Vinas Mora
Vinas Mora, situated on the picturesque coast of Croatia near the town of Primošten, is a remarkable winery that has quickly made its mark in the viticulture realm. The name 'Vinas Mora' encapsulates the essence of its location, translating to 'wines from the sea,' a poetic nod to its close proximity to the Adriatic Sea. This venture was born from the collaborative passion of three Croatian natural wine pioneers - Krešo Petreković, Niko Dukan, and Neno Marinov, who aimed to celebrate and showcase the unique terroir of the Primošten area through natural winemaking.
The winery operates with a focus on working closely with local growers, purchasing their grapes and producing natural wines that echo the distinctiveness of the Dalmatian Coast. While it pays homage to several local grape varieties, Vinas Mora has a particular fondness for the indigenous Babić grape variety, which thrives in the local terroir. The aim is not only to produce exquisite wines but also to revive and underscore the winemaking potential of the Dalmatian Coast, rendering a fresh narrative to Croatian wines on the global stage3.
Vinas Mora is a true embodiment of a cooperative spirit blended with artisanal winemaking finesse. The founders are avid supporters of organic farming, a practice that is well-aligned with the region's climate, characterized by low rainfall, dry and windy conditions, making synthetic sprays and artificial fertilizers unnecessary. The vineyards, nestled in extremely rocky and hardly accessible terrain, have seen a remarkable transformation through manual clearing and the building of dry-stone walls by locals to separate tiny plots, each housing three to four plants. The primary soil is a red sand or crvenica (known as terra rossa in Carso), which is hard and tight, with very little humus but a clay component that helps retain moisture during the long, hot, and dry Mediterranean summers.
In terms of vinification, Vinas Mora maintains a consistent process across their range of cuvées, emphasizing hand-picking of grapes, short maceration periods, and minimal intervention to preserve the primary aromas of the wines. The base cuvée, named Barbba, is a blend of local white and red grapes, embodying an easy-drinking yet palatable character. Other cuvées like Andreis and Kaamen series pay homage to the rich heritage and the varying terroir quality of the region, each crafted meticulously to reflect the uniqueness of the vineyard sites they originate from6. Through Vinas Mora, the founders are crafting not merely exquisite wines but a compelling narrative that intertwines the rich heritage, rugged beauty of the Dalmatian coast, and the indomitable spirit of the local winegrowing community.
