Mobile – Vinarstvo Prović

Prović Winery is a small winery from Opuzen, from the Neretva wine growing region, located in the heart of the Neretva Delta. It is a family business that we run along with our small family hotel Merlot thus providing a unique offer for experiencing the region.

Opuzen is a town where Neretva forms an outflow called Little Neretva. Our vineyards are situated 2 kilometers from the estuary of the Little Neretva, on flat ground, bathed in sunshine almost all year round. The terroir was stripped from the sea not so long ago and it is characterized by a pronounced minerality. Even today, if you delve a little deeper into the soil the flakes of shells can be found as a souvenir of the past times.

Besides the sea and marine fossils, terroir was particularly shaped by Neretva and the fluvial dunes it brings from the mountains of Herzegovina, thus creating a fertile humus, which is more similar to the terroir in Bordeaux or the Rhine valley, than the one in the Dalmatian surroundings of the Delta. This is exactly what creates the special conditions for planting vines.

We grow merlot, cabernet sauvignon, muscat yellow and we are the first winemakers who planted crops of chardonnay in Southern Croatia. Wine is our philosophy of life and we believe that good wine cannot be made without great effort, hard work, careful care and love. That is the soul of wine.

The climate in the Neretva delta is Mediterranean with dry&hot summers and mild&rainy winters. During the year we have an average of 2700 sunshine hours and the fog is not a common occurrence. The average annual temperature is 15.7 °C. To the north, northeast and south Delta is surrounded by hills so the dry winds during summer time and cold winds durng spring and winter time penetrate from its upper part. The area is greatly influenced by the sea on the west side: in the autumn the sea slowly cools down, releasing the heat and prolonging the summer, while in the spring it is the other way around, cold sea prevents too much heating of the air over land. The average annual precipitation is 1300 mm, of which 65-75% falls in winter time.

Although we have been producing wine since the 80s of the last century, our first vineyard was planted in 2002, and the last one, which is the one of muscat yellow, was planted in 2014. Merlot and especially cabernet sauvignon were grown in the region in particular when PIK Nerteva – agricultural&industrial complex was the main economic force of the region. During that time, caberent sauvginon was a flagship of the company, and we therefore knew that our soil was suitable for planting the variety. Chardonnay is, however, an experiment that was inspired by the story of Miljenko Grgic and blind tasting of charodannys in France in 1976. So we decided to plant the first crops of the variety in the south of Croatia. After the excellent results and the submission of a memo to the Ministry of Agriculture, chardonnay was included in the list of recommended varieties for planting in the Neretva region.

This Bordeaux cuvée from the right bank is a blend of 65% of merlot and 35% of cabernet. The varieties go through separate vinification and they mature in oak for 15 months which is followed by blending in tanks for another 5 months. We use Slavonian oak and combine new and old barrique. MC is a wine that really expresses its terroir, with aromas of dark berry fruit, dark chocolate and earthy notes, while remaining well rounded and soft.

MODRIČ, MC Reserva is a cuvée of merlot (65%) and cabernet sauvignon (35%), matured in oak barrels for 24 months. Only our top vintages are matured for Reserva style. The wine has a deep, ruby colour, expression of earthy notes with cooked, dark berry fruit. It was named after the famous Neretvian brackish lake that once watered our land. We recommend decanting it before serving at a temperature of arround 20 °C.

Chardonnay is our brand wine that has spread the word about our winery. An interesting fact is that we always pick the chardonnay grapes in the second half of August, early in the morning in order to pick the grapes as cool as possible and it is made with careful fermentation at low temperatures in steel tanks. But, we also keep part of the wine in contact with lees in small barrels. Our chardonnay is a full bodied wine with pronounced minerality with aromas of ripe fruit, but also soft and buttery taste. It is best drunk chilled at a temperature of 12-14°C so the aromas could uncover at its best.

Liviya is a wine made from an indigenous variety that is one of the parents of pošip from Korčula island (the other one is bratkovina bijela). Nowdays it is mostly found in the vineyards arround Vrgorac and Neretva. As a single variety and quality wine it is rarely found in the market. She takes her name after the Roman empress, the wife of Augustus. Liviya is a seductive, fresh wine with lovely aromatics, light and ideal as a refreshment in the summer, with or without the food.

Teuta is our rosé made from Syrah grapes and it was named after the famous Illyrian queen. It is believed that she reigned from the Neretva region and led many successful battles against the Romans. According to a myth, she was a daughter of a pharmacist from Neretva who cured king Agron after getting ill during his visit to Metković. As he fell in love, he asked for her hand and married the young beauty. TEUTA is a fresh rosé with strawberry and raspberry aromas, as well as some spiciness. It pairs wonderfully with shells or gamberi from the Neretva canal.

NARON (Lat. Neretva) is a limited edition of our Chardonnay made in only 900 bottles. Vinification was the same as for our base Chardonnay, but this wine has spent 12 months in small and old oak barrels, out of which 4 months in contact with lees. Naron has a lovely viscosity and oak aromas with rich body accompanied by the characteristic minerality of our wines.

TASTING

Choose your menu, book a tasting and Excite your senses with Neretva.

TASTING MENU* – pairing of 4 wines with food

Oysters with wine Livia, Zlatarica

Marinated fish salad with Chardonnay

Prawns risotto with wine Teuta (rosé)

Eel brodetto with wine MC (merlot/cabernet)

To start we serve our homemade olive oil and bread, and natural and sparkling water are served without limit for consumption. Programme includes wine cellar tour and guided tasting (WSET certified guide).

Add ons – charged extra

Vineyard tour

Sweet finish – dessert with coffee or homemade liquor by choice

White exclusive – chef’s choice of a dish paired with matured Chardonnay Naron

* (wine pouring 0,05l), min. 2 persons

WINE TASTING – basic (3 wines with bites)*

Marinated fish

Olive oil

Homemade olives

Livno cheese

Homemade bread

WINE TASTING pro (4 wines with food)*

Oysters

Livno cheese

Mussels salad

Olive oil

Homemade olives

Homemade bread

*Wine cellar tour and WSET certified guide is included in the price

* (wine pouring 0,05l), min. 2 persons

01 BRANKO PROVIĆ

Our master winemaker and designer of our wines, he started the winery with his brother Mirko back in 1997. A gourmet and winelover he first learned about wines during study days in hospitality so he started producing wines for the familiy back in the 80s. He was the pioneer of planting chardonnay in the Croatian south and he likes to point out that making great wines is not merely the technology of production, but a result of careful care, love and everyday presence in the cellar.

02 MIRKO PROVIĆ

Our patient and calm spirit, Mirko is a precise and detailed organizer of all the works and a person our team would be incomplete without. With a developed sense for people arround him, he carefully analyses the wines and winemaking and he has been one of the pillars of the business from the very begining. Always prepared for a joke and when he does not drink water (which is after breakfast) he choses only wine.

03 TEREZA PROVIĆ

A mother, a wife and a tresaurer. She is our financial manager which is why the finances are so well maintained. A safe harbour, everyone’s pop-up agenda, made out of joy and enthuisasm she has an impeccable intuition. Tereza is a workaholich, in love with nature and herbs who likes to say that she learned to appreciate good wines along wth her husband Branko.

04 VJEKOSLAV PROVIĆ

Our young force, Vjeko is not only WSET certified, but our future winemaker and father’s right hand in the cellar. Calm and analytical, he does business planning with father Branko and sister Monika. A movie buff and a winelover, Vjeko will always greet you with a smile and happily tell you the story of our wines.

05 MONIKA PROVIĆ

Youngest team member, Monka is our Zagreb-Split-Opuzen link. In charge of marketing, PR and wine placement she is usually our presenter at wine fairs. Proactive and eloquent, she mainly deals with bussiness planning with brother and father, but also gives a hand in the vineyard and cellar. She is WSET certified, smile is Monika’s trademark and she will gladly draw you into her wine world…

Podgradina 179/1
HR 20355 Opuzen
T: +38520611522
F: +38520672385
info@vinarstvo-provic.hr
Facebook.com/vinarstvo-provic

info@hotelmerlot.com.hr
www.hotelmerlot.com.hr

“Amazing wines, excellent authentic food from Neretva region, and happy people all around!”

Niko Grubišić

The barrel from Merlot

The barrel was made by the grandfather Šimun Prović, under the fig tree, in an old house at Pižinovac, by the Neretvian spring of fresh water. But what are the faces that emerge from the ancient barrel in Merlot of his descendants? I got the impression they were whispering… But there is an illusion hidden in the wine. It is not the alphabet that is carved in that barrel, but other numbers and names. Only a cape of tannin, from a glass to a glass. And all the contours in oak and metal are a mere memory of the journey on the red and golden sea. It is not us that the barrel whishes to remember, but the first grapes that have outpoured into their oxidated palace of wood. To us it offers only stormy expereince in a tempestuous goblet.

Veljko Barbieri