Cracking Croatian Wine: A Visitor-Friendly Guide, by Dr. Matthew Horkey and Charine Tan, published by Exotic Wine Travel.

The Wine Economist and I (Mrs. Wine Economist) live in a community with a distinct Croatian history, with many Croatian-Americans residents, and a Slavonian American Benevolent Society that dates from 1901. A home nearby regularly flies a Croatian flag. Our city, Tacoma, Washington, and Hvar, Croatia, are sister cities. So Cracking Croatian Wine: A Visitor-Friendly Guide, by Dr. Matthew Horkey and Charine Tan, seemed like a logical extension of our local culture as well as an opportunity to learn more about Croatian wine.

Horkey and Tan, the force behind Exotic Wine Travel, explore off-the-main-tourist-path wine destinations. Cracking Croatian Wine follows on the heels of Uncorking the Caucasus, Wines of Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia. For both books, the authors spoke to (and tasted with) wine makers, sommeliers, and others with expertise and experience. The wines in both books are generally not available in our upper-left-hand corner of the United States, but some are available by mail. Even in our Croatian-heavy community, Croatian wines are rarely seen. (If anyone knows if they are available locally, let me know.)

The real value is for the visitor to Croatia. Those who are visiting Croatia for beaches or historical cities and just want to enjoy a regional wine with a meal will find several options. Those who want to dive in deeply into Croatian wine will find plenty of opportunities to explore. The lists of wineries, wine bars, and wine shops offer good starting points.

Horkey and Tan write in a consumer-friendly, conversational style that is accessible to both the casual wine drinker and the aficionado. They present “wine and a story,” beginning with descriptions of the regions. Each featured wine includes helpful information about the place, the winemaker, the grape, wine-making techniques, and what they found in the glass.

I especially appreciate that they categorize wines for the connoisseur, the adventurous palate, and “fun and easy.” They also offer suggestions for those looking for budget wines.

It is clear that they immerse themselves not just in the wine culture of a place, but in the broader culture as well. Their brief discussions of Croatian history, cuisine, and geography are helpful — and necessary — for context but do not overshadow the wine-centric focus of the book.

Two aspects of the book were disappointing. The first is that the pronunciation guide does not appear until page 33; by the time you reach it, you already have encountered strings of consonants and accents. The pronunciation help along the way (the grape varieties, for example) is welcome.

Of more concern is the lack of good maps. The only map is a half- page, gray-scale map of the whole country, without showing its neighbors for context. More detailed maps of each region would be helpful to those who are not familiar with Croatia’s geography.

Belated full disclosure: my own ethnic background is half Serbian-American. I hope Horkey and Tan will produce a book on Serbian wine.

— Sue Veseth, Contributing Editor

>>><<<<

Reading through Croatian names reminded me of The Onion’s 1995 classic “Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia; Cities of Sjlbvdnzv, Grzny to Be First Recipients,” read here by Tom and Ray Maggliozzi.