📍 Čapljina

Čapljina is the warm lower Neretva valley and the Dubrava plateau in the south of Herzegovina, where Žilavka and Blatina grow. Flat vineyards run along the river from Mostar to Gabela, and on Dubrava, between Čapljina and Stolac, the Žilavka harvest starts in the middle of September.

The Romans knew wine here. At Mogorjelo near Čapljina stands a Roman villa rustica with working rooms where wine vessels were kept. For the modern story look at Domano in Domanovići, on the Dubrava plateau by the road from Mostar to Čapljina. The winery bottles about 300,000 a year and is known for sparkling Žilavka, the first and only wine of its type in the country. Its cellar holds the largest oak barrel in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16,230 litres. In 2017 Domano won two Decanter Platinum medals, for a 2016 Žilavka and a 2015 Blatina. Matić winery works nearby.

The red earth of Čapljina suits Krkošija, which cannot take drought and gives a good crop here. A 2023 review counts Čapljina among the six wine-growing municipalities of Herzegovina. The plains suited to vines lie along the Neretva: Bijelo, the Mostar field, Sevaš and Gabela.

From Mostar, Čapljina differs by the plateau: where harvest in Mostar starts in early September, Dubrava waits until the middle of the month. Look also at Čitluk (Međugorje), Ljubuški and Stolac, and at Herzegovina for the whole region.