Croatia: History

Viticulture in this region certainly dates back to the ancient Greeks and possibly earlier with the Illyrians. It is claimed that the UNESCO-listed Stari Grad plain on the island of Hvar is the oldest continuously cultivated viticultural site in the world, dating back to the fourth century bc, with its original layout of geometric parcels, or chora, divided by stone walls. Grape growing increased in importance and became more organized under roman occupation. The land was part of the Ottoman empire from the 15th century and was subsequently part of the Habsburg empire when grape growing flourished until the arrival of phylloxera. Under 20th-century communist rule, wine production became centred on large collectivized state wineries.