The Grand Finale: Plantaže
The final day of the Adriatic Tour 2026 saved one of its best stops for last. Outside Podgorica, we visited Plantaže, the largest single-plot vineyard in Europe. The numbers alone are staggering: 2,310 hectares of vines, over 11 million plants, 28 indigenous grape varieties, and a cellar built inside a former Yugoslav Air Force underground bunker that keeps wines at a constant, perfect temperature year-round.
Krstač, a white grape that grows exclusively in Montenegro and gets its name from the cross-shaped clusters of the vine, was our welcome pour. Elegant and mineral, it set the tone perfectly. Then came the Vladika, a Vranac and Cabernet blend with depth and structure. The finale was a dessert wine made from 100% Vranac, produced only in years when a late harvest is possible, aged four years in large oak barrels. The 2020 vintage we tasted was extraordinary — rich, complex, and worth every year it spent in that bunker.
A Tour Worth Toasting
Fifteen days. Five countries. And a wine list that read like a love letter to the Balkans.
We started in Serbia with Prokupac, the indigenous red that nearly disappeared under communism and came roaring back with a 97-point Decanter score. We lingered over Graševina in the hills of Slavonia, discovered Maraština and Pošip on the Dalmatian coast, and learned what Plavac Mali and Zinfandel have in common — a shared Croatian ancestor that connects the vineyards of Pelješac to the wine country of California. In Bosnia, Žilavka stopped us in our tracks. In Slovenia, a Michelin-starred dinner introduced us to Rebula. And in Montenegro, Vranac and Krstač reminded us that there are still grapes out there the rest of the world hasn’t caught up to yet.
The wines were only part of the story. The real thread running through all of it was the people: the winemakers who opened their cellars and their tables, the friends made around those tables, and the Opolo family that has been making this trip possible since 2010.
Until Next Time
Then it was back to where it all began. The farewell dinner was held at Hotel Moskva in Belgrade, the same room where Rick Quinn raised the first glass fifteen days earlier. The Opolo wines were poured. The stories came out. There were tears, and there should have been.
Since 2010, it has been one of our greatest honors to bring Opolo wine club members and fellow wine lovers on this journey, to share the places, the people, and the culture that gave Opolo its roots. This part of the world isn’t just a backdrop for a great trip. It’s the reason Opolo exists the way it does, and every year we get to share that with a new group of people, it means everything.
Until next time. Živeli.