Razonoda Wine Bar Dubruvnik

Razonoda Wine Bar Dubruvnik Croatia

During a recent trip to Croatia I spent time in Dubrovnik and had the pleasure of dining at Proto Restaurant where I met Master Sommelier Sinisa. I learned that Sinisa is also the current reigning Sommelier of Croatia having won various competitions to earn this esteemed title. After meeting during my visit to Proto he offered to take me wine tasting at a local wine bar, Razonoda. I could not have been more excited about this idea. I get to spend a few hours learning from the Master Sommelier of Croatia! This was my lucky day! I was so excited for the amazing wines I was going to enjoy as well as the information and knowledge I was sure to gain from Sinisa.

Razonoda is located in the Old Town area of Dubrovnik. It’s very charming with both bar seating and small tables. We enjoyed our tasting at the bar, my favorite kind, as you get more interaction with the server in this case Martina who I later learned is a Sommelier. After my time in Croatia I learned in almost all cases the servers at wine bars are sommeliers. This makes them quite knowledgeable, experienced, educated and informative about the wines being served. As someone always curious about what I’m drinking and learning more about the grapes and the story behind the wines this made for a very informative experience.

Prior to the visit, Sinisa and I had chatted about Croatian Wines as at this point I had been in Croatia a week. I had experienced an amazing wine tasting at Kornat Restaurant in Zadar, as well as having visited Kraljevski Winery outside Zadar so I had an idea of which wines I enjoyed and some of the grape varietals which made it fun to see what this tasting would include.

We started with whites, first a Sauvignon Blanc working our way to Posip (similar to a Chardonnay grape), then to Chardonnay finishing with Rose. Of the nine White wines we tried I was only familiar with one brand, Galic. They make a delicious light Sauvignon Blanc and Rose (which we then enjoyed the following night at Bottega Wine Bar (another must visit in Dubrovnik). A few fun facts I learned during the tasting:

2014 was a bad year for the Malvasija Region so stick with the 2013.
Posip is the closest grape from Croatia similar to Chardonnay (what us California wine lovers are so familiar with) .
There is an old style and a new style of Posip. The old style doesn’t smell as floral and sweet as the new. Torta Posip is an example of the older smell and the wine maker is extremely well-known for this type of wine making style.

This wine is most similar to a Sauvignon Blanc (S.B.). It was smooth with not over powering citrus as you’d find in a New Zealand S.B. This sells for approximately $80 USD a bottle, so quite a high-end wine.

This wine is a Sauvignon Blanc with a smooth smell to it, however, not much taste. There was a slight tart finish with medium acidity due to it. This was fermented in stainless steel.

This was a delicious wine I enjoyed. It’s a Posip (similar to Chardonnay) spending 6 months in Oak with a smooth taste to it.

This was my favorite Chardonnay, no doubt due to the time it spent in Oak Barrels (I’m a sucker for Oak on a Chardonnay) and because it retails for close to $7 USD. This reminded me of one of my favorite California Chardonnays from Ram’s Gate (which are in the $40-$60 USD price point). Hard to beat a delicious wine at only $7 USD.

This became one of my favorite Croatian wines having enjoyed it in almost every city we visited. It’s a Croatian MUST try!

This was a very light and easy Rose. It was super drinkable and I would expect it to pair nicely with most things.

After completing the White & Rose wines we moved on to try Red Wines. I found the red wines also delicious, however, the whites were a bit more special than a typical white wine I’d experienced resulting in me falling in love with the White tasting experience.

This was a very light Pinot Noir with light fruit flavors that was super smooth and drinkable.

We tried two of the Jakob wines, the Syrah and a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc & Merlot. Between the two, I preferred the Syrah which was berrylicious (exactly what I love in a Red Wine). The blend had a bit of a drier tannin taste to it, not nearly as smooth of a finish as the Syrah. For red wine drinkers preferring a drier tannin taste the blend would be the choice for you!

This was similar to a Zinfandel, with a very extreme Tannin finish and a high taste in alcohol (it was in fact 16% no wonder it tasted like alcohol!). Not my favorite, however interesting to taste and study.

This was a dessert wine which after tasting we concluded that it was harvested a bit too late (the grapes were overly sweet) with too much sweetness (even for a dessert wine).

Thanks to my fabulous teacher and Croatian Wine mentor Sinisa. What an amazing afternoon spent learning new things, enjoying delicious wines and hanging with new friends. This was definitely one of the most memorable afternoons of my Croatian visit!