Best Wine Tours for Yacht Guests

Croatia’s winemaking heritage dates back over 2,500 years. Today, the country is home to over 800 wineries, many of which are small, family-run estates that combine tradition with modern craftsmanship. This is great for wine tours, as guests can experience sorts like the bold Plavac Mali reds on Pelješac or the aromatic whites of Pošip and Grk on Korčula.

What transforms this into something extraordinary is the way it’s experienced: not by car, not in groups, but privately, by sea. Aboard your superyacht, time becomes yours. The coast unfolds not as a route, but as a canvas dotted with vineyards, stone cellars, and vintners waiting to share their stories over a glass poured just for you.

Every aspect of your journey is tailored to your preferences, ensuring a truly unique and personalized experience.

Korčula: Bire Winery — A Quiet Encounter with Grk and Time

The sea lies calm as your tender glides into Lumbarda Bay, its surface reflecting the soft light of morning. Stone walls and olive groves stretch along the hillside, winding toward a secluded estate tucked amid terraced vineyards. Bire Winery, a place that offers not spectacle, but serenity.

Beyond an ancient wooden door, winemaker Fran “Bire” Milina welcomes you into a courtyard of the Bire Winery. His family revived the rare Grk grape, long dormant, nurturing it back to life in the island’s sandy soils. Every small bottle—barely 5,000 of Grk each year—is an act of devotion to terroir and tradition.

Inside, the tasting unfolds with expectation —a stone cellar lit by soft light, a wooden table arranged simply with local cheeses, sun-dried figs, prosciutto, and olive oil. There is talk of the grapes’ Greek origins, of vines more than a century old, and of revitalizing those old terraces into the island’s first certified organic vineyard.

You raise your glass to sip the Grk—a pale golden wine, dry yet creamy, with notes of chamomile, melon, brioche, and sea salt. There’s a tensile minerality and subtle peppery spice that linger long after the sip. It is crisp, elegant, and impossibly local.

There is no rush. No other travelers crowd the scene, each pour accompanied by a story, not a sales pitch. You marvel at a Plavac Mali as well—barrel-aged, herbaceous, smart, dark-fruited—and sense you’re tasting not just wine, but expression: of place, history, and family.

When you finally head back through the vines, the sea shimmering below, you carry a bottle with you—not because it is rare, though it is—but because, in that moment, it captured something timeless, simple, and accurate.

What Bire Winery offers your yacht charter guests is both a wine stop and an intimate immersion: a tasting that becomes a narrative, a wine that becomes memory. Accessible only by tender from the yacht, it transforms a wine stop into a secluded invitation to pause, to taste, to belong.

For guests used to curated luxury, this experience feels lavish because it is personal, unscripted, and meaningful. It’s not merely a stop; it transforms a moment into a cherished memory.

Skaramuča Winery: Sun-Drenched Legacy

At the crest lies Skaramuča Winery, where 20 hectares of Plavac Mali vines shimmer under the Adriatic sun, each grape kissed by heat reflected off stone and sea.

The air is dry, aromatic, with notes of thyme and salt. You follow Igor Skaramuča, scion of the family that transformed a landscape of forest and limestone into a vineyard paradise. He speaks quietly, pointing to the vines, explaining how immense sun exposure and wind-carved soils shape the bold intensity of Dingač wine.

For wine tours, the private cellar awaits — stainless steel tanks and oak barrels holding years of patient aging. The space hums with calm precision—a blend of tradition and innovation. Skaramuča produces over 80,000 bottles of premium Dingač each year, including Reserve and Plavac Premium, each reflecting the same land’s power.

A sample of the estate’s flagship Dingač is poured—deep ruby-red with purple hues. The aroma of dark cherries, blackberries, licorice, and spice fills the glass. On the palate, it’s generous and structured: dark fruit framed by tannins that are firm yet refined. Acidity and alcohol are balanced beautifully at around 14%.

Tasting continues with Dingač Reserva—a richer, more layered wine aged longer in oak. You sense the wine’s evolution: complexity built in silence, barrel by barrel. A glass of Postup follows—a lighter, brighter expression of Plavac Mali from a nearby zone, and perhaps a rosé or Pošip to cleanse the palate and remind you of the islands.

Seated under lantern-lit pergolas, local dishes will be served: rosemary-infused lamb, stone-fried bruschetta, and aged cheese—and paired with each wine as Skaramuča storytelling unfolds, starting with Ivo’s pioneering vision in 1992 and continuing to today’s global reach in over 25 countries.

As dusk falls, you wander through the terraces once more. The vines catch the fading light, their leaves glowing a rich amber. The sea spreads below. Back aboard the yacht, as sails rise, the taste of Dingač lingers—a vivid memory bound to the land, the light, the Le Beau (beauty) of Pelješac.

Lipanović Winery

Your tender slips through a lavender-lit cove of Vis, gliding quietly as the sun sinks into the Adriatic. Onshore, a narrow stone path leads you toward an unassuming entrance carved into living rock—a former WWII submarine tunnel, now home to Lipanović Winery.

Inside the tunnel, the air is cool, still, and hushed. Barrels line the walls, their oak sides absorbing centuries of silence. This is no ordinary cellar—it’s a vessel of the island’s own history, its stone protecting vintages from light and time. You sense the weight of Vis’s past in every inhale.

As you walk deeper, the winemaker meets you with a steady, knowing gaze. This is where Vugava (the island’s native white), Viški opol rosé, Plavac Mali, and even aged archive selections are born.

Each wine is an echo of Vis’s millennia-old viniculture, grounded in terroir and nurtured by its isolation. Your glass, filled with golden Vugava, holds more than just wine—it holds the sun-drenched spirit of the island. It tastes of stone, sea breeze, and the patience of generations.As you listen, the winemaker shares the story of how the cellar first welcomed guests in 2002, opening up Vis’s hidden gem of viniculture to the world.

All around you, there’s a rich history bottled up in vintage reds and whites, some dating back decades and resting quietly in their casks. Each sip of these archival wines offers a taste of bygone seasons, carefully preserved within this underground sanctuary.

When the tasting ends, a Vis platter appears—olive oil, capers, fish pâté, marinated anchovies, local cheese—all paired perfectly to highlight your wine’s depth. A homemade liqueur or sweet carob chocolate brings the taste to a soft close, as the tunnel slowly fills with sunset light.

Stepping out, the tunnel’s entrance disappears behind you, but its essence lingers—cool stone, the echo of barrels, the taste of history. Your tender awaits. The sea is calm. The evening sky glows auburn.

Dingač Wine: Bold Notes on Ancient Slopes

As part of your luxury yacht charter through Southern Dalmatia, a visit to Dingač Winery on the Pelješac Peninsula is more than a stop — it’s a deep dive into the heritage, resilience, and richness of Croatian wine culture.

Twering karst cliffs frame narrow vineyard roads that snake through age-old terraces carved by hand into the mountainside. This is Dingač, Croatia’s first protected wine appellation (since 1961), and still one of its most prestigious.

Your private vehicle winds upward through wild landscapes of stone and sun, with the sea sparkling below. You arrive at the Dingač Winery estate, perched dramatically above the coast. Here, nature and craftsmanship meet in an unforgettable tasting experience designed exclusively for discerning travelers.

At the heart of Dingač lies the Plavac Mali grape — a small, thick-skinned varietal uniquely adapted to the peninsula’s scorching slopes and scarce water. Often called “the king of Croatian reds,” Plavac Mali is related to Zinfandel and Dobričić, and its wines are bold, expressive, and full of character.

You begin with Dingač Classic, a robust ruby-red wine that bursts with aromas of sun-dried figs, dark cherries, ripe plum, and wild herbs. On the palate, it’s structured and full-bodied, with smooth tannins and a signature touch of Adriatic salinity — the result of sea mist rising through steep terraces during ripening.

Next, you’re introduced to Dingač Reserva, aged longer in a blend of Slavonian and French oak barrels. Here, the profile deepens: notes of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, leather, and black currant unfold slowly with each swirl. It’s a contemplative wine — complex, layered, and beautifully balanced at around 14.5% ABV.

For contrast, your host pours Dingač Selection, a more fruit-forward expression aged in stainless steel, offering vibrant acidity and bright red berries — perfect for enjoying chilled on deck later under the stars.

You may also taste Pošip, a native white varietal from nearby Korčula. Crisp, mineral-driven, and lightly floral, it acts as the perfect palate cleanser between heavier reds, and an elegant companion to seafood courses onboard your yacht.

Each tasting is carefully paired with local delicacies: sun-cured Dalmatian prosciutto, sheep cheese aged in olive oil, and artisan fig cake. You’re seated on a panoramic terrace where the scent of pine mingles with the dry herbs of the surrounding brush — a sensory bridge between vineyard and coastline.

The atmosphere is unhurried, exclusive. Unlike crowded wineries, this experience is curated for yacht charter guests: no bus tours, no noise, just you, the wine tour, and the landscape.

Between sips, your guide shares the history of the region — how generations of winemakers scaled cliffs with baskets on their backs, and how the Dingač name itself has become synonymous with the best of Croatian viticulture.

As you return to your yacht, the transition from land to sea feels seamless. A chilled bottle of Dingač Selection awaits in your private dining salon. The tender glides back over crystalline waters while the sun begins to set behind Pelješac’s craggy ridges.

Later that evening, your onboard chef prepares a meal inspired by the peninsula — perhaps grilled scampi with garlic and parsley, lamb slow-roasted under the traditional peka, or octopus carpaccio with citrus glaze — all paired with the wines you’ve just experienced firsthand.

Each glass becomes a sensory postcard: the mineral-laced whites, the sun-drenched reds, the oak-aged depth of the Reserva — all echoing the wild terrain of Dingač, its sea-swept terraces, and the fierce beauty of Pelješac.

Tailored indulgence with SuperYachts Croatia

On your yacht,  wine-related experiences continue as entertainment and expression of the yachting lifestyle. An onboard chef can prepare a pairing dinner with wines you chose hours before. Perhaps a sommelier joins you for a comparative tasting of Grk, Pošip, and Plavac Mali beneath the stars. Maybe a violinist plays on a private beach as you toast the evening with a rare vintage, waves touching your feet.

There’s no schedule here only possibilities. And each one is designed to feel effortless, natural, and uniquely yours.

With over 1,100 miles of coastline and more than 1,200 islands, Croatia is a destination of privilege; aboard your superyacht, you bypass the crowds, the schedules, the buses, and the wine tour groups. You glide straight into the heart of things: quiet coves, private estates, wines made by hand, and history.

And when the sails rise again and the coast begins to fade behind you, the taste of Grk still on your lips and the memory of a candlelit cellar in your mind, you realize this was never just a wine tour. This was a way of living.

To explore a personalized yacht charter in Croatia or design your wine-focused itinerary along the Dalmatian coast, please reach out to our concierge team. We’ll help you select the perfect superyacht, connect you with Croatia’s most exclusive winemakers, and craft a voyage that feels less like a holiday and more like a story.