Grk (grapevine and wine)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Regions of origin of the Dingač (orange), the Postup (red) and the Grk (green)

Grk is the name of a white wine that is made from grapes from the vine of the same name on the southern Dalmatian island of Korčula . The vine, which is also called Grk bijeli or Grk korčulanski , is indigenous to Korčula ; their origin is not completely clear, but close family ties to the southern Dalmatian vines Plavač mali and Tribidrag = Zinfandel point to such an origin. The vines are exclusively female, so that monoecious vines are planted between for a successful pollination . On Korčula it is usually the Plavac mali . There are two main theories about the origin of the name: It could indicate the slightly bitter finish of the wine (Croatian grko = bitter) or refer to the Greeks who lived in the 4th century BC. Founded a small colony on Korčula starting from Corfu . (Croatian Grk = Greek). The close relationship to other regional vines supports the first assumption.

The vine is well adapted to the hot, dry summer climate of southern Dalmatia and is resistant to most vine diseases. The grapes ripen relatively late and can achieve very high must weights in good years . However, the yields are subject to strong fluctuations. The Grk is one of the few southern Dalmatian white wines that has the highest Croatian wine rating Vrhunsko vino (= top wine). Successful, carefully vinified wines are also recognized internationally.

Vineyards with Grk

Currently about 50 hectares in the east of the island around the village of Lumbarda are planted with Grk. The vineyards lie on sandy soils , partly interspersed with red earth , near the coast. Although the vine was largely spared from the phylloxera disaster , the production of this wine fell sharply during the communist era , as the more productive and easier to cultivate Pošip , also native to Korčula , was promoted. Today the Grk is experiencing a certain renaissance, so that the forested area is increasing slightly and experiments with this variety are also being made outside of Korčula on Pelješac , on Mljet and Šipan and in the coastal region around Dubrovnik . Even so, the production of varietal wines from this quality grape is still low.

Originally the Grk was a strong alcoholic, dry, often slightly oxidized wine by the glass that was barely drawn into bottles and served as a house drink or served in taverns. It might be vaguely like dry sherry . Even modern wines from this vine are very alcoholic with up to 14 percent by volume, but have a pronounced, well-balanced acidity and thus appear surprisingly fresh and annoying. They often have clear pine and resin aromas and are typically a bit bitter in the finish. Although it can be stored quite well, the Grk reaches its best drinking maturity soon after bottling.

Small quantities of the grapes are usually processed together with other varieties (Plavac mali, Vugava, Bogdanusa) into remarkable dessert wines and marketed as Prošek .

literature

Web link