a secret to share

Don't go looking in shops, as you won't find this wine there.

I happen to have a friend (friend of my best friend Andelko) who makes THE best wine (and Andelko the second best).

Especially his red wine (crno vino) is an absolutely fantastic wine, with rich flavours, a perfect balance between sweetness and acidity, and has an amazingly deep red colour in your glass.

And most important, it's like a BOMB of taste going of when you drink it.


Be carefull however, you innocent experienced winedrinker, as like all bombs, it knocks you down in no time.

Lero, the man producing this excellent wine, is living close to our house in Svinisce-Modris, and to make things easy in case you need him, just ask, as everybody knows where he lives.

I still have to check out how he does it, but I know his variety of grapes is so special, that from the Institute in Split some scientists came to write a report and take samples of both his wine and his grapes.

In the world of winemaking, they discovered that the Californian Zirfandel originates from the Croatian Plavac Mali, and it would be a surprise to me that Lero has that specific grape, and a couple more that may rock the winemakers world even a bit more.

Time will tell, and in the meantime I enjoy my glass of Lero's wine, for which I made a label to honour him and his fantastic product.

Zjiveli Lero, i puno hvala !

ps. he sells it for about 25 kn./ltr. (a bargain for such quality) but please don't buy it all will you !!!!!

three neigbours, three friends

Three friends sitting in the shade.

From left to right:

Dr.Kilo.
in his most active pose, so if you see him active, call hitno pomoc (first aid) as there is something wrong.
Sometimes he loudly blows the alarm, why, nobody knows.

Mate, Hasan or Lambik.
his original name is Nikola, but I gave him many nicknames.
Our best friend and advisor on a thousands things, and proving to be like a good wine, a pleasant person getting more pleasant year by year.

Lero.
Looks like a jockey, and if he had a horse, he would be riding it too (but he has'nt got one).
A super friendly guy, expert in nature, a more than excellent winemaker (the very best of our valley), and as well a fantastic singer as a dancer (ask my wife).

Just a picture of three neighbours, three friends, three reasons to like Svinisce as a place to live.

life was so beautifull

Take it easy (sve polako), in the middle of silent nature, and still close to all Adriatic delights.

The beaches of Omis, the sparkling water of the Cetina river, the medium high and high mountains of Mosor, Omiska Dinara and Biokovo just within reach, all of that within a ten minutes drive, that must be like paradise, AND IT IS !!!!

Everything grows like hell, pure organic food is so normal here, if you help me I help you, or we just sit together, have a drink or some grilled food, as life is beautifull in paradise.

Picking grapes or olives together, cutting the sides of our little villageroad, a wall to be built, there's allways a good reason to enjoy company during work or after it, and if there is'nt one, we'll enjoy being together anyway, as life is so good here.

Tuesdays, from the market in Zadvarje, the fresh grilled piglet (younger pig), is taken back, crispy and warm, and however in the morning still, a slice of good bread and a glas of something, and the day turns into a superday.

And what about the freshest fish you can imagine, direct from the boat to the market (be there in time), driven up to our village, a small fire made from dry grape-cuttings, quick, easy, and more than fantastic to eat.

Still there are a million reasons to express our love for our Croatian (oprosti, Dalmatian) life, still we had to get to Holland to organise a couple of things, as quick as possible, as Nizozemska is not our home anymore; "Hratska, ja te volim ".

As once you tasted the Dalmatian Paradise, why even think about Holland, crowded, noisy, stressed, artificial, overly organised, great for summertourists (but they'r smart, they stay only a couple of days).

And even now the winterseason comes closer in our little part of Dalmatia too, SO WHAT, when a woodfire is burning, the young wine is drinkable and people have time to sit down for a game of trentun (31 cardplay) after a walk in the snow (that stays only short here).

Give me snow on Mosor in the morninglight, give me a howling bura in the night, give me a hot stew of potatoes, cabbage and pursut, and keep Holland with its wooden shoes, windmills and Rembrandt.

So, hvala za svi u Svinisce, thanks to all friends and neighbours in Svinisce, the BEST place to live.

Leave me a note in the guestbook, right side of this weblog, below the weatherforcast, if you feel the same.

ps.

picture taken from our little hidaway towards our old caravan/trailer/kamp kuca/, looking at our recent guardenhouse/workplace.

do the hop

Every time when I see this bird in Croatia, I feel a lucky person.
It even makes me do a dance from "those days long gone", called "do the hop".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99k-d5gwQhw&feature=related

The more unspoiled, the bigger the chance to see one (or two).
It's official name is "Upupa Epops" (member of the family of Upupidae).
Don't laugh about that familyname, pronounced as Youpoopiday.

Just say hop (or hoppa) and even in Croatia most people know what bird you saw.
Ok, in case you did laugh, that will stop soon when you smell it in a close encounter.
The smell is not as fantastic as the looks, so stay away from these birds and their nests.

Anyway, like I said, this is one of my lucky moments in Croatia, as when I go into nature (prirode) and happen to see this bird, I am delighted, such a beauty !

This is a typical whitness of the natural quality that is still common in Croatia, as from many countries it has disappeared because it needs clean nature, without pesticides and monocultures.
It feeds on insects, the bigger the better, and those insects are available in the pure natural Zagora, the hinterland behind the coastal mountains of the Adriatic.

One of the many reasons why I love to live life in Croatia/Dalmatia soo much.
The hop.