Our Vineyards and Villas Holiday on the Peljesac Peninsula explores the history, culture and lifestyle of one of Croatia's best kept secrets. It is a journey of 'close encounters' with sundrenched vineyards and country konobas and the legendary captains of Orebic.
The programme includes a week's accommodation at one of our select hotels or villas, car hire and two informal excursions in the company of your own private guide. Our partners on Peljesac are local people familiar with the area’s history and traditions. They also happen to be friends and great storytellers.
Our Peljesac wine tour begins with a visit to the grape-growing areas of Postup, Dingac and Peljeska zupa. The Dingac vineyards, a seven-kilometre stretch along the peninsula's steep southern coast, produce the area's most prized wines. Here the sun is the hottest, bearing down on the vines and reflecting in double doses off the sea and rocks. Only the wine produced from these grapes receives the appellation Dingac. Just a few kilometres away, in another vineyard, in another location - the same Plavac Mali variety produces a different grape and a different wine.
Your host and guide is a vintner herself. Since 1998, the bulk of her prestigious Bura wines are bought each year by New York restaurateur and chef - Lidia Bastianich. Leaving the vineyards and returning to the village of Potomje, a presentation and tasting of the wines of the region will be held in her family's konoba. Lunch follows next in a traditional taverna in the nearby town of Kuna. The owners serve only what they produce themselves - home-cured hams and sausages, veal and lamb under the bell, cheese, figs, almonds, wine and brandy.
Our second excursion is a walking tour that explores the peninsula's seafaring traditions and the origins of the town of Orebic. In the 14th century, Peljesac was bought by the Dubrovnik Republic. The medieval towns of Ston and Mali Ston were the centres of it's lucrative salt trade. Two hundred years later, Dubrovnik was the third largest maritime power in the world. Its sailing ships and merchant fleets were hungry for sailors and captains. Peljesac provided them.
Our walk begins in the hills above Orebic at the Franciscan Monastery and Church of Our Lady overlooking the islands of Korcula and Mljet. Built in 1479, the fortified structure served as a vantage point to monitor sea traffic in the channel where Venice and Dubrovnik collided. Here we will stop for a visit to the museum and cemetary next door where many of Orebic's illustrious sea captains and families are buried.
Our route continues eastward over a narrow country road, winding through groves of pine and cypress, past abandoned villages and medieval chapels rich in history and legend. We will stop for lunch at a family-run konoba with splendid views of the sea and mountains. Our walk will conclude in the evening with a visit to Orebic’s Maritime Museum and Captain's House. Like the summer residences of Dubrovnik’s old patrician families, Orebic’s villas face the sea and are surrounded by gardens, with tiled courtyards and vine-covered pergolas. Behind the town, the signature summit of St. Ilija rises in dramatic contrast to the sailboats and pleasure craft that crisscross the channel.
Select the perfect accommodation to combine with your Vineyards and Villas holiday:
