David Skoko: Motor, loza, kuhača

Chef David Skoko travels south, to the Pelješac Peninsula, to visit the winemaking families Matuško and Šegović. He will find out why the steep location of Pelješac’s Dingač is ideal for growing Plavac Mali, what the Pelješac Bridge means to the people of Pelješac, and how wine is stored at the bottom of the sea. The Maloston Bay will offer ingredients for the appetizer, and the "open sea" fish for the main course.

David Skoko takes us to "Hilly Croatia", more precisely, to Zagorje. At Vinski Vrh, with the devoted nature enthusiast Tomislav Bolfan, David will find out how much truth there is in jokes about Zagorje wines, why Angus cattle are important for self-sufficiency, and how Zagorje specialties are paired with olive oil. The episode is musically seasoned by Tomislav Goluban, a frequent guest of that beautiful green wine hill.

We are going to the Požega Golden Valley – Valis Aurea. The host Vlado Krauthaker has been proclaimed a wine knight and has twice been chosen as the best winemaker in Croatia. This is a family that has set the standards for Graševina as we know it today. We also find out the difference between kulen and kulenova seka, why roses are planted next to vineyards, and how vineyards are worked with horses.

David Skoko takes us to Istria to visit Ivan Damjanić, a winemaker from Poreč whose ancestors already in 1928 had a gold medal from an international wine competition in Paris hanging on the wall. In his twenties, Ivan sold his motorcycle to buy a tractor and plant a vineyard. Soon, he went from being an unknown Poreč winemaker to one of Istria’s wine stars. David’s fish menu in this episode also includes lesser-known seafood specialties such as bottarga.

Chef David Skoko travels east, to sunny Baranja. The family he visits, the Gerštmajers, are legendary winemakers of the region who have been producing wine for four generations. The village of Zmajevac, where they live, has a strong tradition of winemaking, and the lifeline of the region is the Danube River, so the fisherman's son will try his hand at fishing. We will find out that Baranja has the same number of sunny days per year as Hvar, what surduci are, and what kind of fish deverika is.

In this episode, David Skoko travels to northern Dalmatia, to a special winery in Zadar. It is special because its name and concept are linked to the French garage winemakers’ movement, and it is located in a renovated former military barracks. The Degarra Winery was founded by two families, the Pestićs and the Šulentićs, and their vineyards at the foot of Velebit defy the bora wind throughout the year. Their passion has also yielded the first Decanter award in Zadar County. The ideal menu for winemakers whose vineyards are often covered by the so-called posolica is seafood: bluefish prepared in several ways and a fig dessert.

On the hills near the bustle of Zagreb, David Skoko discovered a true green oasis. The Plešivica winemaking family Tomac lives by the motto I did not inherit the land from my ancestors, I borrowed it from my children. The family’s natural sparkling wine from an amphora is on Decanter’s list of the seventy-five most important wines in the world. Their connection with nature inspired David to try his hand at preparing a lunch from the wild offerings of the region, so he went – into the forest – for ingredients. We will find out which wild herbs are edible, how to prepare them, and what is the most difficult part of biodynamic vine cultivation.

David Skoko takes us to his Istria, to the very border of Croatia and Slovenia, to visit the Kozlović family, who have been building their winemaking story for as long as 120 years. We can say they are a kind of ambassador for Malvazija. In the 1990s, they decided to modernize the approach to this variety and thus brought it onto the list of prestigious wines. Their winery has been included among the 60 most beautiful in the world by the selection of the world-famous sommelier Pablo Bass. We will find out how Istrian winemakers engaged and united the local community, how beekeepers are connected with the winemakers, and whether there is honey made from Muscat.

David Skoko takes us to Krk to visit the passionate historian, IT specialist, collector, and, of course, excellent island winemaker Anton Katunar. His wines have been tasted by both the Pope and the American president during their visits to Croatia, and San Marino issued a postage stamp with his Žlahtina. We will find out what is noble in Krk wines and how Vedran Mlikota makes šurlice. And David also spent a truly special celebratory day with the Katunar family.