What is It Like to Harvest Grapes on Hvar? Grape Picking on Sveti Klement

The journey to make a quality wine on Hvar is long, and one of the most important moments, of course, is the harvesting of the grapes. 

With its steep sloping vineyards, some of the finest Plavac Mali grapes are very labour-intensive to gather, but there are other challenges for collecting the grapes for the Tomic range. The popular red and white wines, Sveti Klement, come from the island of the same name, a boat ride from Hvar Town to the largest of the Pakleni Islands, where the vineyard is located. 

To see how the grapes are harvested on Sveti Klement, check out this 2012 report from Hvar TV on the Sveti Klement grape gathering - a wonderful day. 

Euforija - Premium Liqueurs from Tomic

Hvar is a very aromatic island, famous for its lavender and rosemary, but also abundant in a variety of other herbs. Working with the natural treasures of the island, Bastijana has produced a small range of new products called Euforija, including one of carob and sage:

EUFORIJA is the latest product from our opus - this is a premium liqueur produced ​of carob and sage. The symbolic name is unifying Europe (EU), Hvar (For) and every friend of our winery (EU-for-I ja means EU-hvar-and me). This spirit of strong aroma and sweet flavor, we recommend to enjoy chilled in moments of relaxation and socializing.

Veliki Plavac Mali - a Majestic Addition to the Tomic Range

The Tomic wine range welcomed a majestic new arrival this year, with the release of Veliki Plavac Mali, a boxed wooden magnum of some of the very finest Plavac on Hvar. It has proved a hit so far wherever it has appeared, including at Wine Jam on Galesnik, where the photo above was taken. Learn more about Veliki Plavac Mali below.

VELIKI PLAVAC MALI - premium wine with natural varietal flavor intensity of dark and ripe fruit is rounded up to 18 months of aging in Slavonian barriques. Aroma of Plavac Mali, structure and complexity of flavor, bottled in a volume of 1.5 L and conveniently packed in a wooden box, is ideal gift for any wine lover.

The First Grapes from Central Dalmatia's Vineyard of the Year

This was an historic month for Bastijana, with the first harvesting of young Plavac grapes from our newest vineyard near Vira, just north of Hvar Town. 

The vineyard, whose prime variety is 14,000 Plavac Mali vineyards, is the first organic vineyard on Hvar's north-facing coast, and it was voted the best vineyard in Central Dalmatia earlier this year. 

After a few years of preparation, the first picking of grapes took place with this harvest, but it will be some time yet before those grapes are released to the public in the form of quality wine, a reminder of the long process it takes to plant a vine to serving a glass...

Andro Tomic Welcomes Master of Wine Jo Ahearne to the Bastijana Family

There is a little more French spoken at Bastijana these days, as Andro gets to know the latest face at the winery.

Bastijana welcomed Master of Wine Jo Ahearne to the Tomic family recently, and Bastijana is delighted to be assisting Jo in her new project to make her first vintage on the island of Hvar.

As there are more astronauts than Masters of Wine in the world (only 314 at the moment), Jo's arrival on Hvar is a great boost for the international image of Hvar wine, and Jo and Andro have been chatting along in their common language of French.

Welcome Jo, and we look forward to a first taste of a Plavac Mali made by a Master of Wine on Hvar.