Sailing through Croatia’s coast of vines

On Korcula, an island off Croatia’s southern coast, a winemaker holds up a glass of Plavac Mali. His vineyard stretches toward the Adriatic, where stone terraces slope down to the sea on land once abandoned, now slowly restored. During the Croatian War of Independence in the 1990s, many vines were left to wither or were destroyed. Today, they’re growing again in the same soil that supported generations past.

Korcula is where I join MS Queen Jelena, a 38-passenger yacht sailing from Split to Dubrovnik on Sail Croatia’s weeklong Wines of Croatia cruise. The voyage connects the country’s emerging vineyards with its storied coastline; it’s a floating tasting tour through islands where winemaking has deep roots and a renewed sense of pride. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your