Herzegovina Wine Route

Herzegovina grows wine on karst: thin soil over limestone, very high summer heat, and the bura wind, conditions that suit two indigenous varieties found almost nowhere else in quantity. Zilavka is the white, giving a full dry wine with a distinctive character, and Blatina the red, unusual in being functionally female-flowered so that it must be interplanted with a pollinator variety, usually Alicante Bouschet, which growers explain at length. The vineyards run around Mostar, Citluk, Ljubuski, Stolac and down toward Trebinje, worked by a mix of large producers, small family cellars and the Tvrdos monastery, most of which receive visitors for tastings by arrangement.

What you actually see

• Zilavka and Blatina - the two indigenous varieties of the region.
• Karst vineyards - the vines on thin soil over limestone.
• Family cellars - the small producers receiving visitors.
• Monastery wine - the Tvrdos cellars near Trebinje.

When to go

May to October, with the harvest in September the most active period. Summer heat in Herzegovina is severe and midday visits are uncomfortable. Tastings almost always need arranging in advance.

Honest expectations

Most cellars require a call ahead rather than accepting walk-ins. The region is spread out and needs a car, which conflicts with tasting; a driver is the usual solution. Signage on the marketed route is patchy. Production is small and some wines are hard to find outside the region.

Nearby

Mostar lies at the centre; Trebinje is southeast.