Lumbarda: Croatia’s white wine heaven. Go here for dreamy views of vineyards gently sloping down to the sea.

My weeklong trip into Croatia’s southern Dalmatian coast revolved around three things: nature, food, and wine. The best reds are found on the Pelješac peninsula (Plavac Mali, specifically from Dingač and Postup) and the best whites hail from nearby Korčula island (Grk and Pošip). Within Korčula, the Grk varietal is grown to its best in coastal Lumbarda while Pošip fares better inland in Smokvica and Čara.

The town of Lumbarda is an easy 15 minute car or bus ride (by Arriva) from Korčula’s historic old town. Though small, Lumbarda is studded with vineyards. Some are more inland and some have tasting rooms right on the coast, but all are more ore less within walking distance of each other making it so easy to vineyard hop.

We were short on time and only had a few hours before our dinner reservation at Konoba Škafetin, so we went to two wineries: Popić and Sabulum. Next time we go to Korčula, we’ll be sure to carve out more time in Lumbarda. Other Lumbarda vineyards I would love to visit include: Bire, Lovrić, Adrian, Vitis and Cipre.

Upon entering the Popić tasting room, I felt a wave of just pure serenity wash over me. Dramatic, but that is how beautiful and peaceful their tasting space is designed. We arrived just as the sun was beginning to set on a very cloudy evening so the watercolors of the sunset softly touched and illuminated everything around us.

The tasting room is mostly outdoors with tables set up so you have the perfect view: their grape vines striping the hill, leading down to St. Roch’s church that was coming alive with yellow lantern light and the eerie zen hum of human voices singing, the spire jutting upwards amongst the terracotta rooftops, finally ending with the calm sea reflecting the cotton candy sky, bordered at the horizon by mountains.

The wine tasting included three glasses, a white, rose, and red. We also opted for the cheese and charcuterie board that paired excellently with all of our wines. Many cheeseboards later, and I’m still dreaming of their fresh but firm goat cheese with salty, almost herbal capers. The perfect bite between long sips of Grk.

What is Grk? Pronounced “girk”, it is the white wine jewel of Korčula and grown exclusively in Lumbarda. It is also known as the most feminine grape varietal in Croatia- it’s in the 1% of grapes that can not self pollinate. Grk only has working female reproductive parts so wine growers plant the grape Plavac Mali nearby to cross-pollinate.

I can honestly say it is unlike any other white wine I’ve had. It’s almost a bubbly, sparkling wine, but there isn’t any carbonation, the wine just somehow lively dances on your tongue like a gentle tap dance. In the glass, it’s medium bodied, clean, crisp, mineral, subtle notes of pine and salinity, and a slight floral aroma. If some wines are sultry, others spunky, the Grk from Popić winery can be described simply as happy.

The other wines were a delight as well. I could have stayed here all night but we had one more stop before heading off to dinner.

Just a 6 minute walk away lies Winery Sabulum, the brother winery to Popić. Yes, brother not sister winery. Popić began first as a small family winery, then the brother decided to try his hand at wine making. Sabulum is the newest winery, opening its doors to guests only a few months ago (early summer 2022).

While the Grk at Popić swept me away, here the Plavac Mali rose was my favorite. I had expected the wines to be extremely similar, as they share some vines with Popić, but the wines were very different. We chatted for a bit with the owner about the excitement and difficulties of opening a winery while sipping on delicious wine and playing fetch with his long haired German Shepherd, Dex.

Sabulum was our last wine stop of the night before heading off to dinner at Konoba Škafetin. There are many konobas in Croatia; konoba simply means tavern and often you’ll find more rustic and homey food at these establishments.

I had high expectations for this restaurant that prides itself as elevated farm to table, using only high quality and seasonal ingredients either grown in their garden or sourced locally. Getting there feels like you’re going the wrong way. It’s a bit of a walk away from the town center, up a main road, then turning at a signed path seemingly into the wooded darkness.

After walking through the dimly lit tunnel of trees, the path opens out to a cozy garden space with tables in between rows of peppers and twisting olive trees. I was thrilled to be sitting literally in the garden, my dining partner was less than thrilled since there were a few bugs.

At Škaftetin there isn’t a written menu because it changes so frequently, so listen up when the waiter comes to your table. To start off, we shared fried zucchini blossoms with a yogurt sauce and grilled eggplant with fresh feta and pesto. The zucchini blossoms had a lovely tenderness that contrasted well with the crisp, light tempura style batter and the yogurt sauce was very refreshing. The grilled eggplant was immaculate, chewy tender flesh, earthy slightly sweet flavor… this paired with the creamy, salty fresh feta and bright herbaceous pesto was one of my favorite bites of the meal. Feta in Croatia (or at least in Korčula) is very different than Greek feta. It’s less salty/briny and has a luscious velvety texture.

For our main courses we chose fresh pasta and mix shellfish papillote (baked in parchment paper) and grilled amberjack steak with zucchini. Amberjack is a very meaty fish that holds up well on the grill, similar to tuna and swordfish. The pasta had a lovely bite to it, and the clams, mussels and shrimp were all fresh and sweet, not at all overcooked, swimming in a light cream sauce. The grilled amberjack was cooked perfectly, but the side of zucchini really stole the spotlight. The zucchini was sliced into thin strips and cooked to tender in a pumpkin seed oil cream sauce.

We finished with a slice of carob cake. Carob grows all over Croatia’s islands. It’s known as the healthy alternative to chocolate.

This wrapped up our romantic evening in Lumbarda. What a meal, Konoba Škafetin was absolutely one of my foodie highlights on my one week Croatian vacation. Food, service, and wine were all top notch and memorable. A quick 10 minute taxi and we were back in old town Korčula. We only had a total of two nights in Korčula and I’m so glad we spent one of them in Lumbarda.