Korak Family Estate: Plešivica, Sparkling Wine & Riesling

In Croatian, the word "Korak" means "step," and it is the family name of the owners of the Korak Family Estate. However, in the Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, "Korak" is the name given to Tarzan's son, Jack, by the apes. And in the ape language, "Korak" means "killer." This translation is appropriate to the winery as well, as they are producing some "killer" wines.

Korak was the first winery I visited in Croatia, with a number of other #Winelovers, and it's located about an hour southwest of Zagreb, in the Plešivica region. This is a very small, continental wine region comprised of about 2,300 hectares of vineyards and around 40 wineries. Most of the wineries in this region are small, almost all owning less than 10 hectares of vineyards. Plešivica is sometimes referred to as "Croatia's Champagne," as the region is famed for its sparkling wines and its calcareous soils resembling those found in the Champagne region. The vineyards mostly are planted with international varieties, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah. About 70% of their vineyards are planted with white grapes, and the grapes commonly have high acidity.

For many generations, the Korak family has been involved in wine production, though they didn't begin commercial production until after Croatia attained independence. Velimir Korak (the enologist) and his son Josip are most involved in the winery, and we met Josip during our visit. The winery owns 6 hectares of vineyards, and purchases grapes from 2 other hectares. About 90% of their production are still wines, and they have only recently started producing sparkling wines. Josip emphasized that there is "always freshness in their wines."

Our gracious host, Josip Korak, as he opens a bottle of sparkling wine.

Korak's first vintage of sparkling wine was in 2013, and our tasting began outside, on a gorgeous sunny day, with some of their bubbly.

We started with the 2014 Korak Brut Nature, though I'll note that they commonly do not put their vintage on the label, and 2014 was a good year for bubbly. This wine is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, spent a year in big oak, and four years on the lees in the bottle. There was no dosage, so it is very dry. The sparkling wine had alluring aromatics, and on the palate, there was excellent, crisp acidity, with flavors of green apple, a touch of brioche and some minerality. Fresh and delicious, I was impressed that this was only their second vintage producing bubbly. They currently export only a tiny percentage of this wine, but I highly advise you to seek it out if you have access to it.

The 2014 Korak Rosé Nature is made from 100% Pinot Noir, aged on the lees for 3 years, and has no dosage. I loved this sparkling Rosé, from its delightful nose of bright red fruit to its complex, dry and intriguing taste. The fruit is dominant, from strawberry to cherry, with a hint of citrus, and there is an underlying minerality as well. Tiny bubbles, and a lingering, pleasing finish. A hedonistic pleasure and I bought a bottle to take home with me. Highly recommended!

We then adjourned into the winery to continue our tasting. We had a few snacks during the tasting and I have to mention the absolutely delicious, warm fresh bread that was served. Though it was mainly there as a palate cleanser, I could have eaten an entire loaf by myself.

Riesling, known as Rizling in Croatia, is popular and these wines are usually less sweet than German Riesling, more akin to Alsace Riesling. We first tasted the 2018 Korak Laškorec Rajnski Rizling ("Rhine Riesling"), and I'll note that the label shows the position of the vineyard. This wine was fermented in a large oak barrel, and then aged in oak for 10 months. This is supposed to be a vintage that is best drank young. It was dry and fresh, crisp and pleasant, with stone fruit flavors and some minerality. Very nice wine!

We then tasted an older Rizling, the 2011 Korak Rizling, which was more German in style, with a petrol nose, which also came through on the palate. It was complex and interesting, but I'm not a big fan of petrol in my wine so this wasn't my preference.

The 2017 Korak Kamenice Sauvignon Blanc, which isn't on the market yet, isn't in the New Zealand style, being much closer to a French style. It was fresh and dry, with bright citrus and grapefruit flavors, and a minerality backbone. It was well balanced and pleasing, an excellent summer wine, but also something that you could drink year round, paired with food.

Then 2018 Korak Klemenka Sauvignon Blanc was more rich and full bodied, with more prominent grapefruit flavors, good acidity, and less minerality. This seems to be more of a food wine, unless you want a richer white wine on its own. My personal preference was for the Kamenice.

The 2017 Korak Laškorec Chardonnay Sur Lie was barrel fermented, aged in old barrique, and underwent malolactic fermentation. In addition, it was unfiltered and with low sulfur. I enjoyed this full bodied wine, which had subtle citrus and apple flavors, smoky notes, and a nice depth of complexity.

Another snack was Soparnik, a traditional Croatian dish, which is a savory pie filled with herbs, pork fat, sour cream and cottage cheese (not quite what we think of in the U.S.). Though I wasn't sure whether I'd like this dish or not, I gave it try and it actually was quite tasty, with flaky layers, creamy cheese, and a touch of pork flavor. Their cottage cheese is more of a fresh, farmer's cheese and has a pleasant flavor.

We moved onto a couple of intriguing orange wines. The 2016 Korak Rizling Orange Wine, with organic grapes, spent six months on the skins and isn't on the market yet. With more savory aromatics and a touch of petrol, on the palate the wine reminded me in some ways to a Sherry. There were notes of white flowers, candied orange, peach, and herbal accents. Complex and interesting, with a clean taste. The 2016 Korak Klemenka Sauvignon Blanc Orange Wine, made from older grapes, was produced in a similar manner, and it too was complex an intriguing, being a bit richer than the Rizling, as well as presenting more fruit flavors, accompanying the savory herbal and spices notes. I preferred the Sauvignon Blanc, finding it a bit more expressive.

The final wine was the 2017 Korak Križevac & Cimbuščak Pinot Crni (“Pinot Noir”), which also isn't on the market yet. With a medium red color, the nose presented fresh red fruit aromas and a touch of a floral element. On the palate, it was impressive, a well-balanced and complex melange of flavors, from red cherry to raspberry, spice to earth. Nice acidity, a lengthy finish, and a fine elegance. Definitely more Old World in style.

Some members of the #Winelover community, gathered outside the Korak winery. We had an enjoyable and tasty visit, and I was especially impressed with the quality of the sparkling wine, especially when that aspect of their production is still so new. Josip Korak brings much passion and energy to the winery, and I look forward to seeing how the winery develops in the coming years.