Vugava (also known as Bugava) is a

white grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry (botany), berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non-Climacteric (botany), climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of ...

variety mostly cultivated on the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n island of Vis in central

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 ...

. Vugava is often compared to

Viognier Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 754 Oxford University Press 2006 Outside of the Rhôn ...

due to its aromatic profile, but it has been genetically proven that they have no relationship. It is a very old variety, anecdotally said to be over 2,000 years old and to have been cultivated by the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

colonists when the island was known as ''Issa'', or introduced by the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

, although there is hard no proof of this. There is even a debate on whether Agatharchides was referring to Vugava when he wrote: "On the island of Vis is a wine produced that no other wine equals". Vugava requires a lot of attention and needs to be harvested at the right time. Although recognized as a high quality grape variety, it is usually used for blending with other varieties such as

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

, Pinot Gris, or

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

. This is because in its traditional form, Vugava wine has a very high sugar content and overripe aromas. Vugava wines can best be described as having sweet and fruity flavors which may be lacking in terms of acidity levels. Wines produced from Vugava grapes are best paired with savory foods rich in flavor, such as fish and poultry dishes.

References

{{Wine-grape-stub Grape varieties of Croatia Dalmatian grape varieties White wine grape varieties Vis (island)