Harvest at Senjkovic was hard work and lots of fun. Sasha, the owner and master wine maker, left his Plavac Mali until late this year. The Shiraz and Cabernet (a new experiment for this young family) was harvested earlier, in September. We were surprised to meet friends who wandered in from all over the island to help with the harvest.
Sasha and Magdalena are a new breed of passionate and inventive vintners. They are solving indigenous problems with ingenuity and innovative approaches. Brac is a rocky island with very little soil. Senjkovic has come up with a fascinating approach and even invented the machinery to layer the rock and soil to preserve moisture and take advantage of the white, rocky top layers. The results are paying off – they are winning awards for their Rose Spoza and Bosso wines. Their new Dita holds great promise to be among the best reds in Croatia.
Magdalena’s enthusiasm is contagious. She is really excited about this year’s harvest – expecting great results. After the filming, Magdalena treated us to a tasting of their flagship wines (Rose Spoza, Brocko Ric Plavac Mali and famous Bosso Plavac Mali) paired with a sampling of her creative cuisine. She is taking local, traditional ingredients and producing marvelous delicacies – among them; fish pates, home made breads, fresh fig crostini, profiterole pastry made with the black ink of cuttlefish & stuffed with crab and green olives prepared with her secret ingredient (fresh fennel).
But there is some not so great news for all of you lovers of their famous Rose Spoza – most of this year’s bottling is already sold out. They promise, however, to hold back some for the visitors who come in ever increasing numbers to sample the wine and enjoy the famous hospitality of Magdalena and Sasha.