Harvesting of Maraština for the Champion Wines of the Fiolić Winery

Maraština is an old and indigenous grape variety in the vast area of the rural  hinterland of Zadar, in Ravni kotari, which has long been accepted as one of the leading domestic varieties in wine production. However, it is identical to the Italian variety Malvasia lunga.

The end of September is the best time to harvest this grape variety, sweet for instant tasting, but with a small grape. In the last century, growers almost gave up on maraština because cultivating vineyards and keeping the wine in wine-cellars was very delicate. One mistake or a little neglect and the whole annual crop would have failed. 

For the past two decades, maraština has been planted again in Dalmatian vineyards, and good winegrowers and winemakers who have adopted new knowledge about wine production and use modern technologies and equipment are re-establishing the old reputation of maraština.

Maraština is found in numerous blends, but the Zadar region and Dalmatia winemakers have created a tremendous indigenous varietal wine brand. One of the most successful among them is the family Fiolić Winery, where among seven wine labels, Maraština wine is the most prominent, especially the aged sur lie version. 

Maraština of family Winery Fiolić from Zadar is highly praised at many wine competitions, and this year at the Wine Festival of Northern and Central Dalmatia Vinfest 2021 in Benkovac, Maraština sur lie Fiolić 2019 among 64 wines was declared the champion of the competition.

And a recent version of Maraština of the same winery from the 2020 harvest won a gold medal and received high appraisals from an otherwise rigorous jury of organoleptics led by one of the best Croatian wine experts Ivana Alpeza. It is enough to say that this expert often evaluates Croatian wines according to the same standard way of scoring lower grades than the sommeliers of the London "Decanter World Wine Awards". 

The winery run by brothers Mario and Dario Fiolić has business relations with the winegrower Ante Marić from Vukšić in Ravni kotari. These days, grape pickers harvested maraština in Marić's vineyard in the spacious Vukšić field. The grapes were immediately transported to Zadar, where they were pressed that evening into sweet unfermented grape juice, making an excellent Maraština wine that we will drink next year in its young or two years in the famous sur lie variant.