Maraština (Rukatac, Maraškin, Mareština, Krizol, Višana) is an indigenous white grape variety from the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

n coast, recommended for all Dalmatian sub-regions, and the Croatian Coast, except Istria. On the island of Cres, it is known as krizol, and in other parts of Dalmatia it is known as rukatac. As it is widely grown, other local names exist, for example đurđevina, kačebelić, kače-debić, kukuruz, mareština, and marinkuša. DNA analysis has shown that maraština is closely related to the Italian variety

Malvasia del Chianti Malvasia (, also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. I ...

. Croatian dessert wine

prošek Prošek is a sweet dessert wine that is traditionally from the southern area of Dalmatia, Croatia. It is made using dried wine grapes in the passito method. Good quality Prošek is usually much more expensive by volume than other wines due to an ...

also uses this grape.

Production

Maraština is a variety of grape abundant and easy to cultivate. It can be found throughout the Mediterranean, including most of the Croatian coast (except for

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

). In the south of

is called Rukatac; on Cres Island is Krizol; Višana, Malvasia del Chianti, Malvasia Bianca Lunga in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, Pavlos in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Only recently it was shown that Maraština is genetically the same as all those other varieties from the Mediterranean. Some experts believe that it was originated in Dalmatia and spread due to its features and quality. Maraština can be found in the south of Croatia on the island of

Hvar Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For'', el, Φάρος, Pharos, la, Pharia, it, Lesina) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis and Korčula. Approximately long, wi ...

Korčula Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after K ...

, peninsula

Pelješac Pelješac (; Chakavian: ; it, Sabbioncello) is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia. From the isthmus that begins at Ston, to the top o ...

, and

Konavle Konavle () is a municipality and a small region located southeast of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is administratively part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and the center of the municipality is Cavtat. Demographics The total municipality population wa ...

region. The island of

Lastovo Lastovo (; it, Lagosta, german: Augusta, la, Augusta Insula, el, Ladestanos, Illyrian: ''Ladest'') is an island municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-governm ...

and

Mljet Mljet (; la, Melita, it, Meleda) is the southernmost and easternmost of the larger Adriatic islands of the Dalmatia region of Croatia. The National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea be ...

count with small Maraština vineyards. The region around

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

is branding its local Maraština.

Features

The grapes give high yields and have a high content of sugar when is grown in an adequate location. Traditionally, it's been used to complement other wine varieties. Because it's fragrant and fruity, it's described as "a female wine". Its color is golden yellow and it's full-bodied with hints of vanilla and quite low alcohol content. The grape is low acid. For that reason, many producers blend it with varieties that have higher acids. Around 10 °C is the preferred temperature for serving. It can be pairing with seafood, salted anchovies, various risottos, or goat cheese.

References

External links

Croatian Institute of Viticulture, Enology and Pomology
Grape varieties of Croatia Dalmatian grape varieties White wine grape varieties {{Wine-grape-stub