The Bratoš family has been present in Konavle for more than 500 years. Through history they were mostly merchants, growing vines on the side, until Miho Bratoš, who spent 35 years working at the local winery in Gruda, turned to his own production upon retiring in 2000. He asked his son Ante a simple question: did he want to carry on, so that the investment would not be in vain. The answer was yes, more than eight thousand vines were planted, and a year later the company Bratoš vina was founded.
The road was not easy: during the war a tank drove into the family vineyard and crushed everything, but Miho refused to give up and the vineyard was fully restored in 2004. Today the story is led by Ante and his wife Renata, originally from Pelješac, who left her accounting job in Dubrovnik to take over sales and marketing, while their two daughters gladly help in the vineyard and the cellar.
The vineyards lie at Gnjile, in the southeastern part of the Konavle field cultivated since the days of the Dubrovnik Republic, sheltered by the Sniježnica mountain from the strong Dinaric winds. Ante describes his task as preserving the old knowledge of the red soil and limestone rocks, the aromatic herbs along the vineyards, the river Ljuta, the bura and the southern winds, so that with the help of modern technology the very essence of the Konavle field can be drawn from the grapes.
A Malvasija first mentioned in the 14th century
Five wines are made at the winery: Dubrovnik Malvasija, Maraština and Muškat žuti among the whites, and Merlot, from which a rosé is also made. The most sought after is the Malvasija, an autochthonous variety found exclusively in the Dubrovnik area, first mentioned in the 14th century, in the time of the Republic. Around 15,000 bottles are produced annually, sold mostly at the doorstep and through cooperation with tourists, and the quality is helped by the fact that the family grows all the grapes for its wines itself.
The winery also hides a special feature: a cistern from the Austro-Hungarian era lined with glass tiles, with a capacity of 35 thousand litres, which was once always full of wine. The family is gradually restoring it in order to one day host wine lovers there and show them how wine used to be stored.
Website: www.bratosvina.com
