The cooperative in Svirče has roots going back to 1929. Its modern chapter began in 1997, when it started buying its members’ grapes for Badel 1862; in 1999 it bottled its first wine under its own name, and in 2002 it entered organic certification. The cooperative describes its wine as the first organic wine in Croatia.
Its growers’ vineyards run along the steep south slope from Medvid bod through Ivan Dolac to Jagodna, up to about 300 metres, and around Svirče itself. Ivan Dolac comes from 24 hectares on that slope, from vines averaging 25 years; it spends 12 to 15 months in Slavonian oak and reaches 14.5%, a big, certified organic plavac mali.
Ivan Dolac Barrique 2003 won gold at Vinalies Internationales in Paris in 2006.
At the cooperative’s house there is a restaurant with 140 seats, and tours take in the cellar, a tasting and viewpoints over the vineyards.
1929Cooperative roots
1997Starts buying grapes for Badel 1862
1999First wine under its own name
2002Enters organic certification
2006Gold, Vinalies Paris, Ivan Dolac Barrique 2003