the 1300’s).
It was a success and Savina wines were born. The wines did so well that they were able to open as a commercial winery, though they have kept production small and export nothing further than Dubrovnik in neighboring Croatia. Several years ago the local monastery allowed them to plant more vines, and now the monastery has wine to consume and sell. (Interesting fact: Because the monastery is Orthodox, the labels for the wines sold there are custom printed in the Cyrillic alphabet).
Trip isn’t normally a fan of white wines, but the Chardonnay (French, lightly oaked, no butter) was delightful. Our absolute favorite, though, was their Cabernet Sauvignon, and at $20 a bottle we can splurge every once in a while.
Jenny and AJ, other cruisers in the marina who we recently met, happened to pass by and joined us for the tasting. We tortured the winery’s cat by playing with him and petting him, but denying him a taste of our charcuterie board.
After basking in the sun with a spectacular view of the bay, good wine and good company, it was time to head back. To save an hours drive along the water, for 4€ we boarded a car ferry that took us across in less than 5 minutes!
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